Joaquín Sabina, is the second son of Adela Sabina del Campo and Jerónimo Martinez Gallego, which was a policeman. He attended a Carmelite primary school and he started writing his firsts poems and composing music at 14 years old. He was part of a band called Merry Youngs which imitated singers such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry or Little Richard.
In 1968 he enrolled in the University of Granada, but went into exile in London, using a fake passport, to avoid Francisco Franco's persecution. In London, he collaborated with other young artists in theater and cultural events.
In 1975, he started composing songs and singing at local bars. When the dictatorship ended in 1977 he returned to Spain and enrolled in the military.
In 1978 his first album, Inventario (Inventory), debuted with the number-one hit single Pongamos que hablo de Madrid (Let's say I'm talking about Madrid).
Afterwards, he released Malas compañías (The Wrong Crowd) and a live album called La mandrágora (The Mandragora), which caused much controversy due to the racy content of its lyrics. Spain was just coming out of the dictatorship, and Sabina's favorite topics have always been deemed "morally inappropriate" by some: the homeless, prostitutes, drunks, and Robin Hood-styled thieves. He is very much anti-stablishment.
In 1983 he released Ruleta Rusa (Russian Roulette) and two years later, Juez y parte (Judge and Jury). His political views led him to take part in the anti-NATO movement. He later published Joaquín Sabina y Viceversa.
In 1987 he released Hotel, dulce hotel (Hotel, Sweet Hotel), which sold a large number of records in Spain. That success followed with his next album El hombre del traje gris (The Man in The Gray Suit), and followed with a successful tour of South America.
In 1990 he released Mentiras piadosas (White Lies) and two years later Física y química (Physics and Chemistry), which led to another successful tour of the Americas.
His later albums Esta boca es mía (These Lips are Mine), Yo, mi, me contigo (I, Me, With You) and 19 días y 500 noches (19 Days and 500 Nights), won him recognition and multiple platinum albums.
After recovering from a stroke, he returned to the stage in 2002 with Dímelo en la calle (Let's Take It Outside). He later released a double album called Diario de un peatón (Diary of A Pedestrian), which included both his previous album and 12 new songs, along with a book illustrated by him.
In 2005 his new record Alivio de luto (Mourning Relief), put him in track to being one of the biggest names in Spanish musical stardom. The album comes with a DVD that includes interviews, music videos, acoustic versions of the songs and some home-made recordings.
Calle Melancolía
Joaquín Sabina Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Por la ciudad camino, no preguntéis adónde
Busco acaso un encuentro que me ilumine el día
Y no hallo más que puertas que niegan lo que esconden
Las chimeneas vierten su vómito de humo
A un cielo cada vez más lejano y más alto
Por las paredes ocres se desparrama el zumo
Ya el campo estará verde, debe ser primavera
Cruza por mi mirada un tren interminable
El barrio donde habito no es ninguna pradera
Desolado paisaje de antenas y de cables
Vivo en el número siete, calle Melancolía
Quiero mudarme hace años al barrio de la alegría
Pero siempre que lo intento ha salido ya el tranvía
En la escalera me siento a silbar mi melodía
Como quien viaja a bordo de un barco enloquecido
Que viene de la noche y va a ninguna parte
Así mis pies descienden la cuesta del olvido
Fatigados de tanto andar sin encontrarte
Luego, de vuelta a casa enciendo un cigarrillo
Ordeno mis papeles, resuelvo un crucigrama
Me enfado con las sombras que pueblan los pasillos
Y me abrazo a la ausencia que dejas en mi cama
Trepo por tu recuerdo como una enredadera
Que no encuentra ventanas donde agarrarse, soy
Esa absurda epidemia que sufren las aceras
Si quieres encontrarme ya sabes dónde estoy
Vivo en el número siete, calle Melancolía
Quiero mudarme hace años al barrio de la alegría
Pero siempre que lo intento ha salido ya el tranvía
En la escalera me siento a silbar mi melodía
Vivo en el número siete, calle Melancolía
Quiero mudarme hace años al barrio de la alegría
Pero siempre que lo intento ha salido ya el tranvía
En la escalera me siento a silbar mi melodía
Vivo en el número siete, calle Melancolía
In Joaquín Sabina's song "Calle Melancolía," the singer is traveling through the city, searching for something to brighten his day, but all he finds are closed doors and a desolate landscape. He is surrounded by chimneys spewing smoke into a sky that seems farther and farther away. The walls are ocher and the streets are filled with antennas and cables. The singer longs to move to the "neighborhood of joy" but is always too late, as the tram has already gone. He feels like he is on a ship going nowhere, descending the slope of oblivion with fatigued feet. When he returns home, he tries to distract himself with puzzles and order but is ultimately comforted by the absence of the person he longs for. He compares himself to a vine that can't find any windows to cling to, and he resigns himself to his life on Calle Melancolía.
The song is a poignant portrayal of loneliness and longing. The singer feels as if he is trapped in a never-ending cycle of sadness, unable to break free of the haunting memories of his lost love. His attempts to move on are always thwarted by the passage of time and the inevitability of his situation. Ultimately, the song is a testament to the power of memory and the overwhelming nature of grief.
Line by Line Meaning
Como quien viaja a lomos de una yegua sombría
I am wandering through the city aimlessly, feeling as though I am on the back of a dark horse and I do not know where I am going.
Por la ciudad camino, no preguntéis adónde
I am walking through the city without direction, please do not ask where I am headed.
Busco acaso un encuentro que me ilumine el día
I am searching for an encounter that will brighten my day.
Y no hallo más que puertas que niegan lo que esconden
But all I find are doors that hide what lies within.
Las chimeneas vierten su vómito de humo
The chimneys are spewing their smoke and pollution.
A un cielo cada vez más lejano y más alto
To a sky that seems farther and higher.
Por las paredes ocres se desparrama el zumo
The walls are stained with the juice of a fruit grown in the asphalt jungle.
De una fruta de sangre crecida en el asfalto
A fruit that has grown in the harsh, urban environment and is now ripe with blood.
Ya el campo estará verde, debe ser primavera
The countryside is green and vibrant, spring must be in full swing.
Cruza por mi mirada un tren interminable
An endless train passes through my line of sight.
El barrio donde habito no es ninguna pradera
The neighborhood where I live is not a meadow, it is a desolate landscape of antennas and cables.
Desolado paisaje de antenas y de cables
A bleak and depressing landscape of technology and wires.
Vivo en el número siete, calle Melancolía
I live at number seven on Melancholy Street.
Quiero mudarme hace años al barrio de la alegría
I have been wanting to move to the neighborhood of happiness for years.
Pero siempre que lo intento ha salido ya el tranvía
But every time I try, the tram has already left.
En la escalera me siento a silbar mi melodía
So I sit on the stairs and whistle my own tune.
Como quien viaja a bordo de un barco enloquecido
I feel like I am on a crazed ship that has come from the night and is going nowhere.
Que viene de la noche y va a ninguna parte
It has come from the night and is going nowhere.
Así mis pies descienden la cuesta del olvido
My feet are descending the hill of forgetfulness.
Fatigados de tanto andar sin encontrarte
Exhausted from walking so much without finding you.
Luego, de vuelta a casa enciendo un cigarrillo
When I return home, I light a cigarette.
Ordeno mis papeles, resuelvo un crucigrama
I tidy up my papers and solve a crossword puzzle.
Me enfado con las sombras que pueblan los pasillos
I get angry with the shadows that inhabit the hallways.
Y me abrazo a la ausencia que dejas en mi cama
And I embrace the absence that you have left in my bed.
Trepo por tu recuerdo como una enredadera
I climb on the memory of you like a vine.
Que no encuentra ventanas donde agarrarse, soy
But I cannot find a window to cling to, I am helpless.
Esa absurda epidemia que sufren las aceras
I am like a senseless epidemic that plagues the streets.
Si quieres encontrarme ya sabes dónde estoy
If you want to find me, you know where I am.
Vivo en el número siete, calle Melancolía
I live at number seven on Melancholy Street.
Quiero mudarme hace años al barrio de la alegría
I have been wanting to move to the neighborhood of happiness for years.
Pero siempre que lo intento ha salido ya el tranvía
But every time I try, the tram has already left.
En la escalera me siento a silbar mi melodía
So I sit on the stairs and whistle my own tune.
Vivo en el número siete, calle Melancolía
I live at number seven on Melancholy Street.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Joaquin Martinez Sabina
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@soleguzmanYbarcelona
Yo tenía 24 años. Estas canciones del álbum "Malas compañías"
sonaban en mi cassete hasta quemarlo, era la España de 1980
-Calle Melancolía
-Que demasiado
-Carguen, apunten, fuego
-Gulliver
-Círculos viciosos
-Pongamos que hablo de Madrid
-Manual para héroes o canallas
-Bruja
-Mi hermano Satán
-Pasándolo bien
@victormanuelarjona
Cuando era un chaval (entre 15 y 20 años) escuchaba este tema y ya me daba mucha nostalgia, hoy con 39 años y con 8 años viviendo en el extranjero este tema es una especie de bálsamo, que lejos de entristecer me hace ponerle mas ganas e imaginar en el momento que volveré a ese barrio de la alegría y abrazar a mi jefecita 😊 🙋🏻♂️
@patriciozazzini3182
que no te pase como en la cancion de marco antonio solis Tres Semanas. no vale la pena.
@jmaguilucho68
🙃 Con 55, la volví a cantar sin mirar a pantalla... Entró mi gitanilla con un maromo, y no entendía lo que decía......
@sergiooligo2447
Ánimo, volverá el día
@jeferpena1448
Soy de Lima-Perú. Tengo 23 años. Siendo las 3:03 a.m. en mi país, ando caminando con unos amigos por el "centro de lima", de paso escuchamos ésta canción de Sabina, y ufff... De verdad que éstas canciones del maestro van con nuestra borrachera.
@bereurbieta5763
Es muy cierto . Es satisfactorio. Buen dia!
@jeferpena1448
@@bereurbieta5763: Hey, buena estrella para ti.
@renzogutierrezfernandez7657
recièn leo esto mi hermano pasame la voz soy seguidor del maestro sabina seria bueno un junte para disfrutar de su poesìa
@quepasaaqui678
y sus tirantes
@tomasreyes9289
Exactamente un auténtico artista Yser humano que sabe expresar los sentimientos más profundos,con una elegancia de lenguaje y calidad musical.UNICAS .
ORIGINAL Y AUTENTICO ASI ES EL GENIO JOAQUÍN SABINA.