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.
Dos horas después
Joaquín Sabina Lyrics
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Sin carne, sin pecado, sin quizás
La noche se agavilla como un ave
A punto de emigrar
Y el mundo es un hervor de caracolas
Ayunas de pimienta, risa y sal
Y el sol es una lágrima en un ojo
Tu espalda es el ocaso de septiembre
Un mapa sin revés ni marcha atrás
Una gota de orujo acostumbrada
Al desdén de la mar
Y al cabo el calendario y sus ujieres
Disecando el oficio de soñar
Y la espuela en la tasca de la esquina
Y el vicio de olvidar
Por el renglón del corazón
Cada mañana descarrila un tren
Y al terminar vuelta a empezar
Dos horas después de amancer
Tiene la vida un lánguido argumento
Que no se acaba nunca de aprender
Sabe a licor y a luna despeinada
Que no quita la sed
La noche ha consumido sus botellas
Dejándose un jirón en la pared
Han pasado los días como hojas
De libros sin leer
The song "Dos horas después" by Joaquin Sabina starts with the sun setting and leading into the night. The afternoon has ended, consuming its futile appearance, with no substance or sin, leaving behind the night as a bird preparing to migrate. The world is described as a commotion of empty shells of snails, devoid of laughter, pepper, and salt. The image of the sun as a tear in an eye that cannot cry provides a poetic touch.
The lyrics then shift to a description of a person, likening their back to the sunset of September, a map without a reverse or a backward step, and a drop of orujo. The calendar and its ushers dissect the work of dreaming, and the habit of forgetting is described as a vice. The chorus talks about each morning, derailing a train through the heart and starting over again after two hours. There is no definitive plot to life, which never ceases to teach us something. It is a drink that tastes like the moon without ever quenching the thirst. Finally, the night has left its bottles, leaving a shred on the wall, and days have passed like the pages of unread books.
Line by Line Meaning
La tarde consumió su luego fatuo
The afternoon consumed its fleeting future
Sin carne, sin pecado, sin quizás
Without meat, without sin, without perhaps
La noche se agavilla como un ave
The night bunches up like a bird
A punto de emigrar
About to migrate
Y el mundo es un hervor de caracolas
And the world is a boiling of seashells
Ayunas de pimienta, risa y sal
Deprived of pepper, laughter and salt
Y el sol es una lágrima en un ojo
And the sun is a tear in an eye
Que no sabe llorar
That doesn't know how to cry
Tu espalda es el ocaso de septiembre
Your back is the sunset of September
Un mapa sin revés ni marcha atrás
A map without reverse or going back
Una gota de orujo acostumbrada
A drop of orujo used to
Al desdén de la mar
To the disdain of the sea
Y al cabo el calendario y sus ujieres
And at the end the calendar and its ushers
Disecando el oficio de soñar
Dissecting the craft of dreaming
Y la espuela en la tasca de la esquina
And the spur in the tavern on the corner
Y el vicio de olvidar
And the vice of forgetting
Por el renglón del corazón
Through the line of the heart
Cada mañana descarrila un tren
Every morning a train derails
Y al terminar vuelta a empezar
And at the end, start again
Dos horas después de amanecer
Two hours after sunrise
Tiene la vida un lánguido argumento
Life has a languid argument
Que no se acaba nunca de aprender
That never ends learning
Sabe a licor y a luna despeinada
It tastes like liqueur and disheveled moon
Que no quita la sed
That doesn't quench the thirst
La noche ha consumido sus botellas
The night has consumed its bottles
Dejándose un jirón en la pared
Leaving a scrap on the wall
Han pasado los días como hojas
The days have passed like leaves
De libros sin leer
Of unread books
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTONIO PEREZ GARCIA DE DIEGO, FRANCISCO JOSE LOPEZ VARONA, JOAQUIN RAMON SABINA, JOAQUIN RAMON MARTINEZ SABINA, JOSE CABALLERO BONALD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind