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®
La Mujer Que Yo Quiero
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bañarse cada noche en agua bendita
Tiene muchos defectos, dice mi madre
Y demasiados huesos, dice mi padre
Pero ella es más verdad que el pan y la tierra
Mi amor es un amor de antes de la guerra
Para saberlo
La mujer que yo quiero, no necesita
Deshojar cada noche una margarita
La mujer que yo quiero, es fruta jugosa
Prendida en mi alma como si cualquier cosa
Con ella quieren dármela mis amigos
Y se amargan la vida mis enemigos
Porque sin querer tú, te envuelve su arrullo
Y contra su calor, se pierde el orgullo
Y la vergüenza
La mujer que yo quiero, es fruta jugosa
Madurando feliz, dulce y vanidosa
La mujer que yo quiero, me ató a su yunta
Para sembrar la tierra de punta a punta
De un amor que nos habla con voz de sabio
Y tiene de mujer la piel y los labios
Son todos suyos mis compañeros de antes
Mi perro, mi scalextric y mis amantes
Pobre Juanito
La mujer que yo quiero, me ató a su yunta
Pero, por favor, no se lo digas nunca
Pero, por favor, no se lo digas nunca
The lyrics of Joan Manuel Serrat's song La Mujer Que Yo Quiero express the singer's unconditional love for a woman who does not conform to societal standards of perfection. The woman he loves, in contrast to the expectations imposed by family and society, does not need to bathe in holy water every night or pluck petals off a daisy to determine her worth. Instead, she is real and true, like bread and earth, honest and full of imperfections.
The singer's love for this woman is deep and enduring, dating back to a time before war and chaos corrupted the world. Despite what others might say, the woman he loves is like juicy fruit, an essential part of him that his friends envy and his enemies resent. She has a magnetic quality that draws people to her, and her warmth and tenderness can make even the most prideful and shameless person surrender to her embrace.
Line by Line Meaning
La mujer que yo quiero, no necesita
The woman I love doesn't need
Bañarse cada noche en agua bendita
To bathe in holy water every night.
Tiene muchos defectos, dice mi madre
My mother says she has many flaws
Y demasiados huesos, dice mi padre
And too many bones, says my father
Pero ella es más verdad que el pan y la tierra
But she is more genuine than bread and soil
Mi amor es un amor de antes de la guerra
My love existed before the war
La mujer que yo quiero, no necesita
The woman I love doesn't need
Deshojar cada noche una margarita
To pluck the petals off a daisy every night
La mujer que yo quiero, es fruta jugosa
The woman I love is a juicy fruit
Prendida en mi alma como si cualquier cosa
Attached to my soul as if it were anything
Con ella quieren dármela mis amigos
My friends want to have her
Y se amargan la vida mis enemigos
And my enemies are bitter about it
Porque sin querer tú, te envuelve su arrullo
Because, without realizing it, her lullaby envelops you
Y contra su calor, se pierde el orgullo
And against her warmth, pride is lost
Y la vergüenza
And shame
La mujer que yo quiero, es fruta jugosa
The woman I love is a juicy fruit
Madurando feliz, dulce y vanidosa
Ripening happily, sweet and vain
La mujer que yo quiero, me ató a su yunta
The woman I love tied me to her plow
Para sembrar la tierra de punta a punta
To sow the land from end to end
De un amor que nos habla con voz de sabio
Of a love that speaks to us with the voice of a wise one
Y tiene de mujer la piel y los labios
And has the skin and lips of a woman
Son todos suyos mis compañeros de antes
All my former companions belong to her
Mi perro, mi scalextric y mis amantes
My dog, my slot car and my lovers
Pobre Juanito
Poor Juanito
La mujer que yo quiero, me ató a su yunta
The woman I love tied me to her plow
Pero, por favor, no se lo digas nunca
But please, don't ever tell her.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JUAN MANUEL SERRAT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PedroPerez-bp7xj
La Generación que creció con estas bellas melodías ( la cual me incluyo) . Tuvimos esa bendición… lamentablemente , hoy estos cantantes se despiden de los escenarios y gracias a Dios en vida … Gracias Joan Manuel por esas bellas canciones que nos regalas y que seguirán sonando digitalmente por futuras generaciones 👏👏👏
@julabai
El ídolo de mi padre,no puedo evitar emocionarme al escuchar las bellas melodías de Serrat.en mi memoria van asociadas a mi padre ..Va por ti papa!!!!♥️
@josecamacho15169233
Conocí a Serrat musicalmente, por allá 1.973. sus canciones me impactaron , mi primer hijo nacido 4 años después lleva su nombre, perdón.. llevaba..murió a los 41años. Bellos ,y tristes recuerdos a la vez!!
@josefinacarmonalorente7354
😊
@marga6994
Grande Serrat ❤
@gloriapouplana3899
@alejandropitton8791
Somos privilegiados quienes hemos vivido en la misma epoca, para crecer, madurar y gozar de sus letras, y de los tonos con que ha cantado sus canciones, absolutamente reconocible e irrepetible. Grande Nano
@jaimepena-9601
Esas si son letras ,verdaderos poemas ,la escucho del año 78😢
@magdalenaortegaros5362
Él mejor cantautor español y de otros países que maravilla dé canciones llenas de poesía cantadas y contadas, Gracias maestro ❤
@alcarasjosehiram3184
El genio del verso, Fiesta Penelope mi primer encuentro con el maestro Juan Manuel Serrat...mis respetos maestro, gracias