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®
Retrato
Joan Manuel Serrat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
y un huerto claro donde madura el limonero;
mi juventud, veinte a??os en tierras de Castilla;
mi historia, algunos casos de recordar no quiero.
Ni un seductor Ma??ara, ni un Bradom??n he sido
-ya conoc??is mi torpe ali??o indumentario-,
m??s recib?? la flecha que me asign?? Cupido,
Hay en mis venas gotas de sangre jacobina,
pero mi verso brota de manantial sereno;
y m??s que un hombre al uso que sabe su doctrina
soy, en el buen sentido de la palabra, bueno.
Desde??o las romanzas de los tenores huecos
y el coro de los grillos que cantan a la luna.
A distinguir me paro las voces de los ecos,
y escucho solamente, entre las voces, una.
Converso con el hombre que siempre va conmigo
-quien habla solo espera hablar a Dios un d??a-
mi soliloquio es pl??tica con este buen amigo
que me ense???? el secreto de la filantrop??a.
Y al cabo, nada os debo; me deb??is cuanto escribo
a mi trabajo acudo, con mi dinero pago
el traje que me cubre y la mansi??n que habito,
el pan que me alimenta y el lecho en donde yago.
Y cuando llegue el d??a del ??ltimo viaje,
y est?? al partir la nave que nunca ha de tornar
me encontrar??is a bordo ligero de equipaje,
casi desnudo, como los hijos de la mar.
Retrato, Retrato.
The song "Retrato" by Joan Manuel Serrat is a self-portrait of the songwriter, where he narrates his life experiences, his beliefs and values, as well as his artistic vision. The song starts with a description of his childhood memories in Sevilla, where he associates his happy moments with a clear orchard where lemon trees grow. He then moves on to talk about his youth, where he spent 20 years in Castilla, and his life experiences, where he does not want to remember some events from his past.
Serrat then talks about his romantic life, where he admits he is not a seducer or womanizer like Ma??ara or Bradom??n but had been hit by Cupid's arrow and embraced the feelings of love and affection. He also mentions his genealogy, with Jacobin blood running in his veins, and his poetic inspirations, which are like a serene stream. Serrat then declares himself as a good man, who does not follow any particular ideology, but believes in helping others.
Moreover, he expresses his disdain towards superficial and meaningless romantic songs and noisy crickets singing to the moon. He enjoys listening to echoes, as they carry his solitary voice and speaks with his inner self, waiting for a conversation with god. Finally, he says that he owes nothing to anyone, but his work and his writings, with which he earned his living, and he will leave this world with only the most essential things.
Line by Line Meaning
Mi infancia son recuerdos de un patio de Sevilla,
My childhood memories consist of a courtyard in Seville,
y un huerto claro donde madura el limonero;
and a clear orchard where a lemon tree ripens;
mi juventud, veinte años en tierras de Castilla;
my youth, twenty years in Castilian lands;
mi historia, algunos casos de recordar no quiero.
my history, some cases that I do not want to remember.
Ni un seductor Mañara, ni un Bradomín he sido
I have not been a seductive Mañara, nor a Bradomín
-ya conocéis mi torpe aliño indumentario-,
-you already know my clumsy dress style-
más recibí la flecha que me asignó Cupido,
but Cupid assigned an arrow to me,
y amé cuanto ellas puedan tener de hospitalario.
and I loved all the hospitality they could offer.
Hay en mis venas gotas de sangre jacobina,
There are drops of Jacobin blood in my veins,
pero mi verso brota de manantial sereno;
but my poetry flows from a peaceful spring;
y más que un hombre al uso que sabe su doctrina
and more than a usual man who knows his doctrine,
soy, en el buen sentido de la palabra, bueno.
I am, in the best sense of the word, good.
Desdeño las romanzas de los tenores huecos
I disdain the ballads of hollow tenors,
y el coro de los grillos que cantan a la luna.
and the choir of crickets that sing to the moon.
A distinguir me paro las voces de los ecos,
I stop to distinguish the voices of the echoes,
y escucho solamente, entre las voces, una.
and I only listen, among the voices, to one.
Converso con el hombre que siempre va conmigo
I converse with the man who always goes with me,
-quien habla solo espera hablar a Dios un día-
-who speaks alone expects to speak to God one day-
mi soliloquio es plática con este buen amigo
my soliloquy is a conversation with this good friend,
que me enseñó el secreto de la filantropía.
who taught me the secret of philanthropy.
Y al cabo, nada os debo; me debéis cuanto escribo
And in the end, I owe you nothing; you owe me everything I write
a mi trabajo acudo, con mi dinero pago
I turn to my work, I pay with my money,
el traje que me cubre y la mansión que habito,
the suit that covers me and the mansion where I live,
el pan que me alimenta y el lecho en donde yago.
the bread that sustains me and the bed where I lay.
Y cuando llegue el día del último viaje,
And when the day of the final journey arrives,
y esté al partir la nave que nunca ha de tornar,
and I am about to board the ship that will never return,
me encontraréis a bordo ligero de equipaje,
you will find me on board with light luggage,
casi desnudo, como los hijos de la mar.
almost naked, like the children of the sea.
Retrato, Retrato.
Portrait, Portrait.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Antonio Machado, Jose Alberto Garcia Gallo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind