Kassav' was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus, a long-time professional musician who worked with Freddy Marshall. Together, the two of them decided to take carnival music and make it a more modern and polished style. It was the leading band to emerge from the formative years of Zouk. They gave the style a pan-Caribbean sound by taking elements from kompa, salsa, and calypso, and became world famous. Their first album, Love and Ka Dance (1980), established the sound of zouk.
Kassav' continued to grow more popular, both as a group and with several members' solo careers, finally peaking in 1985 with Yélélé, which featured the international hit "Zouk la sé sèl médikaman nou ni" (meaning "Zouk is our only drug" in French Antillean Creole) With this hit, zouk rapidly became a widespread dance craze in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was popular in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Zouk performers became known for wildly theatrical concerts featuring special effects spectacles and colorful costumes.
Con Los Clavos Se Fué
Kassav' Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se llevo los clavos y se fue
Te quedan dos manos
Pa'llorar
Hay, hay, quiero trabajar
No quiero pensar
Te quedan dos manos
Pa' llorar
Hay, hay, quiero trabajar
Se fue, se fue
Con los clavos se fue
Carpintero, soy
Sin madera y sin clavos me quede
Te quedan dos manos
Pa' llorar
Hay, hay, quiero trabajar
Carpintero, soy
Se llevo los clavos y se fue
Te quedan dos manos
Pa' llorar
Hay, hay, quiero trabajar
The lyrics of Kassav's song "Con Los Clavos Se Fué" convey the frustration and despair of a carpenter who has been left without any means to work. The first line of the song reveals the singer's identity as a carpenter, and the subsequent line, "Se llevo los clavos y se fue," indicates that someone has taken the carpenter's nails and left him without the tools he needs to build or fix things. The chorus, "Te quedan dos manos/Pa'llorar/Hay, hay, quiero trabajar" translates to "You have two hands/To cry/Oh, I want to work," underscoring the carpenter's desperation and desire to be productive.
The second verse repeats the first, except that it adds the line "Sin madera y sin clavos me quedé," or "Without wood and without nails I stayed," which highlights the extent of the carpenter's predicament. The song's melancholic tone is reinforced by the repetition of the chorus and the final verse, which ends with the same line as the first, "Se llevo los clavos y se fue," creating a circular structure that emphasizes the carpenter's hopelessness.
Line by Line Meaning
Carpintero, soy
I am a carpenter
Se llevo los clavos y se fue
He took the nails and left
Te quedan dos manos
You have two hands
Pa'llorar
To cry
Hay, hay, quiero trabajar
Oh, oh, I want to work
No quiero pensar
I don't want to think
En las manos que va a clavar
About the hands that will drive the nails
Se fue, se fue
He left, he left
Con los clavos se fue
With the nails he left
Sin madera y sin clavos me quede
I am left without wood and without nails
Lyrics © SM PUBLISHING FRANCE, EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PIERRE EDOUARD DECIMUS, JACOB DESVARIEUX, ETIENNE RODA GIL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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