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 Paloma
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Por ir al norte fue al sur, creyó que el trigo era agua
Se equivocaba
Creyó el mar era el cielo, que la noche la mañana
Se equivocaba, se equivocaba
Que las estrellas eran roció, que la calor era nevada
Que tu falda era tu blusa, que tu corazón su casa
Se equivocaba, se equivocaba
Ella se durmió en la orilla o en la cumbre de una rama
Creyó el mar era el cielo, que la noche la mañana
Se equivocaba, se equivocaba
Que las estrellas eran roció, que la calor era nevada
Se equivocaba, se equivocaba
Que tu falda era tu blusa, que tu corazón su casa
Se equivocaba
The lyrics to Joan Manuel Serrat's song "La paloma" tell the story of a misguided dove who made a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong place. The dove made the mistake of flying north instead of south, which caused her to become disoriented and confused. She mistook wheat fields for water and continued to get lost until everything began to blend together.
The dove then began to mistake the sea for the sky and night for day. She confused dew for stars and heat for snow. She even became confused about the objects around her, mistaking a skirt for a blouse and a heart for a house. As she continued to become more and more confused, she eventually fell asleep either on the shore or high in the branches of a tree.
Despite the dove's mistakes, the beauty of the song lies in its message that confusion and misunderstandings can happen to anyone. It highlights the importance of acknowledging our mistakes and learning from them to avoid further confusion and misunderstandings in the future.
Line by Line Meaning
Se equivocó la paloma, se equivocaba
The dove was mistaken, she didn't have a clear direction
Por ir al norte fue al sur, creyó que el trigo era agua
She went in the opposite direction, mistook wheat for water
Creyó el mar era el cielo, que la noche la mañana
She mistook the sea for the sky, and night for morning
Que las estrellas eran rocio, que la calor era nevada
She mistook stars for dewdrops, and heat for snow
Que tu falda era tu blusa, que tu corazón su casa
She mistook your skirt for your blouse, and your heart for her home
Ella se durmió en la orilla o en la cumbre de una rama
She slept either on the shore or at the top of a branch
Se equivocaba, se equivocaba
She was continuously mistaken
Que tu falda era tu blusa, que tu corazón su casa
She mistook your skirt for your blouse, and your heart for her home
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Christian Boissel, Rafael Alberti Y Merello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@carpediem4290
Gracias por este estupendo tema de mi paisano de barrio...me trae muchos recuerdos de tiempos muy diferentes.
@soyyo85
Indispensable y necesario escucharte... gracias Serrat....
@antoniocruzlopez6996
Dedicado a mi prima Mari Carmen Recio López, una admiradora donde las haya de ese gran maestro Serrat. Ha muerto este lunes 31 de agosto de 2020 del covid19 con 59 años. Dedicada a ella, una soñadora que me enseñó a amar a Serrat en los 70. De un algecireño de nacimiento. Antonio Cruz. Hasta pronto, princesa.
@Crisadasme
Una mujer con esa cultura es inmortal e inolvidable. Besos para ella en el cielo y abrazos para ti en la tierra
@antoniocruzlopez6996
Muchas gracias, un abrazo de Luz para ti
@eliastrillo632
Fuerza y abraza la poesía. De Alberti, Machado, Hernandez o el que sea. Un abrazo desde Argentina. Elias Trillo.
@mariellaacevedo9943
Bellísima canción ❤️❤️.
@mariellaacevedo9943
Latra de Rafael Alberti
@alejandraalvarez3294
Amo ese lp !!!
@inesrodriguezn218
Gratos recuerdos de mi juventud vienen a mi mente cuando escucho esta bella canción de Serrat en sus inicios 👏👏👏👏👏👏