Cloud Cuckoo-Chile Con
Cymru-The Storyof 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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