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.
Princesa / Barbi Superestar
Joaquín Sabina Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Andas siempre muñeca,
Con tu sucia camisa
Y en lugar de sonrisa
Una especie de mueca
Cómo no imaginarte
Cómo no recordarte hace apenas dos años
Cuando tenías aún esa manera de hacerte daño.
Ahora es demasiado tarde princesa,
Búscate otro perro que te ladre princesa
Maldito sea el gurú
Que levantó entre tú y yo un silencio oscuro
Del ya sólo sales para decirme
Vale, déjame veinte duros
Ya no te tengo miedo, nena,
Pero no puedo seguirte en tu viaje,
Cuántas veces hubiera dado la vida entera
Porque tú me pidieras llevarte el equipaje
Ahora es demasiado tarde princesa
Tú que sembraste en todas
Las islas de la moda las flores de tu gracia
Cómo no ibas a verte
Envuelta en una muerte con asalto a farmacia
Con qué ley condenarte
Si somos juez y parte todos de tus andanzas
Sigue con tus movidas, reina,
Pero no pidas que me pase la vida pagándote fianzas
Ahora es demasiado tarde princesa
Tenía los pies diminutos,
Y unos ojos color verde marihuana,
A los catorce fue la reina del instituto,
El curso que repetí
Las del octavo derecha dijeron
Otra que sale rana
Cuando en Crónicas Marcianas la vieron
Haciendo streap-tease
En sus quimeras de porcelanosa
Conquistaba a Al Pacino,
Los del Rayo no éramos gran cosa
Para su merced,
Si la chiquita de Mariquita Pérez
Tuviera un buen padrino,
Los productores, que saben de mujeres,
Le darían un papel.
Pezón de fresa, lengua de caramelo,
Corazón de bromuro,
Supervedette, puta de lujo, modelo,
Estrella de culebrón,
Había futuro en la pupilas hambrientas
De los hombres maduros,
Enamorarse un poco más de la cuenta
Era una mala inversión
Debutó de fulana de tal
En un vil melodrama,
Con sus veinte minutos de fama
Retiró a su mamá,
El guión le exigía cada vez más
Escenas de cama,
Todavía por Vallecas la llaman:
Barbi Superstar
La noche antes de la noche de bodas
Arrojó la toalla,
El novio, con un frac pasado de moda,
Enviudó ante el altar,
Mientras Barbi levitaba en la Harley
De un chulo de playa
Que entre el Tarot, Corto Maltés y Bob Marley,
Le propuso abortar
Al infierno se va por atajos,
Jeringas, recetas
Ayer, hecha un pingajo
Me dijo en el tigre de un bar
¿Dónde está la canción que me hiciste
Cuando eras poeta?
Terminaba tan triste
Que nunca la pude empezar
Por esos labios, que sabían a puchero
De pensiones inmundas,
Habría matado yo, que cuando me muero
Ya nunca es por amor
Se masticaba en los billares que el Rayo
Había bajado a segunda,
Por la M-30 derrapaba el caballo
De la desilusión
Debutó de fulana de tal
The lyrics of "Princesa/Barbi Superestar" by Joaquín Sabina paint a portrait of a fallen idol - a former princess of the night who's now struggling with addiction and a decayed lifestyle. Sabina begins the song by comparing her past and present appearances - from her "princess of the mouth of strawberry" to "muñeca," a doll that appears to be merely existence. The former "princesa" used to inflict pain but now can't escape the damage it's caused her. The song's narrator recalls a time when he would have done anything for her, but she's now too far gone and on a path that he can't follow. The lyrics also mention a murky relationship that's been shattered by a mysterious figure that's created a rift between the two protagonists.
As the track moves forward, Joaquín Sabina delves deeper into the history of the former princess, Barbi Superestar. She was a young model who had conquered the fashion scene across the islands, had a brief stint in front of the camera, and even performed stripping routines on Spanish television. However, her rise to stardom didn't last long, and she ended up living in squalor, stuck in a cycle of addiction and degradation. The lyrics are poignant, expressing the loss of hope and the desperation that comes with a broken dream.
Line by Line Meaning
Entre la cirrosis y la sobredosis
You are always in between cirrhosis and overdose
Andas siempre muñeca
You always walk around like a doll
Con tu sucia camisa
With your dirty shirt on
Y en lugar de sonrisa
And instead of a smile
Una especie de mueca
There's a sort of grimace
Cómo no imaginarte
How could I not think of you
Cómo no recordarte hace apenas dos años
How could I forget you from just two years ago
Cuando eras la princesa de la boca de fresa
When you were the princess of the strawberry-flavored mouth
Cuando tenías aún esa manera de hacerte daño
When you still had that way of hurting yourself
Ahora es demasiado tarde princesa
Now it's too late, princess
Búscate otro perro que te ladre princesa
Find another dog to bark at you, princess
Maldito sea el gurú
Damn the guru
Que levantó entre tú y yo un silencio oscuro
Who erected a dark silence between you and me
Del ya sólo sales para decirme Vale, déjame veinte duros
And you only come out to tell me, "Okay, give me twenty bucks"
Ya no te tengo miedo, nena
I'm not afraid of you anymore, baby
Pero no puedo seguirte en tu viaje
But I can't follow you on your journey
Cuántas veces hubiera dado la vida entera
How many times I would have given my whole life
Porque tú me pidieras llevarte el equipaje
If only you had asked me to carry your luggage
Tú que sembraste en todas
You who sowed in all
Las islas de la moda las flores de tu gracia
The islands of fashion the flowers of your grace
Cómo no ibas a verte
How could you not be seen
Envuelta en una muerte con asalto a farmacia
Wrapped in a death with a pharmacy robbery
Con qué ley condenarte
With what law to condemn you
Si somos juez y parte todos de tus andanzas
If we're all judge and jury of your actions
Sigue con tus movidas, reina,
Keep doing your thing, queen
Pero no pidas que me pase la vida pagándote fianzas
But don't expect me to spend my whole life paying your bail
Tenía los pies diminutos,
Your feet were tiny
Y unos ojos color verde marihuana,
And your eyes were green like marijuana
A los catorce fue la reina del instituto,
At fourteen, you were the queen of the school
El curso que repetí
The year that I repeated
Las del octavo derecha dijeron
The girls from eighth grade on the right said
Otra que sale rana
"Another that turns out bad"
Cuando en Crónicas Marcianas la vieron
When they saw you on Crónicas Marcianas
Haciendo streap-tease
Stripping
En sus quimeras de porcelanosa
In your Porcelanosa fantasies
Conquistaba a Al Pacino,
Conquering Al Pacino
Los del Rayo no éramos gran cosa
"We of Rayo weren't much"
Para su merced,
For Her Highness
Si la chiquita de Mariquita Pérez
If little Mariquita Pérez had a good godfather
Tuviera un buen padrino,
She had a good godfather
Los productores, que saben de mujeres,
The producers who know about women
Le darían un papel.
Would give her a role
Pezón de fresa, lengua de caramelo,
"Strawberry nipple, candy tongue"
Corazón de bromuro,
"Heart of bromide"
Supervedette, puta de lujo, modelo,
"Superstar, luxury whore, model"
Estrella de culebrón,
"Soap opera star"
Había futuro en la pupilas hambrientas
There was a future in the hungry eyes
De los hombres maduros,
Of mature men
Enamorarse un poco más de la cuenta
Falling in love a little too much
Era una mala inversión
Was a bad investment
Debutó de fulana de tal
Debuted as a certain someone
En un vil melodrama,
In a cheap melodrama
Con sus veinte minutos de fama
With her twenty minutes of fame
Retiró a su mamá,
Retired her mom
El guión le exigía cada vez más
The script demanded more and more
Escenas de cama,
Bedroom scenes
Todavía por Vallecas la llaman:
They still call you Barbi Superstar in Vallecas
Barbi Superstar
Barbi Superstar
La noche antes de la noche de bodas
The night before the wedding night
Arrojó la toalla,
She threw in the towel
El novio, con un frac pasado de moda,
The groom, in an outdated suit
Enviudó ante el altar,
Became a widower at the altar
Mientras Barbi levitaba en la Harley
While Barbi levitated on the Harley
De un chulo de playa
From a pimp on the beach
Que entre el Tarot, Corto Maltés y Bob Marley,
Who, between Tarot, Corto Maltés, and Bob Marley
Le propuso abortar
Suggested to her to have an abortion
Al infierno se va por atajos,
We go to hell by shortcuts
Jeringas, recetas
Syringes, prescriptions
Ayer, hecha un pingajo
Yesterday, a mess
Me dijo en el tigre de un bar
She told me in a rundown bar
¿Dónde está la canción que me hiciste
"Where's the song you wrote for me"
Cuando eras poeta?
When you were a poet?
Terminaba tan triste
Ending up so sad
Que nunca la pude empezar
That I never could start
Por esos labios, que sabían a puchero
Because of those lips that tasted like stew
De pensiones inmundas,
Of filthy pensions
Habría matado yo, que cuando me muero
I would have killed, even when I die
Ya nunca es por amor
It's never for love anymore
Se masticaba en los billares que el Rayo
It was chewed on in the Rayo pool halls
Había bajado a segunda,
After being relegated to the second league
Por la M-30 derrapaba el caballo
The horse skidded on the M-30
De la desilusión
Of disillusionment
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOAQIN RAMON MARTINEZ SABINA, JUAN ANTONIO RODRIGU SANCHEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind