Contrasting with the backwards and authoritarian government of General Juan Carlos Onganía, Argentina and specially Buenos Aires were undergoing a cultural blossoming, based on new art expressions; the new generation, the sons of the middle class, was immersed in an effervescence that would not reappear in Argentina until 1983. Spinetta was part and later an exponent of that blossoming and rebellious youth that would express itself both through the arms and the arts. Spinetta devoted fully to the latter path, although he briefly became involved with left-wing political movements.
It was 1969 and his band, Almendra, recorded their first album. The band started recording and playing intensely and it became successful almost overnight. Almendra composed its own songs and the lyrics were in Spanish (something radically new). The subtlety and beauty of their sound would be one of the milestones (maybe the first) of Argentine rock. After two albums that enjoyed radio diffusion and deserved fame, the band split. Spinetta composed and recorded a new solo album, but an inadequate environment (he would later say that the mood of Argentine rock and rockers of those times were too "heavy" and negative for him) and the vast changes that success effected on his life made him leave the country.
After a lengthy stay in Europe, he returned to Argentina and formed a new band: Pescado Rabioso. It was destined to be as mythical as Almendra. With a far more powerful sound and expressing the tension in the streets of an increasingly violent Argentina, Pescado recorded its first album in 1972. It was both a continuation of the creative stream of Spinetta and a drastic change in the style of his music and lyrics. The band recorded a second album; although a third one carried its name, Pescado was by then dissolved; Artaud, recorded in 1973 and mostly a solo album by Spinetta, was a major breakthrough. Partly based on the writings of Antonin Artaud, Spinetta exorcised many of the demons of his past in this album. This process would open the door to a new era in his music.
In 1974 he formed a new band, Invisible. With his new band he recorded three albums; Invisible I, Durazno Sangrando (together with Artaud, hailed as his best album ever), and El Jardín De Los Presentes. With Invisible, he left the powerful and rough sound of Pescado; the new tunes were more harmonic, soft and mellow, yet his work remained essential and revolutionary. Following this line, he embarked on a solo project, A 18' del Sol, after dissolving Invisible in 1976-77. By then, ten years later after starting his career, his style had became a delicate amalgam of old and new; the old pop and (proto) heavy rock had merged with various elements of jazz and bossa nova. That unique flavour would become his style during the next half decade.
After recording and editing a failed album in the United States in 1979 (the only album that Spinetta lamented ever doing), with lyrics in English and destined to the US market, Spinetta returns to Argentina and starts a prolific era: he would record two albums with a short-lived Almendra Revival (one with original songs and the other live), and embark on a new project: Spinetta Jade.
Spinetta Jade would prove to be a successful and innovative band; Spinetta was joined by some of the greatest Argentinan musicians of those and all times to help him build the new sound he was building since Invisible. The product: a blend of jazz and rock that was unseen in Argentina and that escaped the boom of symphonic rock that reached both the world and Argentina in the early 1980s. These four albums, Alma de Diamante (1980), Los Niños que Escriben en el Cielo (1981), Bajo Belgrano (a homage to the neighbourhood where he grew up, 1983) and the unforgettable Madre en Años Luz (1984), represent a defined style as well as the footprints of Spinetta´s evolution. Towards the last two albums, the sound became a little bit more "pop", and embedded with electronic elements (samplers and synthesisers with "artificial" textures). Something worth remarking: the overpowering influence and fame of Spinetta in the Argentinian rock world was only equalled by that of Charly García. Many fans and critics shared the feeling that the two musicians represented antagonistic styles and values. To show otherwise, Spinetta and Charly (with their respective bands at the moment, Jade and Serú Giran) joined efforts and gave what was probably the most important show in the history of Argentine Rock.
Dissolving Spinetta Jade in 1984, Spinetta shortly engaged in an album to be made together with Charly; yet, this would-be mythical work was abandoned. Of this interrupted work, two songs remained: "Rezo por Vos" and "Total Interferencia".
By 1982, Spinetta had restarted his solo projects, and from then on would never leave them. Kamikaze (1982) puts together a number of previously unreleased songs (one gem is a very old song he composed in 1965 called "Barro Tal Vez"). In Mondo Di Cromo (1983) Spinetta prefigures the style of his solo projects during the second half of the 1980s. His new production, from 1986 to 1993, would include four solo albums (Privé (1986), Téster de Violencia (1988), Don Lucero (1989), Pelusón of Milk (1991)), a joint album with Fito Páez, another giant of Rock Nacional (Sólo la la la (1986)), and the soundtrack of the movie "Fuego Gris" (named after the film, 1993). It is hard to describe this collection of wide albums with a single adjective. The style, the sound, the themes that Spinetta picks and uses with the dexterity of a veteran musician are broad enough to encompass rock, pop, some tango, jazz and bossa; they all sound 1980s like; they all sound Argentinian and reflect the difficult years of the new democracy (1983 onwards) and the contemporary thought about Argentina that is being made. Hope and failure, they are covered with the Porteño melancholy maybe more than Spinetta´s previous work.
After a long silence, produced mainly by Spinetta´s conflicts with the recording companies, he finally opens a new period in his music with his new band: Spinetta y los Socios del Desierto. Three years (1997-1999) and four albums later, Spinetta had created yet another legend in Argentinian rock. Two studio albums, the double Socios del Desierto (1997) and Los Ojos (1999) would bring along a new sound, much more dry and 1990s sounding. The band made an MTV Unplugged, Estrelicia (1998), that because of its softness and acoustic nature, wildly contrasts with their live album, San Cristóforo (1998). As Spinetta said at the beginning of the first concert, "Fans de lo acústico, abstenerse" ("Fans of acoustic music, refrain"). The speed and roughness of the sound recalls Pescado´s sound. Also, in 1998, Spinetta chose the featured songs and artwork of a Greatest Hits album called Elija y Gane, edited the same year.
The band dissolved quietly towards the end of 1999. Spinetta started a solo era that spawns until the present. Silver Sorgo (2001), Obras en Vivo (2002), a live album, and Para Los Árboles (2003) combine maturity with boldness. The changing and mostly tragic landscape of current Argentina powerfully affects the background of these works. In them, Spinetta has showed that his creative flame is anywhere but near of being extinguished.
On 23 December 2011 he published on the Twitter account of his son Dante that he was facing lung cancer. He died on February 8, 2012 in his native Argentina, at the age of 62. His ashes were scattered in the waters of the Río de la Plata, according to his last wish, next to the Memory Park built to remember the desaparecidos of the National Reorganization Process.
Cantata De Puentes Amarillos
Luis Alberto Spinetta Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Todo puede andar...
Con esta sangre alrededor
no sé que puedo yo mirar
la sangre ríe idiota
como esta canción
¿ante qué?
Relojes se pudren en sus mentes ya
y en el mar naufragó
una balsa que nunca zarpó
mar aquí, mar allá
En un momento vas a ver
que ya es la hora de volver
pero trayendo a casa todo aquél
fulgor
¿y para quién?
Las almas repudian todo encierro
las cruces dejaron de llover
sube al taxi, nena
los hombres te miran
te quieren tomar
ojo el ramo, nena
las flores se caen, tienes que parar
Ví las sonrisas muriendo en el
carrousell
Vi tantos monos, nidos, platos de
café
platos de café, ah
Guarda el hilo, nena
guarden bien tus manos
esta libertad
ya no poses, nena
todo eso es en vano
como no dormir
Aunque me fuercen yo nunca voy a decir
que todo tiempo por pasado fue mejor
mañana es mejor
Aquellas sombras del camino azul
¿dónde están?
yo las comparo con cipreses que ví
sólo en sueños
y las muñecas tan sangrantes
están de llorar
y te amo tanto que no puedo
despertarme sin amar
y te amo tanto que no puedo
despertarme sin amar
¡No! nunca la abandones
¡No! puentes amarillos
Mira el pájaro, se muere en su jaula
¡No! nunca la abandones
Puentes amarillos, se muere en su jaula
Mira el pájaro, puentes amarillos
Hoy te amo ya
y ya es mañana
Mañana
Mañana
Mañana
The lyrics of Cantata De Puentes Amarillos by Luis Alberto Spinetta are full of vivid and symbolic imagery that explore themes of freedom, oppression, and the desire for change. The first stanza speaks to the possibility of change and progress, but also the difficulty in facing a reality that may be difficult to confront. The second stanza highlights the corrupting influences of power and the decay of institutions that are meant to govern and protect. The third stanza explores the pain of those who are trapped and oppressed, and the need to fight against injustice. The fourth stanza depicts a scene in which a woman is objectified and threatened by men, but ultimately asserts her own agency. The final stanza is a hopeful declaration of love and a call to action, urging the listener to never give up and to keep fighting for change.
Throughout the song, Spinetta uses vivid and powerful language to convey his message. The image of the "sangre idiota" (idiotic blood) that "ríe" (laughs) is particularly striking, as is the depiction of a bird dying in its cage. The use of repetition in the final stanza ("mañana es mejor / mañana / mañana / mañana") emphasizes the importance of perseverance and the belief that things can get better.
Overall, Cantata De Puentes Amarillos is a powerful and poetic commentary on the social and political issues of Spinetta's time, but its themes of freedom, justice, and love remain relevant today.
Line by Line Meaning
Todo camino puede andar
Any path can be taken
Todo puede andar...
Anything can work out
Con esta sangre alrededor
With blood all around
no sé qué puedo yo mirar
I don't know what I can look at
la sangre ríe idiota
The blood laughs foolishly
como esta canción
Like this song
¿ante qué?
Before what?
Ensucien sus manos como siempre
Dirtying their hands as always
Relojes se pudren en sus mentes ya
Watches rot in their minds already
y en el mar naufragó
And in the sea it sank
una balsa que nunca zarpó
A raft that never sailed
mar aquí, mar allá
Sea here, sea there
En un momento vas a ver
In a moment you will see
que ya es la hora de volver
That it's already time to return
pero trayendo a casa todo aquél
But bringing back everything
fulgor
Radiance
¿y para quién?
And for whom?
Las almas repudian todo encierro
Spirits reject all confinement
las cruces dejaron de llover
The crosses stopped raining
sube al taxi, nena
Get in the taxi, girl
los hombres te miran
Men look at you
te quieren tomar
They want to take you
ojo el ramo, nena
Watch out for the bouquet, girl
las flores se caen, tienes que parar
The flowers are falling, you have to stop
Ví las sonrisas muriendo en el carrousell
I saw the smiles dying on the carousel
Vi tantos monos, nidos, platos de café
I saw so many monkeys, nests, coffee cups
platos de café, ah
Coffee cups, ah
Guarda el hilo, nena
Guard the thread, girl
guarden bien tus manos
Protect your hands well
esta libertad
This freedom
ya no poses, nena
Don't pretend anymore, girl
todo eso es en vano
All that is in vain
como no dormir
Like not being able to sleep
Aunque me fuercen yo nunca voy a decir
Even if they force me, I will never say
que todo tiempo por pasado fue mejor
That all past times were better
mañana es mejor
Tomorrow is better
Aquellas sombras del camino azul
Those shadows on the blue path
¿dónde están?
Where are they?
yo las comparo con cipreses que ví
I compare them to cypresses I saw
sólo en sueños
Only in dreams
y las muñecas tan sangrantes
And the dolls so bleeding
están de llorar
Are crying
y te amo tanto que no puedo
And I love you so much that I can't
despertarme sin amar
Wake up without loving
¡No! nunca la abandones
No! never abandon it
¡No! puentes amarillos
No! yellow bridges
Mira el pájaro, se muere en su jaula
Look at the bird, it's dying in its cage
¡No! nunca la abandones
No! never abandon it
Puentes amarillos, se muere en su jaula
Yellow bridges, dying in their cage
Mira el pájaro, puentes amarillos
Look at the bird, yellow bridges
Hoy te amo ya
Today I already love you
y ya es mañana
And it's already tomorrow
Mañana
Tomorrow
Mañana
Tomorrow
Contributed by Jasmine T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ange Bianchi
Todo camino puede andar,
todo puede andar...
Con esta sangre alrededor,
no sé que puedo yo mirar...
la sangre ríe idiota,
como esta canción,
y ¿ante quién?
Ensucien sus manos como siempre...
relojes se pudren en sus mentes ya...
y en el mar, naufragó...
una balsa que nunca zarpó...
mar aquí, mar allá...
En un momento vas a ver,
que ya es la hora de volver...
pero trayendo a casa,
todo aquel fulgor...
y ¿para quién?
Las almas repudian todo encierro...
las cruces dejaron de llover...
Sube al taxi nena...
los hombres te miran,
te quieren tomar...
Ojo el ramo nena...
las flores se caen,
tenés que parar...
Vi la sortija,
muriendo en el carrousell,
vi tantos monos, nidos,
platos de café,
platos de café...
Guarda el hilo nena...
guarden bien tus manos...
esta libertad...
Ya no poses nena,
todo eso es en vano,
como no dormir...
Aunque me fuercen,
yo nunca voy a decir,
que todo tiempo por pasado fue mejor...
¡mañana es mejor!
Aquellas sombras del camino azul...
¿dónde están?
Yo las comparo con cipreses que vi,
solo en sueños...
y las muñecas tan sangrantes están,
de llorar...
Yo te amo tanto,
que no puedo despertarme sin amar...
y te amo tanto,
que no puedo despertarme sin amar...
¡No! nunca la abandones, ¡no!
puentes amarillos,
mira el pájaro...
se muere en su jaula...
¡No! puentes amarillos,
se muere en su jaula...
mira el pájaro,
puentes amarillos...
hoy te amo ya,
y ya es mañana...
¡Mañana!
¡Mañana!
¡Mañana!
Juan Martin
Todo camino puede andar
Todo puede andar
Con esta sangre alrededor
No sé que puedo yo mirar
La sangre ríe idiota
Como esta canción
¿Y ante quién?
Ensucien sus manos como siempre
Relojes se pudren en sus mentes ya
Y en el mar naufragó
Una balsa que nunca zarpó
Mar aquí, mar allá
En un momento vas a ver
Que ya es la hora de volver
Pero trayendo a casa todo aquel furgor
¿Y para quién?
Las almas repudian todo encierro
Las cruzes dejaron de llover
Sube al taxi, nena
Los hombres te miran
Te quieren tomar
Ojo el ramo, nena
Las flores se caen
Tenes que parar
Vi la sortija muriendo en el carrousel
Vi tantos monos, nidos, platos de café
Platos de café, ah
Guarda el hilo, nena
Guarden bien tus manos
Esta libertad
Ya no posees, nena
Todo eso es en vano
Como no dormir
Aunque me fuerzen yo nunca voy a decir
Que todo el tiempo por pasado fue mejor
Mañana es mejor, ah
Aquellas sombras del camino azul
¿Dónde están?
Yo las comparo con cipreses que ví sólo en sueños
Y las muñecas tan sangrantes están de llorar
Yo te amo tanto que no puedo despertarme sin amar
Y te amo tanto que no puedo despertarme sin amar
Y te amo tanto que no puedo despertarme sin amar
No, nunca la abandones
No, puentes amarillos
Mira el pájaro, se muere en su jaula
No, nunca la abandones
Puentes amarillos
Se muere en su jaula, mira el pájaro
Puentes amarillos
Hoy te amo ya
Y ya es mañana
Mañana
Mañana
Mañana
Abraham C.
Seguro que lloro al escribir ésto.
Cada vez que escucho ésta canción me siento lleno de paz y amor, aprendo cada vez más a entenderla y aumenta mi disfrute.
Acabo de leer que el flaco se inspiró en Artaud que éste se inspiró en Van Gogh con una de sus obras de arte. El arte se transforma hasta llegar hasta ésta hermosísima Cantata. También que tenía tan sólo veintitrés años cuando la escribió!
PD. Spinetta es Dios y es un hecho, aún me falta mucho por aprender de El flaco.
Saludos y gracias por leerme, desde República Dominicana. 🇩🇴
Juan pablo Martinez
hoy paso algo que para mi fue hermoso
yo estaba cantando en voz baja mientras me preparaba un mate cocido y cuando canto:
Sube al taxi, nena
Los hombres te miran
Te quieren tomar
y mi viejo que iba a buscar algo a la heladera canto:
Ojo el ramo, nena
Las flores se caen
Tenes que parar
y cuando cerro la heladera me miro y tiro una sonrisa
Fue tremendo
Bruno 542
Este es el mejor tema del flaco, y el que diga lo contrario que venga que lo abrazo pq aguante el flaco, no hay que pelear por boludeces
nach9 03
Definicion de una persona con 500 iq
dashniano69
Toda la razon man no existe esa mierda de si algo es mejor que otro o no simplemente son obras de artes
Gabriel Ramirez
Este es el mejor comentario y el que diga lo contrario no entiende nada...
Oscar Rain
Este disco es oro puro, gracias flaco
Nati Rosellini
A mi me gustan muchos temas de él. Pero los dos que mas me gustan son seguir viviendo sin tu amor y bajan. Cuando las escucho me dan ganas de llorar. No se porque.
Marian mava
Yo descubrí al flaco gracias a mi hijo de 5 años que le gustó rezo x vos, de ahí el fue escuchando las demás. Hace 1 mes mi hijo se fue con dios, y hoy escucho al flaco como loca. Y gracias a mi hijo.
Ale Sab
Marian mava Que lindo regalito te dejó, y me imagino tantos recuerdos! A recordarlo de la mejor manera y no bajar los brazos!
Swimming
Te dejo un hermoso mensaje ahora ellos están juntos cantando
Vlad Dracul
Marian mava wowwwwwwwwwwwww mis condolencias amiga