In 1982, three guys from Concepción, Álvaro Henríquez, Roberto Titae Lindl, and Pancho Molina started a band called Los Dick Stones, whose set list was based on songs by Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Gene Vincent. They quickly became very popular in universities, bars, and peñas around the southern city of Concepción. Given their ambition to achieve success in the Chilean mainstream, they decided to move to the capital city of Santiago and changed their name to Los Tres. In 1988 Ángel Parra joined the band and even though Los Tres is Spanish for "the three", they decided to keep the name.
During years when culture and art began to rise again -after the cultural and night life had been reduced for almost 20 years due to the military regime that had ruled Chile since 1973-, the times were right for their music to develop and their popularity to grow. They recorded 9 albums during their first stage together, from 1982 until 2000.
In 2000 the band went into an indefinite break and its members continued their musical careers in personal projects.
On 2006 Los Tres, with the exception of Pancho Molina, announced their reunion including a show in May, the festival Vive Latino in Mexico City, and a show in Santiago de Chile. The first single Camino was already released. Their tenth album (Hágalo usted mismo) was a result of this reunion. The band is still together.
Antes
Los Tres Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ahora soy
Antes no era antes
Ahora es hoy
Ahora soy un lastre
De profesión
Duermo en un catre
Como Antes
Más que Antes
Como Ayer
Antes mi cabeza
Era un melón
Podrido antes de tiempo
Fuera de estación
Ahora soy un lastre
De profesión
Duermo en un catre
Sin protección
Como Antes
Más que Antes
Como Ayer
Antes
Yo era tu hijo
Ahora
Tú eres mi Padre
Antes, antes
Yo era tu hijo
Ahora
Tú eres mi Padre
Como Antes
Más que Antes
Como Ayer
Los Tres's song "Antes" speaks about the changes that life brings about, how people evolve over time, and how things that were once important may not be so important in the present. The opening lines, "Antes yo no era / Ahora soy / Antes no era antes / Ahora es hoy" talks about the journey of an individual from past to present and the transformations that they have undergone.
The singer describes himself as a "lastre" which means a burden, and he is a professional burden of sorts, sleeping on a cot without protection. This may be speaking to how society sometimes throws people away who don't fit in or who may be struggling with mental health or addiction issues. The line "Como Antes / Más que Antes / Como Ayer" reiterates the theme of the song- the comparison of the person that was "antes" and is now "como antes" and how they reflect on these changes.
The second verse speaks about the singer's mental state before he was transformed. He describes his head as a "rotten melon" that was out of season. This could refer to the fact that his thoughts and ideas were not in harmony with the times, and he may have found it difficult to fit into the world around him. But the juxtaposition of the past vs. present shows how he has moved on and progressed to the point where he is now someone's father.
Line by Line Meaning
Antes yo no era
I did not exist before
Ahora soy
Now I am present
Antes no era antes
Before was a time that did not exist before
Ahora es hoy
Now is today
Ahora soy un lastre
Now I am a burden
De profesión
By profession
Duermo en un catre
I sleep on a cot
Sin protección
Without protection
Como Antes
Like before
Más que Antes
More than before
Como Ayer
Like yesterday
Antes mi cabeza
Before, my head
Era un melón
Was a melon
Podrido antes de tiempo
Rotten before its time
Fuera de estación
Out of season
Antes
Before
Yo era tu hijo
I was your son
Ahora
Now
Tú eres mi Padre
You are my father
Antes, antes
Before, before
Yo era tu hijo
I was your son
Ahora
Now
Tú eres mi Padre
You are my father
Contributed by Callie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.