Las 51 mejores letras de canciones en inglés

Hay canciones que destacan por su melodía, canciones que destacan por su ritmo, canciones que destacan por su técnica y las protagonistas de este top: las que destacan por su letra. Recopilamos en esta lista las letras más profundas, carismáticas, desgarradoras, aquellas en las que el artista desnuda su alma para mostrarnos su verdadero yo más allá de cualquier ego, esas que reflejan momentos históricos, canciones asociadas a algún movimiento cultural, o que reflejan el sentir de una época. Canciones que han trascendido principalmente por una letra llena de inspiración, y en inglés. No, no encontrarás canciones de Georgie Dann por aquí. Que lo disfrutes, y si hay alguna que quieras añadir, ponla en los comentarios 👌.

Y para quienes os estéis preguntando por qué 51, si 50 era un número tan redondo, pues bien, cuando terminé la lista me di cuenta de que me había olvidado de la atemporal «Stairway to heaven», y eso no podía ser. Así que hasta la próxima actualización, nos quedamos con las 51 mejores letras de canciones en inglés.

51. The winner takes it all (ABBA)

Os preguntaréis qué es lo que tuvo que pasar para que ABBA escribiese una canción triste. Pues pasó que en 1979, Björn y Agnetha se divorciaron, y Björn decidió plasmar la experiencia en esta canción. Aunque él mismo afirmaría que la canción en sí es ficción, su divorcio fue la principal inspiración de la canción.

I don’t wanna talk
About things we’ve gone through
Though it’s hurting me, now it’s history
I’ve played all my cards
And that’s what you’ve done, too
Nothing more to say, no more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser’s standing small
Beside the victory
That’s her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense, building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I’d be strong there
But I was a fool playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all (Takes it all)
The loser has to fall (Has to fall)
It’s simple and it’s plain (It seems plain)
Why should I complain? (Why complain)

But tell me, does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same when she calls your name?
Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say? Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide (They decide)
The likes of me abide (We abide)
Spectators of the show (Of the show)
Always staying low (Staying low)
The game is on again (On again)
A lover or a friend (Or a friend)
A big thing or a small (Big or small)
The winner takes it all (Takes it all)

I don’t wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand, you’ve come to shake my hand
I apologise
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense, no self-confidence

But you see, the winner takes it all
The winner takes it all

(So the winner)
(Takes it all)
(And the loser)
(Has to fall)
(Throw a dice)
(Cold as ice)
(Way down here)
(Someone dear)
(Takes it all)
(Has to fall)
(It seems plain)
(Why complain)

Autor: Björn
Álbum: Super Trouper
Año: 1980

50. Crime (Najwajean)

¿Una letra de Najwajean en este top? WTF!! Pues sí, y es que lo que me llama la atención de esta canción es de su elevada dósis de sensualidad, de erotismo en estado puro expresado de forma sutil e implícita. Su mensaje se podría resumir en un «Me pones» pero aderezado con un brillante uso de la lírica.

You lean on the edge of the bar
And you look at me
With such eyes and what if it’s a dream
You pass by me and say
Hello, your smile is like a little girl
Is this a crime
When you touch my hand
And I feel the sky

And I’m wondering if this a crime
When you passed behind
You touch my hips on the better sides
Laid out
And then I pass behind
And it’s a game they told me not to play
And then you kill my doubts saying, smile
And then you hold my hand strong
You get me, you take me, you break me
Oh what a sweet suicide

And I’m wondering if this a crime
When you see me smile
Yeah, wow
Oh, is this a crime
When I pass your side
With a little smile
I’m sorry but I’m dealing
Hmm

Then my eyes just said go on
And my back could feel the cold
Then you take off all my clothes
I was breathing laid in bed
And you take my legs, and you get inside
And I thought that life, couldn’t be so good
Oh my love, is this a new suicide
And I just wanna to know
Oh, it’s all, my strong little guy

And eh, oh
And this is
Baby this is, oh is this a crime
And I start to cry
Is this a crime
I’m in this eh, brother I say
Brother and lover
I gave enough to stay
I try to stay, into, into, into

Oh is this a crime
When you’re getting inside

Compuesta por: Carlos Jean / Najwa Nimri
Álbum: Till it breaks
Año: 2008

49. Let her go (Passenger)

«Let her go» es una balada que en mi opinión describe cómo es el amor de verdad para Michael (su autor), haciendo hincapié en que para que haya amor real, este tiene que ser libre y voluntario. «Solo sabes que la amas cuando la dejas ir» no necesariamente tendría que significar una ruptura, yo creo que refleja que el amor es verdadero cuando no hay sentimiento de posesión, cuando una persona, sabiendo que puede irse cuando quiera sin repercusiones, sigue contigo.

Well you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go…

Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you’ll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast
You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you’ll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies

But you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go

Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
‘Cause love comes slow and it goes so fast
Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
‘Cause you loved her too much and you dived too deep

Well you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go…

Oh, oh, woah, oh, oh
And you let her go
Oh, oh, woah, oh, oh
When you let her go
Whoa

‘Cause you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
‘Cause you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go…

Letrista: Michael David Rosenberg (Passenger)
Álbum: All the Little Lights
Año: 2012

48. Girls just wanna have fun (Cyndi Lauper)

Aquí tenemos otra letra con mucha miga. Según cuentan, la escribió Robert Hazard como respuesta a sus padres cuando le preguntaban por qué no se echaba novia. En este sentido, el mensaje original de la canción sería que las chicas no estaban por la labor de comprometerse ya que solo querían divertirse. La versión de Cyndi Lauper se interpretó en un sentido un poco diferente, siendo adoptada por el movimiento feminista como una canción que ejemplifica la liberación de la mujer, la reivindicación del derecho de las chicas a pasárselo bien sin ser juzgadas. Sea cual sea la interpretación, me parece una letra interesante.

I come home in the morning light
My mother says, «When you gonna live your life right?»
Oh momma dear, we’re not the fortunate ones
And girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun

The phone rings in the middle of the night
My father yells, «What you gonna do with your life?»
Oh daddy dear, you know you’re still number one
But girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have

That’s all they really want
Some fun
When the working day is done
Oh, girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun

Girls, they want, wanna have fun
Girls, wanna have

Some boys take a beautiful girl
And hide her away from the rest of the world
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun
Oh, girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have

That’s all they really want
Is some fun
When the working day is done
Oh, girls, they wanna have fun
Oh, girls just wanna have fun

Girls, they want, wanna have fun
Girls, wanna have

They just wanna, they just wanna
(Girls…)
[…]

Autor: Robert Hazard
Álbum: She’s So Unusual (Cyndi Lauper)
Año: 1983

47. Born to be wild (Steppenwolf)

Homenaje al mundo motero, no sin razón fue escogido como tema principal de la película «Easy rider». Pon en marcha tu motor y libera esas ansias de libertad.

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way

Yeah, darlin’, go and make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

I like smoke and lightnin’
Heavy metal thunder
Racing with the wind
And the feeling that I’m under

Yeah, darlin’, go and make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Like a true nature’s child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die
Born to be wild
Born to be wild

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Looking for adventure
In whatever comes our way

Yeah, darlin’, go and make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Like a true nature’s child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die
Born to be wild
Born to be wild

Autor: Mars Bonfire
Álbum: Steppenwolf
Año: 1968

46. If you tolerate this then your children will be next (Manic Street Preachers)

¿Una banda de Gales hablando sobre la Guerra Civil Española? Sí, aquí la tienes, y dejando para la posteridad un tema muy sonado en los años 90. El mensaje está bastante claro: a veces hay que luchar y coger las armas para salvar nuestro futuro y el de nuestros hijos. Y una frase/consejo brillante: Si toleras esto, tus hijos serán los siguientes.

The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists
Bullets for your brain today
But we’ll forget it all again
Monuments put from pen to paper
Turns me into a gutless wonder

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

Gravity keeps my head down
Or is it maybe shame
At being so young and being so vain
Holes in your head today
But I’m a pacifist
I’ve walked La Rambla
But not with real intent

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

And on the street tonight
An old man plays
With newspaper cuttings
Of his glory days

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

Autores: Moore / Bradfield / Wire
Álbum: This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours
Año: 1998

45. Heaven can wait (Gamma Ray)

El ex vocalista y guitarrista de Helloween dejó plasmado su optimismo y su capacidad para motivar en esta letra, capaz de levantar el ánimo a cualquiera. Letra sencilla y con un mensaje contundente: el cielo puede esperar.

Too many people, too much trouble
Too many problems in the morn
Another sunrise in the rubble
Another ship sunk by the storm

Some little angel tries to tell me that it’s over
It’s just a bad reflection from above
The load upon my shoulders
Makes me even stronger, even bolder
Oh, no, no, I haven’t had enough

Heaven can wait till another day
‘Cause there ain’t no reason to leave
The world is a stage where we all can play
Another fine reason to live
And heaven can wait, heaven can wait

Each day, a new reason to give up
Each day, another reason to sigh
A hundred thousand ways to live up
A hundred thousand ways to try

Hey, little angel, don’t you tell me that it’s over
You’re just a bad reflection from above
The load upon my shoulder
Gives me reasons to get older
Tell the boss I haven’t had enough

Heaven can wait till another day
‘Cause there ain’t no reason to leave
The world is a stage where we all can play
Another fine reason to live
And heaven can wait
Heaven can wait

Let it wait
Let it wait
Let it wait
Let it wait…

Our eyes are closed, but they should be open wide
Let’s listen to the voice that’s calling from inside
Let’s stay alive and move on, on our way
And heaven can wait, heaven can wait

Heaven—can wait
Heaven—can wait
Till another day
Heaven—can wait
Till another day
Heaven—can wait
Till another day
Heaven—can wait
Till another day

Autor: Kai Hansen
Álbum: Heading For Tomorrow
Año: 1990

44. Locomotive breath (Jethro Tull)

«Locomotive breath» es uno de los temas más populares de Jethro Tull, y por algo lo es. Es una letra de «acción», acompañada con un ritmo trepidante, en la que se nos habla de un maquinista que se dispone a sucidarse poniendo a toda velocidad la locomotora que dirige. La letra podría intrepretarse literalmente, o bien como una hipérbole de la despersonalización de la sociedad industrial moderna, en la que el piloto sería una parte de la máquina, que envejece mientras se dirige hacia su irremediable fin. La hipótesis de la metáfora cobra fuerza cuando dice que él es el «all time loser» (siempre perdedor), enfrentado al «all time winner» que lo tiene agarrado por las pelotas, o cuando dice que «El viejo Charlie le robó la manivela».

In the shuffling madness
Of the locomotive breath
Runs the all-time loser
Headlong to his death
He feels the piston scraping
Steam breaking on his brow

Old Charlie stole the handle
And the train it won’t stop going
No way to slow down
Oh-oh

He sees his children jumping off
At the stations – one by one
His woman and his best friend
In bed and having fun
He’s crawling down the corridor
On his hands and knees

Old Charlie stole the handle and
The train it won’t stop going
No way to slow down
Hey-hey

He hears the silence howling
Catches angels as they fall
And the all-time winner
Has got him by the balls
Oh, he picks up Gideon’s Bible
Open at page one

I said, God, he stole the handle and
The train it won’t stop goin’
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down
No way to slow down

Autor: Ian Anderson
Álbum: Aqualung
Año: 1971

43. Time (Pink Floyd)

Esta letra describe la situación de alguien que pierde el tiempo durante sus años de juventud (época en la que por lo general no se valora el tiempo que se tiene), y en algún momento de su vida se da cuenta de que se ha hecho mayor e intenta recuperar el tiempo perdido, pero aunque corra no hay nada que pueda frenar el inexorable paso del tiempo.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way
Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run, and you run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath, and one day closer to death
Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say

Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
And when I come home cold and tired
It’s good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells

Autor: Roger Waters
Álbum: The Dark Side of the Moon
Año: 1973

42. Enjoy the silence (Depeche Mode)

Letra intimista, centrada en las relaciones humanas. En mi opinión, refleja el daño que hacen las palabras, las enemistades que originan y el hecho de que lo que decimos nos compromete. «Las promesas son hechas para ser rotas / Las palabras son triviales […] Las palabras no tienen significado / Y son olvidables». Aprendamos pues a disfrutar del silencio.

Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can’t you understand
Oh my little girl

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Álbum: Violator
Año: 1990
Autor: Martin Gore

41. I want to know what love is (Foreigner)

Una baladita ochentera revelando los anhelos de amor de un alma adolescente, escrita por Mick Jones, el guitarrista. Según sus propias palabras, «He pasado por un montón de relaciones que fallaron, y aún sigo buscando algo que pueda durar de verdad». La canción refleja un sentimiento universal, una canción con la que cualquiera podríamos sentirnos identificados en algún momento de nuestra vida, tal vez por ello se convirtiera en una de las baladas más populares de la década de los ochenta. Y para darle un poco de espiritualidad, acompañan al estribillo final con un coro gospel. La relación que originó la canción fue la que tuvo con su pareja y futura esposa Ann Dexter-Jones.

I gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when I’m older
Oooh, woah-ooh

Now, this mountain I must climb
Feels like the world upon my shoulders
Through the clouds, I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder

In my life
There’s been heartache and pain
I don’t know
If I can face it again
Can’t stop now
I’ve travelled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me
Oooh, woah-ooh

I’m gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
I’ve got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me

In my life
There’s been heartache and pain
I don’t know
If I can face it again
Can’t stop now
I’ve travelled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
(And I wanna feel)
I wanna feel what love is
(And I know)
I know you can show me

Let’s talk about love
(I wanna know what love is)
The love that you feel inside
(I want you to show me)
I’m feeling so much love
(I wanna feel what love is)
No, you just cannot hide
(I know you can show me)

Yeah, woah-oh-ooh
I wanna know what love is
Let’s talk about love
(I want you to show me)
I wanna feel it
(I wanna feel what love is)
Oh, I wanna feel it, too
And I know, and I know
I know you can show me

Show me love is real, yeah, yeah
(I wanna know what love is)
Yeah, I wanna know, oh, oh
(I want you to show me)
I wanna know, I wanna know, wanna know
(I wanna feel what love is)
Yeah, I wanna feel
I know you can show me, yeah

Autores: Michael L. Jones
Álbum: Agent Provocateur
Año: 1984

40. Tender (Blur)

Esta letra la compusieron Damon Albarn y Graham Coxon tras la ruptura entre Albarn y Justine Frischmann, la entonces vocalista de Elastica, tras ocho años de relación. En la canción, Damon expresa el anhelo de un amor verdadero, como remedio para «sanar» su mente tras la ruptura.

Tender is the night
Lying by your side
Tender is the touch
Of someone that you love too much
Tender is the day
The demons go away
Lord, I need to find
Someone who can heal my mind

Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
That we have
I’m waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come

Oh, my baby
Oh, my baby
Oh, why?
Oh, my
Oh, my baby
Oh, my baby
Oh, why?
Oh, my

Tender is the ghost
The ghost I love the most
Hiding from the sun
Waiting for the night to come
Tender is my heart
I’m screwing up my life
Lord, I need to find
Someone who can heal my mind

Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
That we have
I’m waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come

Oh, my baby
Oh, my baby
Oh, why?
Oh, my
Oh, my baby
Oh, my baby
Oh, why?
Oh, my

Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
That we have
I’m waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come

Oh, my baby
Oh, my baby
Oh, why?
Oh, my
Oh, my baby
Oh, my baby
Oh, why?
Oh, my

Tender is the night
Lying by your side
Tender is the touch
Of someone that you love too much
Tender is my heart, you know
I’m screwing up my life
Oh, Lord, I need to find
Someone who can heal my mind

Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
Come on, come on, come on
Get through it
Come on, come on, come on
Love’s the greatest thing
That we have
I’m waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling
Waiting for that feeling to come

[…]

Autores: Damon Albarn y Graham Coxon
Álbum: 13
Año: 1999

39. Sweet dreams are made of this (Eurythmics)

En el libro titulado «Annie Lennox: The Biography», Lennox explica que esta canción trata sobre la búsqueda de realización, siendo los «dulces sueños» los deseos que nos motivan. «Todo el mundo está buscando algo», nada más lejos de la verdad. Trabajo, bienestar, trascendencia, las llaves de casa… nos pasamos la vida buscando cosas.

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something

Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something

Hold your head up
Keep your head up, movin’ on
Hold your head up, movin’ on
Keep your head up, movin’ on
Hold your head up, movin’ on
Keep your head up, movin’ on
Hold your head up, movin’ on
Keep your head up

Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I’ve traveled the world and the seven seas
Everybody’s lookin’ for something

Autores:Stewart David Allan / Lennox Ann
Álbum: Sweet Dreams
Año: 1983

38. Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen)

Concebida por muchos como canción patriótica, es realmente una sagaz crítica a la Guerra de Vietnam en la que habla del problemático regreso a casa de los veteranos de guerra. De hecho, su título original era «Vietnam» (seguramente, no hubiera tenido tanta repercusión con ese título).

Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just coverin’ up

Born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A
Born in the U.S.A

Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man

Born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says, «Son if it was up to me»
Went down to see my V.A. man
He said, «Son, don’t you understand»

I had a brother at Khe Sanh
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms now

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go

Born in the U.S.A
I was born in the U.S.A. now
Born in the U.S.A
I’m a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. now
Born in the U.S.A
Born in the U.S.A
Born in the U.S.A
I’m a cool rockin’ Daddy in the U.S.A. now

Álbum: Born in the USA
Año: 1984
Autor: Bruce Springsteen

37. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for (U2)

Otra canción con la que muchos nos podemos sentir identificados. Relata la búsqueda incansable de aquello que anhelamos, aquello que nos haga sentir realizados. Se puede decir que es la canción «firma» de U2.

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled
These city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you

But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire

I have spoken with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of the devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone

But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

I believe in the kingdom come
Then all the colors will
Bleed into one
Bleed into one
But, yes, I’m still running

You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
You carried the cross
And all my shame
All my shame
You know I believe it

But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

Autores: Clayton Adam / Evans David / Mullen Laurence / Hewson Paul David
Álbum: The Joshua Tree
Año: 1987

36. The beautiful people (Marilyn Manson)

En mi opinión, el mensaje de esta letra está bastante claro: la tendencia actual imperante del culto al físico, del valor que le damos a la belleza.

And I don’t want you and I don’t need you
Don’t bother to resist, or I’ll beat you
It’s not your fault that you’re always wrong
The weak ones are there to justify the strong
The beautiful people, the beautiful people
It’s all relative to the size of your steeple
You can’t see the forest for the trees
You can’t smell your own shit on your knees

There’s no time to discriminate
Hate every motherfucker
That’s in your way

Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it’s hard to be clean

The worms will live in every host
It’s hard to pick which one they eat the most
The horrible people, the horrible people
It’s as anatomic as the size of your steeple
Capitalism has made it this way
Old-fashioned fascism will take it away

Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it’s hard to be clean

There’s no time to discriminate
Hate every motherfucker
That’s in your way

The beautiful people
The beautiful people (ah…)
The beautiful people
The beautiful people (ah…)
The beautiful people
The beautiful people (ah…)
The beautiful people
The beautiful people (ah…)

Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it’s hard to be clean

Hey you, what do you see?
Something beautiful or something free?
Hey, you, are you trying to be mean?
If you live with apes man, it’s hard to be clean

The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people
The beautiful people

Autores: Brian Warner / Esther Dean / Jeordie White / Larry Summerville / Laura Pergolizzi / Melvin Watson / Nicole Scherzinger / Ronald Fair / Stefanie Ridel / Tommy James
Álbum: Antichrist Superstar
Año: 1996

35. Welcome to the jungle (Guns n’ Roses)

Axl Rose se sintió abrumado al llegar a Los Angeles. Comparándola con una jungla, describe el lado oscuro de la ciudad y las vicisitudes a las que te ves sometido para lograr la fama y ganarte la vida. Aunque esté firmada por todos los componentes de Guns por aquel entonces, presumiblemente la letra la escribió Axl.

Welcome to the jungle
We got fun and games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey
We got your disease

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
Oh, I wanna watch you bleed

Welcome to the jungle
We take it day by day
If you want it, you’re gonna bleed
But it’s the price you pay
And you’re a very sexy girl
That’s very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights
But you won’t get there for free

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my, my serpentine
I, I wanna hear you scream

Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here everyday
You learn to live like an animal
In the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see
You’ll take it eventually
You can have anything you want
But you better not take it from me

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
Oh, I wanna watch you bleed

And when you’re high, you never
Ever want to come down
So down, so down, so down, yeah

You know where you are?
You’re in the jungle, baby
You’re gonna die

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpentine

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
Down in the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your, it’s gonna bring you down

Autores: W. Axl Rose / Saul Hudson / Duff Rose Mckagan / Izzy Stradlin / Steven Adler
Álbum: Appetite for destruction
Año: 1987

34. This is America (Childish Gambino)

Dura crítica social con unas cuantas referencias a varios acontecimientos sociales. La canción llegó con la creciente respuesta por parte de la comunidad negra ante los casos de abusos policiales en Estados Unidos. A través de frases cortas y con un repetitivo «This is America», expone el culto a la riqueza, y en cierto modo el sometimiento de la comunidad negra («solo queremos fiesta, fiesta solo para ti»), como si estuvieran para entretenerlos, pero que tengan cuidado de no meter la pata («que no te pillen metiendo la pata, la policía está disparando ahora»).

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, go, go away…

We just wanna party
Party just for you
We just want the money
Money just for you
I know you wanna party
Party just for me
Girl, you got me dancin’
Dance and shake the frame

We just wanna party
Party just for you
We just want the money
Money just for you
I know you wanna party
Party just for me
Girl, you got me dancin’
Dance and shake the frame

This is America
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Look what I’m whippin’ up
This is America
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Look what I’m whippin’ up

This is America
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Look at how I’m livin’ now
Police be trippin’ now
Yeah, this is America
Guns in my area (word, my area)
I got the strap
I gotta carry ‘em

Yeah, yeah, I’ma go into this
Yeah, yeah, this is guerilla, woo
Yeah, yeah, I’ma go get the bag
Yeah, yeah, or I’ma get the pad
Yeah, yeah, I’m so cold like, yeah (yeah)
I’m so dope like, yeah
We gon’ blow like, yeah (straight up, uh)

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me
Get your money, black man (get your money)
Get your money, black man (get your money)
Get your money, black man (get your, black man)
Get your money, black man (get your, black man)
Black man

This is America (woo!)
Don’t catch you slippin’ up (woo, woo, don’t catch you slippin’, now)
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Look what I’m whippin’ up (slime!)
This is America (yeah, yeah)
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Don’t catch you slippin’ up
Look what I’m whippin’ up

Look how I’m geekin’ out
I’m so fitted (I’m so fitted)
I’m on Gucci
I’m so pretty (yeah, yeah)
I’m gon’ get it (ayy, I’m gon’ get it)
Watch me move
This a celly
That’s a tool
On my Kodak (woo, Black)
Ooh, know that (yeah, know that, hold on)
Get it? (Get it? Get it?)
Ooh, work it (21)
Hunnid bands, hunnid bands, hunnid bands (hunnid bands)
Contraband, contraband, contraband (contraband)
I got the plug on Oaxaca
They gonna find you like blocka

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
(America, I just checked my following list and)
You go tell somebody
(You mothafuckas owe me)
Grandma told me
Get your money, black man (black man)
Get your money, black man (black man)
Get your money, black man (black man)
Get your money, black man (black man)
Black man

One, two, three, get down
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, tell somebody
You go tell somebody
Grandma told me
Get your money, black man (black man)
Get your money, black man (black man)
Get your money, black man (black man)
Get your money, black man (black man)
Black man

You just a black man in this world
You just a barcode, ayy
You just a black man in this world
Drivin’ expensive foreigns, ayy
You just a big dawg, yeah
I kenneled him in the backyard
No, probably ain’t life to a dog
For a big dog

Autor: Donald Glover
Álbum: This Is America
Año: 2018

33. Colors (Black Pumas)

Todo un alegato contra el racismo expresado de forma sutil. Colores everywhere.

I woke up to the morning sky first
Baby blue just like we rehearsed
When I get up off this ground
I shake leaves back down to the brown brown brown till I’m clean
Then I walked where I’d be shaded by the trees by a meadow of green
For about a mile I’m headed to town town town in style
With all my favorite colors
All my favorite colors
My sisters and my brothers see them like no other
All my favorite colors

It’s good day to be a good day for me a good day to see my favorite colors
My sisters and my brothers they see them like no other
All my favorite colors
Now take me to the otherside
Where the baby blues birds fly
In grey clouds, or white walls, or blue skies we gon’ fly feel alright
Now we gon’ woo woo woo ya
They sound like woo woo woo ya
The least I can say I anticipate a homecome parade as we renegade in the morning
All my favorite colors
All my favorite colors

My sisters and my brothers see them like no other
All my favorite colors
It’s good day to be, a good day for me, a good day to see my favorite colors
My sisters and my brothers they see them like no other
All my favorite colors

Autor: Eric Stephon Burton
Álbum: Black Pumas
Año: 2019

32. Nancy Boy (Placebo)

Un homenaje a los chicos afeminados de todo el mundo. De hecho «Nancy boy» podría traducirse como «maricón» (gay pero en tono despectivo). La canción habla sin tapujos sobre el estilo de vida de una persona homosexual promiscua.

Alcoholic kind of mood
Lose my clothes, lose my lube
Cruising for a piece of fun
Looking out for number one
Different partner every night
So narcotic outta sight
What a gas
What a beautiful ass

And it all breaks down at the role reversal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me
And it all breaks down at the first rehearsal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me

Kind of buzz that last for days
Had some help from insect ways
Comes across all shy and coy
Just another nancy boy
Woman, man or modern monkey
Just another happy junkie
Fifty pounds, press my button
Going down

And it all breaks down at the role reversal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me
And it all breaks down at the first rehearsal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me
Does his make-up in his room
Douse himself with cheap perfume
Eyeholes in a paper bag
Greatest lay I ever had
Kind of guy who mates for life
Gotta help him find a wife
We’re a couple
When our bodies double

And it all breaks down at the role reversal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me
And it all breaks down at the first rehearsal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me

And it all breaks down at the role reversal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me
And it all breaks down at the first rehearsal
Got the muse in my head, she’s universal
Spinning me round, she’s coming over me

Autores: Brian Molko / Stefan Olsdal / Robert Schultzberg
Álbum: Placebo
Año: 1996

31. Like a rolling stone (Bob Dylan)

Es curioso que de la dilatada discografía de Bob Dylan, uno de sus temas insignia sea un tema que trata sobre el desprecio que siente hacia una mujer, muy en la línea de «Dolores se llamaba Lola» (salvando las distancias). La canción habla de la típica niña bien, de buena familia, que fue a una buena escuela y acostumbrada a una vida de comodidades, que ve como el destino se tuerce y acaba en la indigencia. No hay declaración oficial de Dylan sobre si la canción estaba dedicada a alguien en concreto, pero el ojo avizor de los fans más acérrimos descubrió que hubo una mujer en su vida que coincidía con la descrita por la canción. Se trataba de Edie Sedwick, actriz y modelo, miembro de una prestigiosa familia de la alta sociedad estadounidense que tras estar con Dylan se convirtió en la musa de Andy Warhol. No hay evidencias de que tuvieran una relación, pero el hecho de que cuando -según los biógrafos de Dylan-, Segwick averiguó que Dylan se había casado en secreto con Sara Lownds, dejaron de ser colegas. Además, también aparece en una foto del interior de la portada del álbum «Blonde on blonde». El caso es que pasó parte de su vida luchando contra su adicción a las drogas. Falleció en 1971 a causa de una intoxicación de barbitúricos.

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?
People’d call, say, «Beware doll, you’re bound to fall»
You thought they were all kiddin’ you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin’ out
Now you don’t talk so loud
Now you don’t seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you’re gonna have to get used to it
You said you’d never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He’s not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain’t no good
You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain’t it hard when you discover that
He really wasn’t where it’s at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They’re drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you’d better lift your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can’t refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You’re invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Autor: bob Dylan
Álbum: Highway 61 Revisited
Año: 1965

30. Perfect day (Lou Reed)

El excéntrico Lou Reed también tenía su corazoncito. Cómo fue capaz de escribir una canción tan dulce, una dedicatoria de amor llena de agradecimiento a la persona que ama, aún es un misterio.

Just a perfect day
Drink Sangria in the park
And then later, when it gets dark we go home
Just a perfect day
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later, a movie too and then home

Oh it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spent it with you
Oh such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

Just a perfect day
Problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own, it’s such fun
Just a perfect day
You made me forget myself
I thought I was someone else, someone good

Oh it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spent it with you
Oh such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow

Autor: Lou Reed
Álbum: Transformer
Año: 1972

29. Train (Undrop)

Auténticos one hit wonders estos de Undrop. Hay un tren que es una oportunidad que se te presenta en la vida. Cógelo, ya que si no lo haces, ese tren no volverá a pasar.

There is a train, it’s leaving today (yeah)
It’s leaving today and I’m gonna get on it
There is a train so don’t let it pass without you
Don’t let it leave without you, just get on it
There is a train that leaves tomorrow
And we’re gonna get on it
There is a train, common let’s hurry
Let’s get on it… there is a train

And it’s going away, going away, going away now
Going to a higher destination let’s get on it
And it’s going away, going away, going away now
Going to a higher destination let’s get on it

There is a train only a moment away
It’s coming like a wave, let’s go for a ride

Like a healing herb, yeah it’s like a cure
A million powerful flowers in bloom
There is a train that leaves tomorrow
And we’re gonna get on it
There is a train, common let’s hurry
Let’s get on it… there is a train

Let’s give thanks and praises to the supreme
By singing his glories over and over and over again
Using Sri-krsna-cattanya-Prabttu-
Neyananda. Sri – Advaita gadadhara
Srivasad – Gaura Bhatka Vrnda
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama…
If you’re going to be happy in this life or not
Dualities of being cold and next moment being hot
Depends on what you used to do and what you do today
So just get on this train cause it will…
Take us away (x3)
And it’s take us away (x3)
Going to a higher destination let’s get on it
And it’s take us away (x3)
Going to a higher destination let’s get on it

Álbum: The Crossing
Año: 1998

28. Don’t worry be happy (Bobby McFerrin)

Y porque no todas las letras tienen que ser profundas para ser buenas, aquí una letra en tono cómico para quitar hierro a los problemas de la vida y acostumbrarnos a ver el lado positivo.

Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry, be happy

In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry, you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy

Don’t worry, be happy now
Oo, ooo

Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy
Oo, ooo

Ain’t got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don’t worry, be happy

The land-lord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don’t worry, be happy

Look at me, I’m happy

Don’t worry, be happy

Let me give you my phone number
When you worry, call me I will make you happy

Don’t worry, be happy

Ain’t got no cash, ain’t got no style
Ain’t got no girl to make you smile
Don’t worry, be happy

‘Cause when you worry your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don’t worry, be happy

Don’t worry, be happy now
Oo, ooo

Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy
Oo, ooo

Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t do it, be happy
Let the smile on your face
Don’t bring everybody down like this

Don’t worry, it will soon pass
What ever it is

Don’t worry, be happy

I am not worried, I am happy

Autor: Robert Jr. McFerrin
Álbum: Simple pleasures
Año: 1988

27. Mad world (Tears for Fears)

Caras familiares, lugares gastados, gente que se mueve por inercia sin saber a dónde va. Vivimos en un mundo de locos. Es la conclusión a la que llegó Roland Orzabal y que quiso plasmar en esta canción.

All around me are familiar faces
Worn-out places, worn-out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
And their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you, ‘cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It’s a very, very
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday, happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello, teacher, tell me what’s my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you, ‘cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles, it’s a very very
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world
Mad world

And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
‘Cause I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It’s a very, very
Mad world
Mad world
Halargian world
Mad world

Autor: Roland Orzabal
Álbum: Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets
Año: 2001

26. Wasted years (Iron Maiden)

Tema en la misma línea de «Time» de Pink Floyd. La vida es corta, tempus fugit así que carpe diem.

From the coast of gold
Across the seven seas
I’m travellin’ on
Far and wide
But now it seems
I’m just a stranger to myself
And all the things I sometimes do
It isn’t me but someone else
I close my eyes, and think of home
Another city goes by in the night
Ain’t it funny how it is
You never miss it ‘til it’s gone away
And my heart is lying there
And will be ‘til my dying day

So understand
Don’t waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up… make your stand
And realize you’re living in the golden years

Too much time on my hands
I got you on my mind
Can’t ease this pain, so easily
When you can’t find the words to say
It’s hard to make it through another day
And it makes me wanna cry
And throw my hands up to the sky

So understand
Don’t waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up… make your stand
And realize you’re living in the golden years

So understand
Don’t waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up… make your stand
And realize you’re living in the golden years
So understand
Don’t waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up… make your stand
And realize you’re living in the golden years

Autor: Smith Adrian Frederick
Álbum: Somewhere in Time
Año: 1986

25. Simple man (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Un buen consejo de madre: olvídate de tus ansias de fama y bienes materiales. Sé un hombre sencillo, no necesitas oro en tu vida, solo amor.

Mama told me when I was young
«Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this, it’ll help you some sunny day, ah yeah»

(Be a simple man)

Oh, take your time, don’t live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You’ll find a woman, yeah, and you’ll find love
And don’t forget, son, there is someone up above

And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby, be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man’s gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh, baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby, be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can?
Oh, yes, I will

Boy, don’t you worry, you’ll find yourself
Follow your heart and nothing else
And you can do this, oh, baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby, be a simple kind of man
Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can?

Baby, be a simple, be a simple man
Oh, be something you love and understand
Baby, be a simple kind of man

Autores: Van Zant Ronnie / Rossington Gary
Álbum: (Pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd)
Año: 1973

24. Every breath you take (The Police)

Con la separación de su primera mujer, Frances Tomelty, todavía reciente, Sting se levantó en mitad de la noche con una idea en la cabeza, y en media hora tenía escrita la canción. Según declaraciones suyas en una entrevista, aunque sonara como una canción de amor, en realidad no se dio cuenta hasta después de escribirla de lo siniestra que era. «Creo que estaba pensando en Gran Hermano, vigilancia y control». Y es de ese tipo de relación de la que habla la canción, una relación en la que uno no acepta la separación y se obsesiona con controlar y vigilar a la otra persona. Hay quien la califica de machista, aunque personalmente pienso que describir en una canción una relación de maltrato no significa que se esté fomentando. En cualquier caso, cuando The Police fue dando forma a la canción, supieron de antemano que se convertiría en su mayor hit. Y acertaron.

Every breath you take
And every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take, I’ll be watching you
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay, I’ll be watching you

Oh, can’t you see you belong to me?
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take

Every move you make
And every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you

Since you’ve gone
I’ve been lost without a trace
I dream at night I can only see your face
I look around, but it’s you I can’t replace
I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace
I keep crying baby, baby, please

Oh, can’t you see you belong to me?
How my poor heart aches
With every step you take

Every move you make
And every vow you break
Every smile you fake
Every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you
Every move you make
Every step you take, I’ll be watching you

I’ll be watching you
(Every breath you take, every move you make)
(Every bond you break, every step you take)
I’ll be watching you
(Every single day, every word you say)
(Every game you play, every night you stay)
I’ll be watching you
(Every move you make, every vow you break)
(Every smile you fake, every claim you stake)
I’ll be watching you
(Every single day, every word you say)
(Every game you play, every night you stay)
I’ll be watching you
(Every breath you take, every move you make)
(Every bond you break, every step you take)
I’ll be watching you
(Every single day, every word you say)
(Every game you play, every night you stay)
I’ll be watching you
(Every move you make, every vow you break)
(Every smile you fake, every claim you stake)
I’ll be watching you
(Every single day, every word you say)
(Every game you play, every night you stay)
I’ll be watching you…

Autor: Sting
Sencillo: Every Breath You Take
Año: 1983

23. What a wonderful world (Louis Armstrong)

Cuentan quienes conocieron a Louis Armstrong que era una persona que destacaba por su carácter alegre y jovial. Y ese carácter se ve que lo dejó reflejado en esta canción, que aunque no tenga su firma, se trata de una de las letras más optimistas en un mundo en el que la inmensa mayoría de canciones hablan de problemas, desamores, insatisfacciones, anhelos, etc.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed days, the dark sacred nights
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying, «How do you do?»
They’re really saying, «I love you»

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Autores: Bob Thiele y George Weiss
Sencillo: What a wonderful world
Año: 1967

22. The judgement (Solomon Burke)

El gran Solomon Burke tiene una letra de un tema que no está entre los más afamados de la música soul pero cuyo mensaje me llama poderosamente la atención. En ella, se compara el amor con un juicio en el que se repasan todas las adversidades a las que te enfrentas en una relación («Habrá mentiras, habrá lágrimas…»), siendo el jurado los amigos y familia de la pareja. Finalmente, él pide clemencia a la jueza, que es su amada, para que le perdone por todas las cosas que ha hecho mal.

The accused will rise to be torn in two
Guilty of nothing but loving you
This is the judgement

And I’m willing to plead
How you don’t want me
Hoping this torment will cease
Will I be released?

There’ll be lies, there’ll be tears
A jury of your peers
With a pitiful lack of experience
Hand down the judgement

And if I done wrong
And loved you too long
Stand up and just testify
How can I deny?

Objection overruled
I wait for my reprieve
With the trust of the deceived
The wisdom of the fool

It’s his sorrowful face
Too heavy for his head
Cos he bowed it as something come over him
It was the judgement

He falls to his knees
Have mercy on me
He clings to the hem of her gown
She says, «Just take him down.»

Autores: Mac-manus Declan Patrick Aloysius / O’Riordan Cait
Álbum: Don’t give up on me
Año: 2002

21. The temple of the king (Rainbow)

A Ritchie Blackmore le fascina la temática medieval, y «The temple of the king» es un tema en el que plasma esta pasión a la que después daría rienda suelta en Blackmore’s Night, con su amada Candice Night. Su letra podría estar hablando de la muerte (el tamido de la gran campana negra, que cuando suena significa que es el momento de marchar al templo del rey, que podría referirse al cielo). En el límite del mundo (el limbo) el joven espera, piensa en las historias que ha escuchado sobre lo que va a ver. Finalmente, la letra cuenta que la gente que le rodea ve un brillo en sus ojos porque ha hallado la respuesta a lo que quería saber (saber lo que hay después de la muerte). Aunque otra posible interpretación es la llamada de la madurez, de la responsabilidad, la inquietud que provoca hacerse mayor. Una letra muy inspirada firmada por Dio y Blackmore.

One day, in the year of the fox
Came a time remembered well
When the strong young man
Of the rising sun
Heard the tolling of the great black bell
One day in the year of the fox
When the bell began to ring
It meant the time
Had come for one to go
To the temple of the king

There in the middle of the circle he stands
Searching, seeking
With just one touch of his trembling hand
The answer will be found
Daylight waits while the old man sings
Heaven help me!
And then like the rush of a thousand wings
It shines upon the one
And the day had just begun
(Uh uh uhh…)

One day, in the year of the fox
Came a time remembered well
When the strong young man of the rising sun
Heard the tolling of the great black bell
One day in the year of the fox
When the bell began to sing
It meant the time had come for the one to go
To the temple of the king

There in the middle of the people he stands
Seeing, feeling
With just a wave of a strong right hand, he’s gone
To the temple of the king

Far from the circle, at the edge of the world
He’s hoping, wondering
Thinking back from the stories he’s heard of
What he’s going to see
There, in the middle of a circle it lies
Heaven help me!
Then all could see by the shine in his eyes
The answer had been found

Back with the people in the circle he stands
Giving, feeling
With just one touch of a strong right hand, they know
Of the temple and the king
(Uh uh uhh…)

Autores: Ronnie James Dio y Ritchie Blackmore
Álbum: Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow
Fecha de lanzamiento: 1975

20. Goodbye (Apparat)

Sombría y estremecedora, no sin razón fue la canción escogida para encabezar la serie «Dark». Una despedida, un entierro y claras referencias a la muerte.

Please put me to bed
And turn down the light

Fold down your hands
Give me a sign
Put down your lies
Lay down next to me
Don’t listen when I scream
Bury your doubts and fall asleep
Find out, I was just a bad dream

Let the bed sheet
Soak up my tears
And watch the only way out
Disappear
Don’t tell me why
Kiss me, goodbye

For neither ever, nor never
Goodbye
Neither ever, nor never
Goodbye
Neither ever, nor never
Goodbye
Goodbye

Autores: Patrick Christensen / Sascha Ring / Anja Plaschg
Álbum: The Devil’s Walk
Año: 2011

19. All my love (Led Zeppelin)

Estremecedor saber que esta es una canción que Robert Plant dedicó a su hijo, fallecido con solo 5 años por una infección intestinal. Grabada en tono alegre para reflejar el caracter del pequeño Karac, la letra refleja el duelo de Plant por su muerte, la pugna, ese fuego que no se apaga y que le impide olvidarse de su hijo.

Should I fall out of love, my fire in the light
To chase a feather in the wind
Within the glow that weaves a cloak of delight
There moves a thread that has no end.

For many hours and days that pass ever soon
the tides have caused the flame to dim
At last the arm is straight, the hand to the loom
Is this to end or just begin?

All of my love, all of my love, all of my love to you
All of my love, all of my love, all of my love to you

The cup is raised, the toast is made yet again
One voice is clear above the din
Proud Aryan one word, my will to sustain
For me, the cloth once more to spin

All of my love, all of my love, all of my love to you
All of my love, all of my love, all of my love to you

Yours is the cloth, mine is the hand that sews time
his is the force that lies within
Ours is the fire, all the warmth we can find
He is a feather in the wind

All of my love, all of my love, all of my love to you
All of my love, all of my love, all of my love to you

Autor: Robert Plant
Álbum: In Through the Out Door
Año: 1979

18. Glory to the brave (Hammerfall)

Y aquí una oda a los que ya no están entre nosotros, una canción que ha acompañado a muchos fans de Hammerfall cuando han perdido a un ser querido. La letra es la emotiva despedida de Klas Fors al abuelo de Joacim, que murió poco antes de que grabasen el tema.

Snow is falling down on this glorious land
Colours fading, turning into white again
To fallen heroes Angels sing
They cry their winter tears
Endless morning days will turn to years

So this is goodbye
I take leave of you and
Spread your wings and you will fly
Away now, fly away now

Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave

Every solemn moment I will treasure inside
Even though it’s hard to understand
That a silent wind can blow the candle out
Taking everything, leaving the pain far behind

You call out my name, but your voice is fading
Into the wind, embraced, you’ll fly away now
Fly away now

Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave
Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave
My eyes are closed
I feel you’re far away
Far beyond that shining star
I know you’ll find what you’ve been fighting for
Far beyond that shining star

Down on bended knee I pray
Bring courage to these souls
Make them live forever in the heart of the bold
So I say farewell, my friends
I hope we’ll meet again
When my time has come to fall from grace

So this is goodbye
I take leave of you and
Spread your wings and you will fly away now
Fly away now

Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave
Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave
Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave
Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave

Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave
Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave

Nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave
Yeah, nothing on earth stays forever
But none of your deeds were in vain
Deep in our heart you will live again
You’re gone to the home of the brave

Álbum: Glory to the brave
Año: 1997
Autores: Dronjak, Strömblad, Cans

17. Child in time (Deep Purple)

«Child in time» refleja la tensión que se vivía en una Norteamérica en plena Guerra Fría dominada por el miedo a un ataque con bombas atómicas.

Sweet child, in time, you’ll see the line
The line that’s drawn between good and bad
See the blind man shooting at the world
Bullets flying taking toll

If you’ve been bad, oh Lord, I bet you have
And you’ve not been hit by flying lead
You’d better close your eyes
You’d better bow your head
Wait for the ricochet

I wanna hear you screaming

Sweet child, in time, you’ll see the line
The line that’s drawn between good and bad
See the blind man shooting at the world
Bullets flying taking toll

If you’ve been bad, Lord I bet you have
And you’ve not been hit by flying lead
You’d better close your eyes (Ooohhhh)
You’d better bow your head
Wait for the ricochet

Ah, I gotta hear you screaming

[…]

Autor: Ian Gillan
Álbum: In rock
Año: 1970

16. Goodbye horses (Q Lazzarus)

Su autor, William Garvey, no fue tan tiquismiquis como otros y se dignó a explicar con claridad lo que quiso expresar en esta letra, una letra que ya cautivó al director Jonathan Demme hasta el pundo de incluirla en una escena de su película «El silencio de los corderos». «Adiós caballos / Estoy volando sobre vosotros» hace referencia al texto hindú Bhagavad Gita, en el que los cinco caballos que arrastran el carro del príncipe Aryuna simbolizarían los cinco sentidos. Según este texto sagrado, el verdadero «nirvana», la iluminación, la paz, surge cuando la consciencia se eleva más allá de los sentidos y del ego. «Adiós caballos» es decir adiós a los sentidos, al plano material. Esta historia tiene también diversas lecturas. También puede significar la pérdida de la ingenuidad que supone el conocimiento, el hecho de pasar a un estado superior («He visto mis esperanzas y sueños en el suelo / He visto el cielo a punto de caer»).

Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying, flying, flying over you

He told me, «I’ve seen it rise
But, it always falls
I’ve seen them come, I seen ‘em go»
He said, «All things pass into the night»
And I said, «Oh, no sir
I must say you’re wrong
I must disagree, oh, no sir
I must say you’re wrong
Won’t you listen to me?»

He told me, «I’ve seen it all before
I’ve been there, I’ve seen my hopes and dreams a-lying on the ground
I’ve seen the sky, just begin to fall»
He said, «All things pass into the night»
And I said, «Oh, no sir
I must say you’re wrong
I must disagree, oh, no sir
I must say you’re wrong
Won’t you listen to me?»

Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying, flying, flying over you

Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying over you
Goodbye horses, I’m flying, flying, flying over you

Autor: William Garvey
Álbum: Married to the Mob
Fecha: 1988

15. The end (The Doors)

Y aquí una que tiene mucha miga, y que con el tiempo se convirtió en una de las canciones más representativas de la banda. La compuso Jim como despedida a su novia Mary Werbelow, que cortó con él en Los Ángeles. La razón por la que es una canción tan larga es que en «Whisky a Go Go», un club de Los Ángeles donde tocaban en 1966, tenían que tocar dos sets por noche, y al tener poco repertorio tenían que alargar las canciones como fuera. De ahí surgiría su costumbre en los directos de alargar algunos temas introduciendo solos, improvisaciones y desvaríos varios en algunas canciones. En ella hace referencia de dos instintos primarios: follar y matar, en una letra escandalizadoramente escandalosa. Si Freud viviese, seguramente estaría entre sus favoritas.

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes again

Can you picture what will be?
So limitless and free
Desperately in need
Of some stranger’s hand
In a desperate land

Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah

There’s danger on the edge of town
Ride the King’s Highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake, he’s long, seven miles
Ride the snake
He’s old and his skin is cold
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here and we’ll do the rest
The blue bus is calling us
The blue bus is calling us
Driver, where you taking us?

The killer awoke before dawn
He put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door
And he looked inside
«Father?» «Yes, son?» «I want to kill you»
«Mother? I want to…»

Come on baby, take a chance with us
Come on baby, take a chance with us
Come on baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Of the blue bus, on the blue bus, on the blue bus
Come on yeah
Fuck, fuck-ah, yeah
Fuck, fuck
Fuck, fuck
Fuck, fuck, fuck yeah!
Come on baby, come on baby
Fuck me baby, fuck yeah
Woah
Fuck, fuck, fuck, yes!
Fuck, yeah, come on baby
Fuck me baby, fuck fuck
Woah, woah, woah, yeah
Fuck yeah, do it, yeah
Come on!
Huh, huh, huh, huh, yeah
Alright
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

It hurts to set you free
But you’ll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end

Autor: Jim Morrison
Álbum: The Doors
Año: 1967

14. Black hole sun (Soundgarden)

Tras escuchar la expresión «black hole sun» en las noticias, Chris Cornell se quedó con la frase y, al ver que tenía garra, decidió escribir una canción sobre ella. Escribió primero la letra, y después la música a partir de las imágenes que le vinieron a la cabeza. La letra es sombría, haciendo referencia a paisajes desolados y a anhelos desesperanzados. «Cuelga mi cabeza, ahoga mi miedo hasta que todos desaparezcan». ¿Posible referencia a su posterior suicidio? Ahí lo dejo.

In my eyes, indisposed
In disguises no one knows
Hides the face, lies the snake
In the sun in my disgrace
Boiling heat, summer stench
‘Neath the black the sky looks dead
Call my name through the cream
And I’ll hear you scream again

Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come? Won’t you come?

Stuttering, cold and damp
Steal the warm wind, tired friend
Times are gone for honest men
And sometimes far too long for snakes
In my shoes, a walking sleep
And my youth I pray to keep
Heaven send Hell away
No one sings like you anymore

Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come?

Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun

Hang my head, drown my fear
‘Til you all just disappear

Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, won’t you come
And wash away the rain?
Black hole sun, won’t you come?
Won’t you come?

Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Black hole sun, black hole sun
Won’t you come?
Won’t you come?

Autor: Chris Cornwell
Álbum: Superunknown
Año: 1994

13. Have you ever seen the rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Una buena muestra de cómo jugar con la ambigüedad con un buen resultado. Una letra sencilla en la que la lluvia está claro que es una metáfora, pero ¿de qué? ¿A qué se refería John Fogerty con la lluvia que cae un día soleado? ¿Se refería como muchos creen al napalm que caía del cielo en la Guerra de Vietnam? ¿O más bien John estaba pensando en su reciente salida de su hermano Tom de la banda cuando comenzaban a tener éxito comercial? Que cada uno la interprete como quiera.

Someone told me long ago
There’s a calm before the storm
I know, it’s been comin’ for some time
When it’s over, so they say
It’ll rain a sunny day
I know, shinin’ down like water

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?

Yesterday and days before
Sun is cold and rain is hard
I know, been that way for all my time
‘Til forever on it goes
Through the circle, fast and slow
I know, it can’t stop, I wonder

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?

Yeah
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day?

Autor: John Cameron Fogerty
Álbum: Pendulum
Año: 1970

12. Imagine (John Lennon)

Un himno a la esperanza, un homenaje a la paz en medio de la campaña contra la Guerra de Vietnam que iniciaron John Lennon y Yoko Ono. Y una letra sencilla a la par que profunda, derrochando idealismo por los cuatro costados, así era John.

Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
I

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

Autor: John Winston Lennon
Álbum: Imagine
Año: 1971

11. Nothing else matters (Metallica)

Según palabras de James Hetfield, las constantes giras fueron la inspiración de esta canción. La canción la fue escribiendo poco a poco durante sus desplazamientos y noches de hotel entre concierto y concierto. La canción habla sobre la vida en la carretera, sobre echar de menos a alguien, pero la escribieron de tal modo que conectó con tal cantidad de fans, que finalmente se convirtió en uno de los temas más populares de la banda, apasionando incluso a no-fans del metal. La melodía juega un papel importante, aportando intensidad y fuerza a la lírica.

So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don’t just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

So close no matter how far
It couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don’t just say
And nothing else matters
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know, yeah-yeah!

So close no matter how far
Couldn’t be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

10. Hey Jude (Beatles)

Una letra de consuelo y esperanza, como solo el dúo Lennon / McCartney sabía escribir. No hay nada que interpretar ya que los mensajes son directos y claros. Ve a por lo que quieres. Dale un sentido a tu vida. Si la amas, ve a por ella.

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey Jude, don’t be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better

And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
Na na na na na na na na na na

Hey Jude, don’t let me down
You have found her, now go and get her
(Let it out and let it in)
Remember (Hey Jude) to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin
You’re waiting for someone to perform with
And don’t you know that it’s just you, hey Jude, you’ll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder
Na na na na na na na na na yeah

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her under your skin
Then you’ll begin to make it (Whoa, fucking hell!)
Better better better better better better, oh

[…]

Autor: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
Álbum: Hey Jude
Año: 1968

9. The spirit carries on (Dream Theater)

Esta canción forma parte del disco conceptual «Metropolis pt. 2, Scenes from a Memory», de la banda de metal progresivo Dream Theater. Se trata de uno de los álbumes más queridos por sus fans, y es una especie de ópera rock en la que cada canción nos cuenta una parte de la historia. El disco comienza con un señor llamado Nicholas sometiéndose a una sesión de hipnosis. A partir de ahí, va descubriendo que en una vida anterior él fue una mujer llamada Victoria, desvelándose también que fue asesinada por un amante. «The spirit carries on» es el momento más emotivo de la historia, una balada de esas que te ponen la piel de gallina. La letra narra el encuentro entre Nicholas y su yo en la otra vida: Victoria. Tras saber de su asesinato en su otra vida, el protagonista de la historia se da cuenta de que hay otra vida, y Victoria le pide que continúe, que sea valiente y que no llore en su tumba, pero que no deje que desaparezca su recuerdo. Finalmente, Nicholas se queda tranquilo tras hallar las respuestas que buscaba. Está acreditada a todos los miembros de la banda, pero la letra la escribió John Petrucci.

[Nicholas]
Where did we come from?
Why are we here?
Where do we go when we die?
What lies beyond
And what lay before?
Is anything certain in life?

They say «Life is too short»
«The here and the now»
And «You`re only given one shot»
But could there be more
Have I lived before
Or could this be all that we`ve got?

If I die tomorrow
I`d be alright
Because I believe
That after we`re gone
The spirit carries on

I used to be frightened of dying
I used to think death was the end
But that was before
I`m not scared anymore
I know that my soul will transcend
I may never find all the answers
I may never understand why
I may never prove
What I know to be true
But I know that I still have to try

If I die tomorrow
I`d be alright
Because I believe
That after we`re gone
The spirit carries on

[Victoria]
«Move on, be brave
Don`t weep at my grave
Because I`m no longer here
But please never let
Your memory of me disappear»

[Nicholas]
Safe in the light that surrounds me
Free of the fear and the pain
My questioning mind
Has helped me to find
The meaning in my life again
Victoria`s real
I finally feel
At peace with the girl in my dreams
And now that I`m here
It`s perfectly clear
I found out what all of this means

If I die tomorrow
I`d be alright
Because I believe
That after we`re gone
The spirit carries on

Autor: John Petrucci
Álbum: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
Año: 1999

8. Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

«Hallelujah» narra el pasaje bíblico en el que el rey David conoce a Betsabé, y las consecuencias que tuvo para él no ser capaz de refrenar su lujuria, y que le llevaron a cometer un asesinato.

Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do ya?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing «Hallelujah»

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don’t even know the name
But if I did, well really, what’s it to ya?
There’s a blaze of light in every word
It doesn’t matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didn’t come to fool ya
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand before the lord of song
With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
[…]

[Letra adicional]
Baby, I’ve been here before
I know this room, I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
And it’s not a cry that you hear at night
It’s not somebody who’s seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

Autor: Leonard Cohen
Álbum: Various Positions
Año: 1984

7. Heroes (David Bowie)

No hace falta realizar actos grandilocuentes para ser un héroe. A veces los gestos más sencillos nos convierten en héroes. Bowie lo sabía bien, y si este tema ha levantado tantos ánimos, debe ser que no es el único. «Yo puedo recordar / De pie al lado del muro / Y las pistolas / Disparando sobre nuestras cabezas / Y nos besamos / Como si nada pudiese caer / Y la vergüenza / Estaba al otro lado / Oh podemos golpearles / Por siempre jamás / Entonces podemos ser héroes / Solo por un día». Porque es nuestra humanidad lo que nos convierte en héroes. Gracias, Bowie.

I
I will be king
And you
You will be queen
Though nothing will
Drive them away
We can beat them
Just for one day
We can be Heroes
Just for one day

And you
You can be mean
And I
I’ll drink all the time
‘Cause we’re lovers
And that is a fact
Yes we’re lovers
And that is that

Though nothing
Will keep us together
We could steal time
Just for one day
We can be Heroes
For ever and ever
What d’you say

I
I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins
Like dolphins can swim
Though nothing
Will keep us together
We can beat them
For ever and ever
Oh we can be Heroes
Just for one day

I
I will be king
And you
You will be queen
Though nothing
Will drive them away
We can be Heroes
Just for one day
We can be us
Just for one day

I
I can remember
Standing
By the wall
And the guns
Shot above our heads
And we kissed
As though nothing could fall
And the shame
Was on the other side
Oh we can beat them
For ever and ever
Then we can be Heroes
Just for one day

We can be Heroes
We can be Heroes
We can be Heroes
Just for one day
We can be Heroes
We’re nothing
And nothing will help us
Maybe we’re lying
Then you better not stay
But we could be safer
Just for one day

Autor: Brian Eno, David Bowie, Andrea Schroeder
Álbum: Heroes
Año: 1977

6. The show must go on (Queen)

Aún siendo el frontman de una banda del calibre de Queen, Freddie siempre se consideró algo introvertido. Con un gran corazón, como todos los que le conocerion afirmaron, tenía sus demonios que le atormentaban. En el momento de escribir esta canción ya era conocedor de que padecía SIDA y de que no había cura. Es fácil sentirse identificado con esta canción, ya que todos hemos tenido malas experiencias, cosas que decidimos guardarnos para nosotros y hemos tenido que seguir nuestra vida, fingiendo que no pasaba nada. Una frase sencilla, pero poderosa y real como la vida misma: El espectáculo debe continuar.

Empty spaces, what are we living for?
Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on
Does anybody know what we are looking for?
Another hero, another mindless crime
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime
Hold the line
Does anybody want to take it anymore?

The show must go on
The show must go on, yeah
Inside my heart is breaking
My makeup may be flaking
But my smile, still, stays on

Whatever happens, I’ll leave it all to chance
Another heartache, another failed romance, on and on
Does anybody know what we are living for?
I guess I’m learning
I must be warmer now
I’ll soon be turning, round the corner now
Outside the dawn is breaking
But inside in the dark I’m aching to be free

The show must go on
The show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My makeup may be flaking
But my smile, still, stays on

My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies
Fairy tales of yesterday, grow but never die
I can fly, my friends

The show must go on
The show must go on
I’ll face it with a grin
I’m never giving in
On with the show

I’ll top the bill
I’ll overkill
I have to find the will to carry on
On with the show
Show must go on
Show must go on

Autor: Freddie Mercury
Álbum: Innuendo
Año: 1991

5. What’s up (4 Non Blondes)

Una canción que refleja el desahogo por la frustración acumulada, por una vida de la que no se puede escapar y la necesidad de un gran cambio.

Twenty-five years and my life is still
I’m trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination
I realized quickly when I knew I should
That the world was made up for this
Brotherhood of man
For whatever that means

And so I cry sometimes when I’m lying in bed
Just to get it all out what’s in my head
And I, I am feeling a little peculiar

And so I wake in the morning and I step outside
And I take deep breath
And I get real high
And I scream from the top of my lungs
What’s going on?

And I say, hey, yeah, yeah-eah
Hey, yeah, yeah
I said, hey! What’s goin’ on?
And I sing, hey, yeah, yeah-eah
Hey, yeah, yeah
I said, hey! What’s going on?

And I try, oh, my God, do I try
I try all the time
In this institution
And I pray, oh, my God, do I pray
I pray every single day
For a revolution

And so I cry sometimes when I’m lying in bed
Just to get it all out what’s in my head
And I, I am feeling a little peculiar

And so I wake in the morning and I step outside
And I take deep breath
And I get real high
And I scream from the top of my lungs
What’s going on?

And I say, hey, yeah, yeah-eah
Hey, yeah, yeah
I said, hey! What’s goin’ on?
And I sing, hey, yeah, yeah-eah
Hey, yeah, yeah
I said, hey! What’s going on?

And I say, hey, yeah, yeah-eah
Hey, yeah, yeah
I said, hey! What’s goin’ on?
And I sing, hey, yeah, yeah-eah
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I said, hey! What’s going on?

Twenty-five years of my life is still
I’m trying to get up that great big hill of hope
For a destination

Autora: Linda Perry
Álbum: Bigger, Better, Faster, More!
Año: 1993

4. Hotel California (Eagles)

Todos nos preguntamos cuál será ese enigmático hotel del que hablan en la canción, y si realmente es una metáfora del infierno, un bar de mala muerte, un putiferio o una metáfora de las drogas («You can check out any time you like / But you can never leave!»). Sea como sea, que cada uno saque sus propias conclusiones.

On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night

There she stood in the doorway
I heard the Mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
This could be heaven or this could be hell
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
(Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year
(Any time of year)
You can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted
She got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
That she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard
Sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget

So I called up the captain
Please, bring me my wine
He said
We haven’t had that spirit here since
Nineteen sixty-nine
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say

Welcome to the Hotel Califórnia
Such a lovely place
(Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They’re livin’ it up at the Hotel Califórnia
What a nice surprise
(What a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling
The pink champagne on ice
And she said
We are all just prisoners here
Of our own device
And in the master’s chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can’t kill the beast

Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
Relax, said the night man
We are programmed to receive
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave!

Autores: Don Henley / Glenn Lewis Frey / Don Felder
Álbum: Hotel California
Año: 1976

3. Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)

Muchas especulaciones ha suscitado esta letra respecto a su verdadero significado. Y es que las únicas declaraciones de Freddie al respecto fueron algo así como que cada uno la interpretase como le diese la gana, pero dicho con palabras bonitas. Un hombre se pregunta si esto es la vida real o es fantasía, negando una realidad tras un hecho traumático, confesando a su madre un asesinato por el que tiene que huir, huyendo de una sociedad que le quiere condenar. Hasta ahí la balada. Llega la ópera donde se desata toda la fantasía y aparecen elementos de las óperas clásicas para terminar con una parte rockera en la que la historia cambia de tercio para mostrar toda la rebeldía de alguien que no acepta el trato que le dan. Y después de tanta lucha, se concluye que nada importa realmente. Puede que Freddie solo se dejase llevar, y sin querer decir nada en concreto abriese su alma para sacar lo que llevaba dentro.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality
Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see
I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I’m easy come, easy go, little high, little low
Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me

Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he’s dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh, didn’t mean to make you cry
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

Too late, my time has come
Sends shivers down my spine, body’s aching all the time
Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooh (Any way the wind blows)
I don’t wanna die
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all

I see a little silhouetto of a man
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me
(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro magnifico
But I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go
(Let him go) Bismillah! We will not let you go
(Let him go) Bismillah! We will not let you go
(Let me go) Will not let you go
(Let me go) Will not let you go
(Never, never, never, never let me go) Ah
No, no, no, no, no, no, no
(Oh, mamma mia, mamma mia) Mamma mia, let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?
So you think you can love me and leave me to die?
Oh, baby, can’t do this to me, baby!
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here

(Ooh)
(Ooh, yeah, ooh, yeah)
Nothing really matters, anyone can see
Nothing really matters
Nothing really matters to me
Any way the wind blows

Autor: Freddie Mercury
Álbum: A Night at the Opera
Año: 1975

2. Stairway to heaven (Led Zeppelin)

Y aquí una de las letras que más pasiones ha levantado desde su grabación. Todo son alegorías y metáforas abiertas a varias lecturas, todas ellas con un marcado trasfondo espiritual. En mi opinión, una dama materialista («cree que todo lo que brilla es oro») que no ha hecho caso de las señales en su vida, cuando llega al cielo no puede entrar porque su vida careció de una base espiritual. Por ello su escalera es inestable. La desenfrenada trayectoria de Led Zeppelin puede ser una analogía de la situación de esta dama. Llevaron una vida desenfrenada, en la que creyeron que podían cambiar su destino y coger el camino correcto cuando quisieran, pero a medida que pasa el tiempo y «sus sombras se alargan más que su alma», se dan cuenta de que cada vez es más difícil recuperar el camino de la espiritualidad. Pero esto es solo una interpretación, ya que la letra juega con la ambigüedad y no aclara su sentido en alguna parte.

There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to Heaven
There’s a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven

Ooh, makes me wonder
Ooh, makes me wonder

There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, really makes me wonder

And it’s whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter

Oh-oh-oh-oh-woahhh

If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed, now
It’s just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on

And it makes me wonder
Ohh, woah

Your head is humming and it won’t go, in case you don’t know
The piper’s calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow? And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she’s buying a stairway to Heaven

Letrista: Robert Plant
Álbum: The Song Remains the Same
Año: 1971

1. The wall (Pink Floyd)

Y aquí tenemos una obra magistral, que todo el mundo asocia con el escenario político derivado del levantamiento del Muro de Berlín, aunque si nos atenemos a la letra en sí tampoco hacen alusión directa a este muro. En mi opinión, la canción es una feroz crítica a los totalitarismos, al adoctrinamiento ideológico de la sociedad, a la manipulación de las mentes jóvenes a través de la educación para crear seres que obedezcan al líder supremo, sin pensar ni cuestionar. El videoclip da una idea de por dónde van los tiros.

We don’t need no education
We dont need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone

Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it’s just another brick in the wall
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall

We don’t need no education
We dont need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone

Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it’s just another brick in the wall
All in all you’re just another brick in the wall

«Wrong, Do it again!»
«If you don’t eat your meat
you can’t have any pudding
How can you have any pudding
if you don’t eat your meat?»
«You! Yes, you behind the bike sheds
stand still laddie!»

Álbum: The Wall
Año: 1979
Autor: Roger Waters