Catalan singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat got involved in music at the age of 17, when he got his first guitar, to which he dedicates one of his earliest songs, "Una guitarra."
In early 60's the young artist participated in a pop band playing along with classmates at Barcelona's Agronomy School, doing mainly Beatles stuff and Italian 'pop-of-the-era' songs translated to Spanish.
In 1965, while singing in a radio show called Radioscope, host Salvador Escanilla helped him to get a record deal with local label Edigsa where he recorded his first EP, as well as became part of Els Setze Jutges, a group of Catalan artists aiming to promote a renaissance of Catalan culture after Spanish Franco's dictatorship and make it spread into popular classes.
Joan Manuel Serrat's first live stage performance in 1967 at the Catalan Music Palace, established definitely his name as one of the most important artists inside the 'Nova cançó' ('New Song') movement in Catalonia.
Next year, Spain originally entered Serrat in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 to sing "La, la, la", but he asked to sing it in Catalan, to which the Spanish authorities would not agree. This would be the first time he came into conflict with the language politics of Francoist Spain, because of his decision to sing in his native Catalan language, repressed by Franco. After the incident, Serrat was hurriedly substituted by Massiel, who won the contest with her Spanish-language version. By that time Serrat's songs were banned and his records burned in the streets. He then traveled to South America and participated in the Rio de Janeiro's World Music Festival, where he took first place with the song "Penélope."
In 1969 Serrat released an album containing songs with texts of Antonio Machado, a well known Spanish poet of late 19th-early 20th century. This album gave him immediate fame in all Spain and Latin America though, in spite of this, his decission to sing in Spanish was still criticized in some nationalistic Catalan circles.
The release of 1971's Mediterráneo LP consolidated the artist worldwide. In 1976, Joan Manuel Serrat was acclaimed for the first time in the U.S.A. while performing in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York.
In late 1974, Serrat was exiled in Mexico due to his condemnation of arbitrary executions under Franco's regime. It wasn't until Franco's death (November 20, 1975) that Serrat was able to return to his homeland.
In January of 1995, the Spanish government gave him a medal for his contribution to the Hispanic culture. That same year, a tribute album called Serrat, Eres único was made to honor his career, featuring artists such as Diego Torres, Ketama, Rosario (Flores), Joaquín Sabina, and Antonio Flores. In the year 2000, the Spanish Association of Authors and Editors (SGAE) awarded him with one of ten Medals of the Century.
In October 2004 he revealed that he had been undergoing treatment for cancer of the bladder and in November that year he cancelled a tour of Latin America and the USA in order to undergo surgery in Barcelona, where he still lives. By that time, his wonderful song "Mediterráneo" was selected as the most important song of the 20th century in Spain.
His recovery was satisfactory, and in 2005 he went on a tour again ("Serrat 100×100") around Spain and Latin America with his lifelong producer and arranger, Ricard Miralles.
A second volume of Serrat, eres único was also released this year, featuring Alejandro Sanz, Estopa, and Pasión+Vega. Around the same time, Cuban artists such as Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Chucho Valdez, and Ibrahim Ferrer came together to make another tribute CD, Cuba le canta a Serrat.
Source: Wikipedia®
Esos Locos Bajitos
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
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Así nos dan la primera satisfacción
Esos que se menean con nuestros gestos
Echando mano a cuanto hay a su alrededor
Esos locos bajitos que se incorporan
Con los ojos abiertos de par en par
Sin respeto al horario ni a las costumbres
Y a los que, por su bien, hay que domesticar
Niño, deja ya de joder con la pelota
Niño, que eso no se dice
Que eso no se hace
Que eso no se toca
Cargan con nuestros dioses y nuestro idioma
Nuestros rencores y nuestro porvenir
Por eso nos parece que son de goma
Y que les bastan nuestros cuentos para dormir
Nos empeñamos en dirigir sus vidas
Sin saber el oficio y sin vocación
Les vamos trasmitiendo nuestras frustraciones
Con la leche templada y en cada canción
Niño, deja ya de joder con la pelota
Nada ni nadie puede impedir que sufran
Que las agujas avancen en el reloj
Que decidan por ellos, que se equivoquen
Que crezcan y que un día nos digan adiós
In Joan Manuel Serrat's "Esos Locos Bajitos," the lyrics discuss the similarities between parents and their children, particularly in the way that children emulate their parents' mannerisms and behaviors. The song highlights the joy that parents feel when they first see their children taking on these characteristics, and how children seem to move through the world with a certain frenetic energy that defies scheduling and convention. However, the song also acknowledges the challenges of parenting, particularly in the task of trying to shape a child's future while also contending with one's own personal limitations and frustrations, which can sometimes be projected onto a child. The final lines of the song reflect on the inevitability of children growing up and leaving, and the bittersweet nature of that necessary separation.
Line by Line Meaning
A menudo los hijos se nos parecen
Children often resemble us, giving us the first satisfaction.
Esos que se menean con nuestros gestos
Those who move like us with our gestures, using everything around them.
Echando mano a cuanto hay a su alrededor
Taking hold of everything around them.
Esos locos bajitos que se incorporan
Those crazy little ones who sit up.
Con los ojos abiertos de par en par
With their eyes wide open.
Sin respeto al horario ni a las costumbres
Without respect for schedules or customs.
Y a los que, por su bien, hay que domesticar
And for their own good, they must be domesticated.
Niño, deja ya de joder con la pelota
Kid, stop messing around with the ball.
Niño, que eso no se dice
Kid, that's not something you say.
Que eso no se hace
That's not something you do.
Que eso no se toca
That's not something you touch.
Cargan con nuestros dioses y nuestro idioma
They carry our gods and our language.
Nuestros rencores y nuestro porvenir
Our resentment and our future.
Por eso nos parece que son de goma
That's why they seem made of rubber to us.
Y que les bastan nuestros cuentos para dormir
And our stories are enough to put them to sleep.
Nos empeñamos en dirigir sus vidas
We insist on directing their lives.
Sin saber el oficio y sin vocación
Without knowing the trade or having the calling.
Les vamos trasmitiendo nuestras frustraciones
We keep transmitting our frustrations to them.
Con la leche templada y en cada canción
With warm milk and in every song.
Nada ni nadie puede impedir que sufran
Nothing or no one can prevent them from suffering.
Que las agujas avancen en el reloj
That the clock hands keep moving forward.
Que decidan por ellos, que se equivoquen
That they make their own decisions, even if they're wrong.
Que crezcan y que un día nos digan adiós
That they grow up and one day say goodbye to us.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JUAN MANUEL SERRAT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Romina Garzoglio
Increíble.! Justo cuando me había puesto a rezarle a mi hijita, para darle las buenas noches, me salió esta canción del Nano.!!
Señal Divina que mi bebé sigue conectada conmigo... Gracias Nano!!!!! 🙏❤
Fernanda Giorgi
♥️
Fernando González Bustamante
Hermoso disco de Serrat, me trae los bellos recuerdos cuando hace 40 años conocí a una gran y valiente mujer Vivían Shwartz mi gran Amor, demostró ser la mejor madre del mundo, luchó, sufrió pero al final logró estar con su niña y su niño por siempre. Te recuerdo y te sigo Amando después de 40 años.
Martha A
que hermosas palabras a esa mujer!
sanyosgart1
"Que crezcan y que un día... Nos digan adiós"
Jorge Trujillo Pascuas
Hermosa canción de Serrat, doy gracias por existir en su época.
Carmen Rodríguez Alonso
Joan Manuel gracias por trasladarme a un tiempo que para mi fue increíble, tus canciones siempre sonarán en mi vida porque forman parte de ella y doy gracias por haber crecido escuchándolas
Rita Jimeno
Enormemente profunda y hermosa. Un gran regalo!
Gracias Serrat!
María Rubio Alias
Joan Manuel, gracias por tanto bueno que nos regalas con cada trabajo,este disco es una delicia escucharlo,un cariñoso saludo una andaluza.
Daniel Alejandro SOTO
Como me llega esta canción, me emociona tantooo lindos esos locos bajitos