Something (not) so right

They've got a wall in China
It's a thousand miles long
To keep out the foreigners
They made it strong
I've got a wall around me
You can't even see
It took a little time
To get to me

Some people never say the words
I love you
It's not their style
to be so bold
Some people never say those words
I love you
But like a child they're longing
to be told

Paul Simon

...no puedo evitar tener la sensación de que la gente como yo está continuamente construyendo muros a su alrededor a base de repetirse las infinitas variaciones posibles de frases como: "no me gusta por tal o cual", "apenas tenemos cosas en común", "nos aburriríamos juntos" (o sea, "me aburriría con ella")...

...pero a veces, si tenemos mucha suerte, alguien es capaz de ver a través y no se deja detener por esa muralla y empieza a derribarla, piedra a piedra, frase a frase. Y, si somos aún más afortunados, nosotros mismos nos damos cuenta de que eso es lo que tenemos que hacer y ponemos de nuestra parte: empezamos por dejar de repetirnos continuamente nuestros mantras defensivos, quizá incluso los sustituimos por otros como: "no sé qué tiene, pero esta chica realmente me gusta", "no la soporto, pero me encanta", "parece absurdo, pero me lo paso muy bien con ella"...

Lord, let us pray

That Was Your Mother

A long time ago, yeah
Before you was born, dude
When I was still single
And life was great
I held this job as a traveling salesman
That kept me moving from state to state

Well, I’m standing on the corner of Lafayette
State of Louisiana
Wondering where a city boy could go
To get a little conversation
Drink a little red wine
Catch a little bit of those Cajun girls
Dancing to Zydeco

Along came a young girl
She’s pretty as a prayer book
Sweet as an apple on Christmas day
I said, “Good gracious can this be my luck?
If that’s my prayer book
Lord, let us pray”

Well I’m standing on the corner of Lafayette
State of Louisiana
Wondering what a city boy could do
To get her in a conversation
Drink a little red wine
Dance to the music of Clifton Chenier
The King of the Bayou
‘Ei-toi!

Well, that was your mother
And that was your father
Before you was born dude
When life was great
You are the burden of my generation
I sure do love you
But let’s get that straight

Well, I’m standing on the corner of Lafayette
Across the street from The Public
Heading down to the Lone Star Café
Maybe get a little conversation
Drink a little red wine
Standing in the shadow of Clifton Chenier
Dancing the night away

Paul Simon

Slip slidin' away

CHORUS:
Slip slidin’ away
Slip slidin’ away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you’re slip slidin’ away

I know a man
He came from my home town
He wore his passion for his woman
Like a thorny crown
He said Delores
I live in fear
My love for you’s so overpowering
I’m afraid that I will disappear

CHORUS

I know a woman
Became a wife
These are the very words she uses
To describe her life
She said a good day
Ain’t got no rain
She said a bad day’s when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been

CHORUS

And I know a father
Who had a son
He longed to tell him all the reasons
For the things he’d done
He came a long way
Just to explain
He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping
Then he turned around and headed home again

CHORUS

God only knows
God makes his plan
The information’s unavailable
To the mortal man
We work our jobs
Collect our pay
Believe we’re gliding down the highway
When in fact we’re slip slidin’ away

Paul Simon

Something so right

Y entonces encontré something just right.

Y me levanté, por fin.




You’ve got the cool water
When the fever runs high
You’ve got the look of lovelight
in your eyes
And I was in crazy motion
‘Til you calmed me down
It took a little time
But you calmed me down

When something goes wrong
I’m the first to admit it
I’m the first to admit it
But the last one to know
when something goes right
Well it’s likely to lose me
It’s apt to confuse me
It’s such an unusual sight
I can’t get used to something so right
Something so right

They’ve got a wall in China
It’s a thousand miles long
To keep out the foreigners
They made it strong
I’ve got a wall around me
You can’t even see
It took a little time
To get close to me

Chorus

Some people never say the words
I love you
It’s not their style
To be so bold
Some people never say those words
I love you
But like a child they’re longing
To be told

Chorus

Paul Simon

So long, Kodachrome

Ternura

Viniendo para Toledo esta mañana he escuchado de nuevo la primera canción a la que me refería en el post de ayer, Tenderness (que he subido aquí, por si alguien la quiere descargar aquí en Spotify), de Paul Simon y, como cada vez que la escucho, he vuelto a pensar en mi ex-amigo J., del que llevo ya más de dos años sin saber nada.

Creo que la letra de la canción lo retrata perfectamente: él, que por otra parte vivía completamente engañado, tenía la capacidad de calar a la gente, de ver cosas que todos tratamos de ocultar.



What can I do?
What can I do?
Much of what you say is true
I know you see through me
But there's no tenderness
Beneath your honesty

Right and wrong
Right and wrong
Never helped us get along
You say you care for me
But there's no tenderness
Beneath your honesty

Pero era incapaz de combinar ese don con otro probablemente mucho más importante: el de sentir ternura por los demás, comprender y simpatizar con sus defectos, sus limitaciones. Se sentía capaz de juzgar a todo el mundo, y todos acababan por supuesto siendo culpables. Porque nadie está libre de miedos, de taras, de complejos, de pequeñas o grandes miserias. Hay muy pocos héroes en la vida, e incluso ellos también tienen su lado oscuro, cosas de las que se avergüenzan y que tratan de mantener ocultas.

Honesty
Honesty
It's such a waste of energy
No you don't have to lie to me
Just give me some tenderness
Beneath your honesty
You don't have to lie to me
Just give me some tenderness

Sin ternura, la sinceridad es a menudo simplemente una forma de crueldad.

Pero a la vez que recuerdo a J., y a alguna otra persona como él, pienso en lo afortunado que soy yo, que me he rodeado de personas dispares, diversas, pero que, si tuviese que definirlas por algo, sería precisamente por su ternura. Y por su disposición para la alegría.

Así, podemos burlarnos los unos de los otros, incluso exponemos (algunas de) nuestras miserias en público para que los demás se cachondeen como nosotros lo hemos hecho de ellos antes y lo volveremos a hacer cuando nos toque...

Pero es así porque, quizá sin ser muy conscientes de ellos, respetamos los límites que marcan la ternura y el afecto que nos tenemos.

Still crazy after all these years

Buscaba esta preciosidad de Paul Simon en youtube pero no hubo suerte, así que pongo esta otra, que es de hecho bastante apropiada... :-P



I met my old lover
On the street last night
She seemed so glad to see me
I just smiled
And we talked about some old times
And we drank ourselves some beers
Still crazy after all these years
Still crazy after all these years

I’m not the kind of man
Who tends to socialize
I seem to lean on
Old familiar ways
And I ain’t no fool for love songs
That whisper in my ears
Still crazy after all these years
Still crazy after all these years

Four in the morning
Crapped out
Yawning
Longing my life away
I’ll never worry
Why should I?
It’s all gonna fade

Now I sit by my window
And I watch the cars
I fear I’ll do some damage
One fine day
But I would not be convicted
By a jury of my peers
Still crazy
Still crazy
Still crazy after all these years

Paul Simon

Tenderness

What can I do?
What can I do?
Much of what you say is true
I know you see through me
But there's no tenderness
Beneath your honesty

Right and wrong
Right and wrong
Never helped us get along
You say you care for me
But there's no tenderness
Beneath your honesty

You and me were such good friends
What's your hurry?
You and me could make amends
I'm not worried
I'm not worried

Honesty
Honesty
It's such a waste of energy
No you don't have to lie to me
Just give me some tenderness
Beneath your honesty
You don't have to lie to me
Just give me some tenderness

Paul Simon