Manuel García (Arica, March 1, 1970) is a folk-pop Chilean singer-songwrite… Read Full Bio ↴Manuel García (Arica, March 1, 1970) is a folk-pop Chilean singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has won several awards and has twice received the Chilean National Music Prize, awarded by the Chilean Government (in 2008 and 2012).

Discography

Studio Albums:

2005 - Pánico
2008 - Témpera
2010 - S/T (Altazor Awards winner).
2012 - Acuario.

Piedras
Manuel García Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Piedras, piedras las piedras piedras las piedras
Están pensando en el pasado
Dicen que el hombre era antes un árbol
Que el pensamiento era tan solo un pájaro
Libre como tú Bello como tú libre como tú bello como tú
Piedras, piedras las piedras piedras las piedras
Están calladas siempre calladas
Pero en su silencio es como si hablaran

Y sujetan al mundo con manos blancas
Blancas como tú fijas como tú blancas
Como tú simples como tú
Piedras, piedras las piedras piedras las piedras
Están hablando como eras antes
Cuando el pueblo encendia su luz de tarde
Curso de la belleza de los diamantes
Raros como tu
Siemples como tu
Locos como tu

Bellos como tu
Piedras piedras las piedras piedras las piedras piedras las piedras...

Overall Meaning

The song "Piedras" by Manuel García is an ode to rocks, which the lyrics describe as "thinking about the past" and reckoning with the human experience. The opening lines repeat "Piedras, piedras las piedras piedras las piedras" over and over, grounding the listener in the titular subject matter. The lyrics then contemplate how humans and rocks share a similar history, claiming that "they say man was once a tree" and that "thought was just a bird, free like you, beautiful like you." Here, the singer is connecting the natural history of the earth, and man's place within it, with the stony ground beneath our feet.

Moving on, the lyrics describe how rocks are "always silent, but in their silence it's like they're speaking," and that they "hold up the world with white hands, white like you, steady like you, simple like you." The imagery evokes the power of nature and the world, and the steady, unchanging presence of rocks within it. The song comes to a close by invoking the beauty and rarity of diamonds, which nonetheless share a simplicity and a special kinship with rocks. All these lyrics combine to pay tribute to the power and endurance of rocks, and by extension to the natural world and the great forces that shape it.

Line by Line Meaning

Piedras, piedras las piedras piedras las piedras
The stones, so many stones.

Están pensando en el pasado
They're thinking about the past.

Dicen que el hombre era antes un árbol
They say that man was once a tree.

Que el pensamiento era tan solo un pájaro
That thought was just a bird.

Libre como tú Bello como tú libre como tú bello como tú
Free like you. Beautiful like you. Free like you. Beautiful like you.

Están calladas siempre calladas
They're always silent.

Pero en su silencio es como si hablaran
But in their silence it's like they speak.

Y sujetan al mundo con manos blancas
And they hold the world with white hands.

Blancas como tú fijas como tú blancas
White like you. Steady like you. White like you.

Como tú simples como tú
Like you, simple like you.

Están hablando como eras antes
They're speaking like you were before.