Cloud
Cuckoo-Chile Con Cymru-The Story of the
Songs
1. A
Mi palomita
This is a
traditional Andean melody from Bolivia
and we learnt it from Venezuelan
troubador Gerardo Osal during his first
visit to Machynlleth for the first
“El Sueno Existe” festival.
Tony wrote the words for this version in
Spanish and Welsh.
Paloma is
Spanish for “dove” and the
words are about the River Dyfi which runs
through Machynlleth the name of which has
nothing to do with doves.
2. La
Fiesta Eres Tu.
This lively and
danceable song is by the Chilean band
“Inti-Illimani” and represents
“Latin American Creole”
music.From the album “Amar De
Nuevo” ; the title translates as
“You Are The Party”
3.El
Canelazo
Traditional song
from Ecuador; I first heard it sung in
Arica , Northern Chile and it appears on
a very early Inti-Illimani recording. The
song is about lost love and drowning
one's sorrows.
4. El
Faro[The Lighthouse]
Another song
from the “Amar De Nuevo”album.
The lyrics are beautiful and quite
surreal. “The bow leads me to your
reef, and in it I am shipwrecked with
happiness.”
5.
Dragonfly At Ding Dong Mine
Ding Dong Mine
is an ancient abandoned tin mine on the
West Cornwall moors. I wrote this tune
whilst watching a resplendent dragonfly
darting amongst the gorse and heather
surrounding one of the old mine shafts on
a balmy summers afternoon.
6.Duckweed
Song
The River Lea
runs through Hackney in East London
appearing murky and polluted. The song is
about walking up the river slowly leaving
the urban sprawl behind and heading
toward the source way out in the
countryside.
7. La
Petenera
Another stirring
traditional song ,this time from Mexico.
8. Negra
Presuntosa
By Andres Soto;
this song has been covered bythe Peruvian
singer Susanna Baca, Inti-Illimani and
others.
9.
Malaguena
Another
traditional song from Mexico ; another
one about lost love.
10.Volver
A Los 17
The great
Chilean songstress Violeta Parra is
considered to be the mother of
“Chilean New Song” She
travelled all over Chile making field
recordings of traditional songs and
composed the South American anthem;
“Gracias A La Vida”
11.
Lamento Borincano.
This song was
covered by Victor Jara and relates the
oft told tale of the country dweller
lured to the city believing that the
“streets are paved with gold”
only to find himself yearning to return
to his home. Its a sort of Latino
“Mountains Of Mourne”
12. Can Victor
Jara
This song in
Welsh is by Welsh folk-singer, Dafydd
Iwan. It tells the story of the legendary
Chilean musician Victor Jara who was
tortured and murdered following the US
backed military coup of September 11th
1973.
“Mae can
Victor Jara yw clywed o hyd; yr atsain yn
uchel dros wledydd y byd
Ond erys y
fascwyr, erys y trais
A gwrando mae
bobl am alwad ei lais”
“The song
of Victor is still heard echoing across
the countries of the world.
But there is
still fascism, there is still violence
And the people
listen for the sound of his voice"
13. A
Cocabamba Me Voy
A joyful song by
Victor Jara about revolution and freedom
from oppression. According to some
accounts,Inti was a nickname for Che
Guevara.
14
Duck, Robin and Sunshine songs.
Some cheery old
time melodies to finish from John Corden;
85 years old and his sister Violet Bedson
87years old. Recorded on a summers day in
a Welsh garden with blackbird and song
thrush and robin as backing musicians.
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