"GRACIAS A LA VIDA" A LOVELY POEM AND SONG BY VIOLETA PARRA

WELCOME TO THIS POST!

SOME LOVELY FLOWER FOR MY READERS.

In Memory of Violeta Parra, an extraordinary Chilean artist.

 Click to enlarge

Source: Pixabay, Public Domain

Chileans are well known for their creativity. They are prolific at creating poetry and music that becomes popular, as well as developing the visual arts. 

Among all these artists, the Parra Family is justly famous. This large family has provided the arts with some internationally famous names, such as Nicanor Parra, known as the “anti-poet” and Violeta Parra, the musician and artist extraordinaire.

Violeta composed the well known song Gracias a la Vida, with its beautiful lyrics and a rather plaintive melody. 

It has been recorded by other well known figures, such as Joan Baez and Mercedes Sosa and in general is popular throughout Latin America.

The lyrics are ambiguous. They can be interpreted as a romantic tribute to life in general. However, many think Violeta intended it as a sort of suicide note. 

She shot herself soon after she finished composing it. She died in 1967.

MY FREE TRANSLATION OF THE LYRICS.

 THANK YOU, LIFE -  by VIOLETA PARRA

Thank you, Life, for giving me so much

You gave me two eyes and when I open them

I can distinguish between black and white

And the starry background of the sky above

And in the multitudes, the man I love.

Thank you, Life, for giving me so much

You gave me my hearing with all its power

To record, night and day, crickets and canaries

Hammers, turbines, barks, rain showers

And the tender voice of my beloved.

Thank you, Life, for giving me so much

You gave me sounds and the alphabet

And with it the words that I think and declaim

Mother, friend, brother and light illuminating

The route of the soul of the person I love.

Thank you, Life, for giving me so much

You gave me the steps of my tired feet

With them I walked through cities and puddles,

Beaches and deserts, mountains and plains

And your house, your street and your yard.

Thank you, Life, for giving me so much

You gave me my heart that pounds in its frame

When I see the fruits of the human brain,

When I see the good so distant from the wicked,

When I look into the depths of your bright eyes.

Thank you, Life, for giving me so much

You gave me laughter and you gave weeping,

So I can distinguish happiness from grief

The two substances that give shape to my song

And your song which is also the same song

And everyone’s song that is also my own song

Thank you, Life, for giving me so much.

THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS SONG INTERPRETED BY VIOLETA PARRA

FINAL THOUGHTS

I hope you have enjoyed this post. The content was chosen with admiration and love for an extraordinary artist who still provides us with the pleasure of enjoying her creative work and great sensitivity.

VIOLETA!

Click to enlarge

 Source: Pixabay, Public Domain

SPANISH VERSION 

(This Blog is Bilingual)

GRACIAS A LA VIDA – de VIOLETA PARRA, CHILE

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto

Me dio dos luceros que cuando los abro

Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco

Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado

Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo.

Gracias a la vida, que me hadado tanto

Me ha dado el oído que en todo su ancho

Graba noche y día grillos y canarios,

Martillos, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos,

Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado.

Gracias a la vida que me hadado tanto

Me hadado el sonido y el abecedario

Con él las palabras que pienso y declaro

Madre amigo hermano y luz alumbrando,

La ruta del alma del que estoy amando.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto

Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados

Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos,

Playas y desiertos montañas y llanos

Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio.

Gracias la a vida que me ha dado tanto

Me dio el corazón que agita su marco

Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano,

Cuando miro el bueno tan lejos del malo,

Cuando miro el fondo de tus ojos claros.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto

Me hadado la risa y me ha dado el llanto,

Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto

Los dos materiales que forman mi canto

Y el canto de ustedes que es el mismo canto

Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto.

PALABRAS FINALES

Espero les haya gustado este post. El tema fue escogido con sentimientos de admiración y amor por una artista extraordinaria que en el presente nos sigue regalando la felicidad de poder disfrutar de su creación artística y gran emotividad.

More about similar topics in a future post.   Más sobre temas similares en un próximo post.

How is your level of comprehension?    ¿Cómo está su nivel de comprensión?

© 2013  jveronr  (Joan Robertson)

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