Sad song :(

Post Reply New Topic

Hello,

One of my favourite songs is from Simon and Garfunkel: El condor pasa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pey29CLID3I

I think it relates to autism.

I have tried to find the real meaning of the song, and I think the meaning of the song is this:
About a man suffering, and asking for help...

re: el condor pasa ["the condor passes"]
what I found-

"This song was once banned in the (old) Soviet Union. Re-read the lyrics and see the meaning of the comparisons-

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would

Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound

I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would


My oldest brother had pointed these out to me:
A snail, slow and stuck on the ground where-as a sparrow is fleet and free to fly where-ever it wants.
A hammer being the strength to build where-as a nail gets put into one place, never going anywhere else.
It also speaks of religious freedom ['a man gets tied up to the ground'] rather like being 'tied up to the cross'.
A forest than a street, where one can grow and expand rather be laid out and trampled upon continuously.
Reinforced by feeling 'the earth beneath my feet.'
Definitely the song is about freedom."

Yes, but it does not fit all the lyrics.

If you take everything literal, you could also explain:
a) nail is the underdog of the hammer
b) sparrow = freedrom, snail = slow/weak
c) Street is full of pain compared to the forest is safe and strong.

I think the song is about a man who is suffering, and the lyrics is also pointing to a man that is tied to the ground.
i think it has nothing to do with politics or something, just about suffering of a man.

in anycase, the USSR censors apparently thought the song was too political-sounding to pass.

Yes, true. But I think many songs about sad things or love didn't pass. Am I right? I don't know much of the censorring of songs and data, but I don't think Simon and Garfunkel have much songs about politics, they have many songs about sad things and people who are alone.

Last edited by engineerbiology on 12 Nov 2014, 8:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

the USSR censors blocked anything remotely political. also the "hammer and nail" imagery refers to authority and submission, IOW the Russian leaders versus the population, which would have been considered subversive. most of us would rather be the hammer than the nail, in any case, speaking figuratively. also, since paul simon was jewish he most likely was thinking of his jewish brethren in the soviet union who were historically oppressed and not free to leave, for the most part, hence the condor [freedom] passes [liberation] imagery. and the last stanza, he sings about not feeling the earth beneath his feet- paul simon previously wrote about reincarnation in his song "faking it" where he sings about a previous lifetime in Ireland as a tailor named mr. Leitch ["prior to this lifetime, I surely was a tailor, look at me... ('good morning, mr. leitch, have you had a busy day?') I own the tailor's face and hands, I AM the tailor's face and hands..."], as his own ancestor, another paul simon who indeed was a tailor [but in Vienna]. anyways, this last line may well be a reference to that earlier song and feeling, of living in modern times in glass and concrete above the ground, disconnected from the earth and from his past. just a guess here.

Last edited by auntblabby on 11 Nov 2014, 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pey29CLID3I[/youtube]
I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would

Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound

I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would

Sad and very very Aspie-Autistic
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qlBsMoqccw[/youtube]


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzqF_gBpS84[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLMbNoqc62U[/youtube]
"Preludio Saudade" by Agustín Pío Barrios Mangoré. I don't have the words to describe how emotional this piece is.
it is about a keening longing for things that one isn't even sure exist.

I think the last sentence (I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet) is not a reference to earlier songs, rather, to this part of the song:
"A man gets tied up to the ground "

When a person is tied up to the ground, he/she can't touch the ground beneath his/her feet.

I suspect that each stanza is expressing a different kind of longing. IOW the previous stanza covered liberty while the last stanza covered something more organic. just a thought.

PostPosted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 2:14 am Post subject:



I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would

He rather want to be free, instead of weak/slow.

He rather want to be the person who cause suffering, instead of be the sufferer.
The hammer hits the nail.

Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound

He is suffering, asking for help, but noone is helping him.
He even gives his saddest sound, but still he is ignored.

I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would

Forest is free, covered with a thick layer of trees. The street is not, open, not save, trapped on with feet and other things.

Referring to being tied up to the ground, and unable to touch the ground with his feets.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnjmXYXDoGI[/youtube]

here's a pretty absurdly sad song by absurdly talented and underrated Tiny Tim

god bless tiny tim

Tiny Tim I can't remember the last time I heard that name.

how 'bout "miss Vickie"?