Song: L'home número 12
Written by: Jaume Pla
Artist: Mazoni
Album: Fins que la mort ens separi (2011)
"Man number 12"
Man number 12 has decided to end his life
He gets in his car to take it to a railway track.
It's a beautiful day but he doesn't notice
He's got more important things to think about
As the last soldier of common sense falls
Man number 12 gets on the highway going south
The sound of the radio accompanies him during the news
He doesn't care about the contents, just the sound and the voice
He believes in more important things that no one believes
As the last soldier of common sense falls
Man number 13 sings along to Mishima
And the singer distracts him and he gets on the highway going the wrong way
The horns play contemporary symphonies
And the voice of David [Carabén, vocalist of Mishima] takes on a different color
Man number 12 sees him coming and can't believe it
At the last minute he avoids him when the crash seems inevitable
His legs are shaking and and his heart is going faster than the car
He lets go all the insults he's got
A suicide cursing a false suicide
Despite everything, two hours later, number 12 lays down on the tracks
The desire to kill himself and the survival instinct are compatible
And number 13 blesses his good luck
And a few years from now won't remember that he came close to dying
Oh lai la, that's how it goes!
Monday, September 26, 2011
"Icebergs i guèisers" - Antònia Font
Song: Icebergs i guèisers
Written by: Joan Miquel Oliver
Artist: Antònia Font
Album: Lamparetes (2011)
Note: This song presents some translation ambiguities. I have translated "jo l'enyor" as "I miss her" on the basis of an interview in the July 2011 Enderrock in which the songwriter states that he imagines the character in the song as having a woman waiting for him in another country.
"Icebergs and geysers"
Written by: Joan Miquel Oliver
Artist: Antònia Font
Album: Lamparetes (2011)
Note: This song presents some translation ambiguities. I have translated "jo l'enyor" as "I miss her" on the basis of an interview in the July 2011 Enderrock in which the songwriter states that he imagines the character in the song as having a woman waiting for him in another country.
"Icebergs and geysers"
I miss her like centuries of solitary glaciers
sinking millimeters into the ocean (icebergs),
long before human beings inhabited the earth,
there was no one to look at them, just crustaceans and seaweed (icebergs).
I miss her like the Titanic, as if they'd cut off my balls,
a thousand stampeding elephants that take away my life.
I'm before the gates of hell,
I don't care about the infinite sea navigating in the dark,
I'm at the gates of hell for you and I have plans for the future.
I miss her like centuries of solitary glaciers
sinking millimeters into the ocean (geysers),
a piano falling from the Empire State (Building),
it was dumb and blonde, according to the boy, the toy.
I'm before the gates of hell,
petroleum platforms with enormous diameters,
I'm at the gates of hell for you and I have plans for the future.
I'm before the gates of hell,
surrounded by flames rising high in the shadows,
I'm at the gates of hell for you and I have plans for the future.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
"Jean-Luc" - Els Amics de les Arts
Song: Jean-Luc
Artist: Els Amics de les Arts
Album: Bed & Breakfast (2009)
We saw each other one summer night during a special series
of French cinema outdoors
My plan was to return home early but finally
everything drew out
and the two of us decided to go out for some fun.
It got late on us.
She said: "Don't get your car, if you want you can stay over.
In my apartment I've got a room just for guests.
I'm leaving a bedspread for you
Not for now, but later it gets really cold, you'll see.
If you're hungry or want water, help yourself,
You can do as if you were at home."
The way in which she said goodnight and winked was
easy to misinterpret.
I predicted a night for the ages,
climb a peak, do 8.000 metres,
do something difficult to equal.
But nothing was happening there,
just that silence
broken by my bed base.
Maybe I wasn't her type,
it was best not to do anything.
And on a far wall,
printed in black and white,
there was a poster of Godard.
Maybe he'd tell me,
because my head was spinning.
Oh Jean-Luc, oh Jean-Luc
I want to understand, but I can't.
He said that in cases like this one
it wasn't about being better-looking or uglier,
but rather having to conviction to do it.
I told him, "Yeah, but if I go there and she doesn't want to, then what? Then everything ends up a being a great bore".
He invited me to smoke
and in a long-take, a masterly phrase:
"A woman is a woman,
don't worry, it doesn't matter".
In the morning we had breakfast,
I didn't even look at her and when it was time to leave
she gave me a kiss that I'm still not sure how to interpret.
Oh Jean-Luc, oh Jean-Luc, I want to understand but I can't.
Artist: Els Amics de les Arts
Album: Bed & Breakfast (2009)
We saw each other one summer night during a special series
of French cinema outdoors
My plan was to return home early but finally
everything drew out
and the two of us decided to go out for some fun.
It got late on us.
She said: "Don't get your car, if you want you can stay over.
In my apartment I've got a room just for guests.
I'm leaving a bedspread for you
Not for now, but later it gets really cold, you'll see.
If you're hungry or want water, help yourself,
You can do as if you were at home."
The way in which she said goodnight and winked was
easy to misinterpret.
I predicted a night for the ages,
climb a peak, do 8.000 metres,
do something difficult to equal.
But nothing was happening there,
just that silence
broken by my bed base.
Maybe I wasn't her type,
it was best not to do anything.
And on a far wall,
printed in black and white,
there was a poster of Godard.
Maybe he'd tell me,
because my head was spinning.
Oh Jean-Luc, oh Jean-Luc
I want to understand, but I can't.
He said that in cases like this one
it wasn't about being better-looking or uglier,
but rather having to conviction to do it.
I told him, "Yeah, but if I go there and she doesn't want to, then what? Then everything ends up a being a great bore".
He invited me to smoke
and in a long-take, a masterly phrase:
"A woman is a woman,
don't worry, it doesn't matter".
In the morning we had breakfast,
I didn't even look at her and when it was time to leave
she gave me a kiss that I'm still not sure how to interpret.
Oh Jean-Luc, oh Jean-Luc, I want to understand but I can't.
"Les meves ex i tu" - Els Amics de les Arts
Song: Les meves ex i tu
Artist: Els Amics de les Arts
Album: Bed & Breakfast (2009)
"My Exes and You"
Let me think,
how can I say this to you, let me think.
We need to talk,
let's get coffee, we need to talk.
I have to explain to you
that an American study
has found
that love only lasts so long.
And for those who likes statistics,
it says that 100% of this mysticism
ends up evaporating.
My exes and you
have so much in common
that, thinking about it frankly,
there is no difference between you,
and, thinking about it frankly,
maybe you'd all get along well,
you all provoke the same reaction in me.
Don't cry.
I'm doing it for you,
let it be clear that I'm doing it
for you.
Always for you.
Now I'll feel really crappy,
difficult days are coming,
but, well, I'll recover.
You, look for someone who understands,
I'll look for someone understandable,
and surely it won't be so bad for us.
My exes and you
have so much in common
that, thinking about it frankly,
there is no difference between you,
and, thinking about it frankly,
you all provoke the same reaction in me.
You live in lolli-land.
My exes and you,
maybe you'd all get along well,
or super well.
Artist: Els Amics de les Arts
Album: Bed & Breakfast (2009)
"My Exes and You"
Let me think,
how can I say this to you, let me think.
We need to talk,
let's get coffee, we need to talk.
I have to explain to you
that an American study
has found
that love only lasts so long.
And for those who likes statistics,
it says that 100% of this mysticism
ends up evaporating.
My exes and you
have so much in common
that, thinking about it frankly,
there is no difference between you,
and, thinking about it frankly,
maybe you'd all get along well,
you all provoke the same reaction in me.
Don't cry.
I'm doing it for you,
let it be clear that I'm doing it
for you.
Always for you.
Now I'll feel really crappy,
difficult days are coming,
but, well, I'll recover.
You, look for someone who understands,
I'll look for someone understandable,
and surely it won't be so bad for us.
My exes and you
have so much in common
that, thinking about it frankly,
there is no difference between you,
and, thinking about it frankly,
you all provoke the same reaction in me.
You live in lolli-land.
My exes and you,
maybe you'd all get along well,
or super well.
"Wa yeah!" - Antònia Font
Song: Wa yeah!
Written by: Joan Miquel Oliver
Artist: Antònia Font
Album: Batiscafo Katiuscas (2006)
I sing the the moon and the star
the jungle and the lively forest
the train, the boat, the small plane
and your submarine parked here
I sing the coffee and the biscuit when you say "you could be mine"
how sexy, how sweet, and how cold, oh yeah!
the zebra that goes through a stoplight
and how to dismantle a bidet
cosmetics and Margaret Astor
I already know how to spell "Juliette"!
I sing the rose and the cactus
and many more things, too
a pencil from IKEA, a pistachio, oh yeah!
How amusing,
the things I write when I'm bored,
for example your body,
the faded sweater,
the street white with sun,
my body on top of,
for example, your bed
of semidarkness and sheets
with the thermos broken,
for example, asleep.
I sing the the moon and the star
the jungle and the lively forest
the train, the boat, the small plane
and your submarine parked here
I sing the red fruit
and when I finish I'll laugh
toads, lilypads, princesses, oh yeah!
Written by: Joan Miquel Oliver
Artist: Antònia Font
Album: Batiscafo Katiuscas (2006)
I sing the the moon and the star
the jungle and the lively forest
the train, the boat, the small plane
and your submarine parked here
I sing the coffee and the biscuit when you say "you could be mine"
how sexy, how sweet, and how cold, oh yeah!
the zebra that goes through a stoplight
and how to dismantle a bidet
cosmetics and Margaret Astor
I already know how to spell "Juliette"!
I sing the rose and the cactus
and many more things, too
a pencil from IKEA, a pistachio, oh yeah!
How amusing,
the things I write when I'm bored,
for example your body,
the faded sweater,
the street white with sun,
my body on top of,
for example, your bed
of semidarkness and sheets
with the thermos broken,
for example, asleep.
I sing the the moon and the star
the jungle and the lively forest
the train, the boat, the small plane
and your submarine parked here
I sing the red fruit
and when I finish I'll laugh
toads, lilypads, princesses, oh yeah!
"Balearicu" - Oliva Trencada
Song title: Balearicu
Artist: Oliva Trencada
Album: La música de la calma (2007)
Note: this song refers to the football club Atlètic Balears, based in Palma. The club has never played in the first division.
You grew up in an neighborhood where the houses were made of paper. You played with the ball all day long in fields full of syringes. And you enjoyed yourself , and how you ran behind the ball!
You grew up to be a good footballer and Balears signed you at sixteen. For three years you did marvels, till one day you got them promoted to the first division. What a moment in the history of our football!
Now you've got offers from every team, many millions to play ball. And you don't want to play for a big team; you want to make your neighborhood team great. It will be an honor to make Atlètic Balears champion.
Artist: Oliva Trencada
Album: La música de la calma (2007)
Note: this song refers to the football club Atlètic Balears, based in Palma. The club has never played in the first division.
You grew up in an neighborhood where the houses were made of paper. You played with the ball all day long in fields full of syringes. And you enjoyed yourself , and how you ran behind the ball!
You grew up to be a good footballer and Balears signed you at sixteen. For three years you did marvels, till one day you got them promoted to the first division. What a moment in the history of our football!
Now you've got offers from every team, many millions to play ball. And you don't want to play for a big team; you want to make your neighborhood team great. It will be an honor to make Atlètic Balears champion.
"La cançó del soldadet" - Manel
Song title: La cançó del soldadet
Artist: Manel
Album: 10 milles per veure una bona armadura (2011)
"The Song of the Little Soldier"
Listen to the song of the little soldier who, through a bull's eye,
see swifts flying!
and it's not that he really understands much, the little soldier,
but, if swifts are flying,
it must mean that land is near.
So near that the captain comes down
and he tries not the seem nervious
as he finishes the instructions:
"Concentrate, little soldiers, be prudent
and cling to life
with tooth and nail".
Now on deck, the men pray.
Now on deck, the men pray.
And the little solider says an unconvincing "amen",
and caresses his rifle,
trying not to think about anything
From the bow the hills grow large,
"little soldier, be brave, be brave,
the luck of the world depends on people like you".
But "if an enemy bullet crosses the wind
and passes through my brain,"
the little soldier thinks,
"the waves will carry me away
and a thousand colored fish
will fight to eat my flesh".
And that's when he thinks "I'll hide myself
when they're not watching, I'll hide myself"
But they're always watching, and the boat is coming to a stop,
the hatches have been opened
and, in a second, the sea is flooded
with soldiers firing into the infinite
with a little soldier in the middle,
who loads while insulting the enemy.
And between bombs everything is going well for him,
until one falls nearby.
First he thinks, "what luck, you've…"
but then he feels a strange pain in his back
and in touching it his arm comes away covered in blood.
He turns his head from side to side.
He sits on the sand and rests.
And while the medical stretcher arrives
he calms himself repeating
what he'll do, where he'll go, if he survives:
"I'll go to visit my mother wearing my best clothes
and, first of all, I'll have to ask her
to forgive me for always treating her like this.
I'll go see Margarida and make her a child
so that, just seeing him, I'll know
that I love him more than I love myself".
Artist: Manel
Album: 10 milles per veure una bona armadura (2011)
"The Song of the Little Soldier"
Listen to the song of the little soldier who, through a bull's eye,
see swifts flying!
and it's not that he really understands much, the little soldier,
but, if swifts are flying,
it must mean that land is near.
So near that the captain comes down
and he tries not the seem nervious
as he finishes the instructions:
"Concentrate, little soldiers, be prudent
and cling to life
with tooth and nail".
Now on deck, the men pray.
Now on deck, the men pray.
And the little solider says an unconvincing "amen",
and caresses his rifle,
trying not to think about anything
From the bow the hills grow large,
"little soldier, be brave, be brave,
the luck of the world depends on people like you".
But "if an enemy bullet crosses the wind
and passes through my brain,"
the little soldier thinks,
"the waves will carry me away
and a thousand colored fish
will fight to eat my flesh".
And that's when he thinks "I'll hide myself
when they're not watching, I'll hide myself"
But they're always watching, and the boat is coming to a stop,
the hatches have been opened
and, in a second, the sea is flooded
with soldiers firing into the infinite
with a little soldier in the middle,
who loads while insulting the enemy.
And between bombs everything is going well for him,
until one falls nearby.
First he thinks, "what luck, you've…"
but then he feels a strange pain in his back
and in touching it his arm comes away covered in blood.
He turns his head from side to side.
He sits on the sand and rests.
And while the medical stretcher arrives
he calms himself repeating
what he'll do, where he'll go, if he survives:
"I'll go to visit my mother wearing my best clothes
and, first of all, I'll have to ask her
to forgive me for always treating her like this.
I'll go see Margarida and make her a child
so that, just seeing him, I'll know
that I love him more than I love myself".
"Je t'aime" - Anna Roig i l'Ombre de Ton Chien
Song title: Je t'aime
Written by: Anna Roig
Artist: Anna Roig i l'Ombre de Ton Chien
Album: Anna Roig i l'Ombre de Ton Chien (2009)
Je t'aime, I tell you in French,
if you want, you can pretend not to have understood me.
Je t'aime, I tell you, but you already know,
you know everything that goes on in my head.
Je t'aime, and I know you me,
I see it in your eyes, I save you having to say it.
Je t'aime, and this makes me happy,
knowing that what I feel for you
you feel for me too.
Je t'aime, et oui je t'aime,
et oui tu m'aimes,
il est heureux, les amoreux
pendant que tu me regardes silencieux
Written by: Anna Roig
Artist: Anna Roig i l'Ombre de Ton Chien
Album: Anna Roig i l'Ombre de Ton Chien (2009)
Je t'aime, I tell you in French,
if you want, you can pretend not to have understood me.
Je t'aime, I tell you, but you already know,
you know everything that goes on in my head.
Je t'aime, and I know you me,
I see it in your eyes, I save you having to say it.
Je t'aime, and this makes me happy,
knowing that what I feel for you
you feel for me too.
Je t'aime, et oui je t'aime,
et oui tu m'aimes,
il est heureux, les amoreux
pendant que tu me regardes silencieux
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