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.
Mi vecino de arriba
Joaquín Sabina Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Es un fulano de tal
Es un señor muy calvo
Muy serio y muy formal
Que va a misa el domingo
Y fiestas de guardar
Que es una unidad de destino
En lo universal
Respetabilidad
Que predica a sus hijos
Responsabilidad
Y llama libertinaje
A la libertad
Ha conseguido todo
Menos felicidad
Mi vecino de arriba
Hizo la guerra y no
Va a consentir que opine
A quien no la ganó
Mi vecino es un recto
Caballero español
Que siempre habla ex cátedra
Y siempre sin razón
Mi vecino de arriba
Es el lobo feroz
Que va el domingo al fútbol
Y ve televisión
Que engorda veinte kilos
Si le llaman señor
Que pinta en las paredes
"Rojos al paredón"
Al vecino de arriba
Le revienta que yo
Deje crecer mi barba
Y cante mi canción
Mi vecino de arriba
Es más hombre que yo
Dice que soy un golfo
Y que soy maricón
Mi vecino de arriba
Se lo pasa fatal
Y que yo me divierta
No puede soportar
Cuando me mira siente
Ganas de vomitar
Si yo fuera su hijo
Me pondría a cavar
Mi vecino de arriba
En la barra del bar
Cuando se habla de sexo
Dice que es Superman
Es una pena que su mujer
No opine igual
De sexo, las mujeres
No debían de opinar
Mi vecino de arriba
Un día me pescó
Magreando a su hija
Dentro del ascensor
Del trabajo volvía
Cuando reconoció
La voz que me decía
"Quítate el pantalón"
Aún estoy corriendo
No quiero ni pensar
Lo que habría sucedido
Si me llega a alcanzar
Como hay niños delante
No les puedo contar
Lo que con su cuchillo
Me quería cortar
Me he cambiado de casa
De nacionalidad
Pero, a pesar de todo
Todo ha seguido igual
Los vecinos de arriba
Inundan la ciudad
Si tu vives abajo
No te dejan en paz
The song “Mi vecino de arriba” by Joaquín Sabina is a sarcastic portrayal of a man who lives on the floor above the singer. The neighbor is depicted as a serious, bald and formal man who attends church every Sunday and believes in the concept of destiny. He values respectability above everything else and preaches responsibility to his children, while condemning freedom in the name of libertinism. Although he has achieved everything he strove for, he is not happy. He is a war veteran who deems it unacceptable for someone who did not fight to express their opinion about it. The neighbor is shown as someone who believes himself to be a superior being, a recto caballero español who is always right, while everyone else is wrong. He is obsessed with the singer, who he considers a bad influence, and is willing to resort to violence to keep him in check.
The song is a commentary on societal norms that prioritize respectability, conformity, and traditional values over freedom and individuality. Sabina’s character tries to criticize the neighbor’s belief system, which values appearances over substance, narrow-mindedness over knowledge, and self-righteousness over humility. The lyrics are full of metaphors that are used to puncture the neighbor's inflated ego. The song is written in a humorous tone, using irony and sarcasm to convey the message.
Line by Line Meaning
Mi vecino de arriba
The neighbor who lives upstairs
Es un fulano de tal
He is someone with a particular name
Es un señor muy calvo
He is a bald man
Muy serio y muy formal
Very serious and formal
Que va a misa el domingo
He goes to church on Sunday
Y fiestas de guardar
And holidays
Que es una unidad de destino en lo universal
Believes in fate and destiny
Que busca en esta vida
Respetabilidad
Desires respectability in life
Que predica a sus hijos
Responsabilidad
Teaches responsibility to his children
Y llama libertinaje
A la libertad
Criticizes freedom as licentiousness
Ha conseguido todo
Menos felicidad
Has achieved everything except happiness
Mi vecino de arriba
Hizo la guerra y no
Va a consentir que opine
A quien no la ganó
The neighbor is a war veteran and does not tolerate opinions from anyone who has not fought in a war
Mi vecino es un recto
Caballero español
The neighbor is a straight-laced Spanish gentleman
Que siempre habla ex cátedra
Y siempre sin razón
Speaks with authority but is often mistaken
Mi vecino de arriba
Es el lobo feroz
The neighbor is a big bad wolf
Que va el domingo al fútbol
Y ve televisión
Spends Sundays watching football and television
Que engorda veinte kilos
Si le llaman señor
Gets angry and gains weight when called sir
Que pinta en las paredes
"Rojos al paredón"
Paints slogans like "Reds to the wall" on walls
Al vecino de arriba
Le revienta que yo
Deje crecer mi barba
Y cante mi canción
The neighbor is annoyed that I grow my beard and sing my song
Mi vecino de arriba
Es más hombre que yo
Dice que soy un golfo
Y que soy maricón
The neighbor thinks he is more of a man than I am and insults me by calling me a libertine and a coward
Mi vecino de arriba
Se lo pasa fatal
Y que yo me divierta
No puede soportar
The neighbor hates seeing me having fun and enjoying myself
Cuando me mira siente
Ganas de vomitar
The neighbor makes me sick just by looking at me
Si yo fuera su hijo
Me pondría a cavar
If I were his son, I would want to dig my own grave
Mi vecino de arriba
En la barra del bar
Cuando se habla de sexo
Dice que es Superman
The neighbor boasts about his sexual prowess when talking to people at the bar
Es una pena que su mujer
No opine igual
The neighbor's wife has a different opinion
De sexo, las mujeres
No debían de opinar
According to the neighbor, women should not have opinions about sex
Mi vecino de arriba
Un día me pescó
Magreando a su hija
Dentro del ascensor
One day, the neighbor caught me groping his daughter inside the elevator
Del trabajo volvía
Cuando reconoció
La voz que me decía
"Quítate el pantalón"
I was returning home from work when he recognized my voice telling his daughter to take off her pants
Aún estoy corriendo
No quiero ni pensar
Lo que habría sucedido
Si me llega a alcanzar
I am still running and do not want to think about what would have happened if he had caught me
Como hay niños delante
No les puedo contar
Lo que con su cuchillo
Me quería cortar
I cannot tell the children what he wanted to do to me with his knife
Me he cambiado de casa
De nacionalidad
Pero, a pesar de todo
Todo ha seguido igual
I moved to a different house and changed my nationality, but everything remains the same
Los vecinos de arriba
Inundan la ciudad
Si tu vives abajo
No te dejan en paz
The neighbors upstairs are a nuisance and do not let those who live below have peace
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOAQUIN RAMON SABINA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind