FAWM: "Ciutat de Llums"

Ciutat de Llums

3 weeks ago by @berni1954

Skirmish: Lichterkette (translation... (@mashala)

Ciutat de Llums

berni1954

00:00

Liner Notes

This is for the Fairy Lights in a foreign language Skirmish.
This is written in Catalan - my other main language -
It's a three chord trick in G
The translation follows the Catalan below.

INSTRUMENT Baton Rouge Eight String Baritone Ukulele
#Català #Catalan #FUC

Lyrics

Estic caminant sota les llums de Nadal
Totes són estels o de forma rodal
Fan la seva màgia amb l'ambient
Moltes imatges passen per la meva ment

Ciutat encantada
Ciutat de llums
Tanta alegria
Parla de volums

Un dels meus amics diu que és una pèrdua de diners
Però per molta gent porten plaers
Veus cares alegres per tot el carrer
amb uns grans somriures difícil de desfer

TORNADA

Serà tan trist quan les treguin una altre cop
Però a l'horitzó hi haurà calçots
Sempre hi ha alguna festa a la nostra ciutat
On tornarem amb noves curiositats

TORNADA
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Translation into English

I'm walking under the Christmas lights
They are all stars or round shapes
They work their magic on the atmosphere
Causing many images to pass through my mind

Enchanted city
City of lights
So much joy
Speaks volumes

One of my friends says it's a waste of money
But for many people they bring pleasure
You see happy faces up and down the street
With big smiles that are hard to defeat

CHORUS

It will be so sad when they take them down again
But on the horizon there will be calçots (1)
There is always some festival in our city
Where we will return with new curiosities

CHORUS

(1) Calçots are a a leek-like member of the onion family. They are eaten at huge outdoor parties in winter with a spicy/sweet sauce. It's messy, but fun.

Comments

@jinx 1w

I couldn't resist this as soon as I saw the "català" tag, having studied that beautiful language for two semesters when I was in grad school. This song is utterly charming <3 And I love that we get to learn a little bit about the culture in these lyrics, too!

@nancycunning 2w

So lovely to hear you singing in Catalan, Berni. I didn't even read the translation, because I just wanted the beautiful words ringing in my head. So glad you're back this year...

@scruffyblues 2w

Ooh I must share this with my brother (@rhyl) as he will love it...as do I. A very cheery sound, a Christmas classic sound to it. Great song!!!

@jonmeta 3w

Sweet! Wasn't expecting Catalan FAWM today (or ever) so it was a nice surprise. People who don't live in Spain don't realise how much life revolves around festivals.

We grew calçots last year in our garden here in Aragón and grilled them over an open fire in the patio : my first time trying them, and they were fresh from our own soil. Fantastic.

@torsten 3w

Makes me want to eat calçots. I really love the regional flavour of your song not only by the language but also in the story.

@kerriwinter 3w

I would absolutely put this on a christmas playlist. love how you're talking about the lights (I love christmas lights!!) but also covering what comes next. great song!

@mashala 3w

What a beautiful language - I'm so glad you participated in Catalán! (I learned singing l'estaca a few years ago because I loved the song so much). And a great catchy song that made me dance a little bit through the kitchen... :) I understood the gist of it - the chorus and some other parts - through my Spanish but it was great to read the translation. I would have missed that they are Christmas Lights though (Nadal). I really like following your thought process through the song, contemplating and enjoying the Christmas lights... Great skirmish!

@marilisa 3w

What a great singalongable tune! Could definitely hear this being sung with guitars and wine late at night by groups of friends. (I was also pleased that I understood most of it before I looked at the translation – I learned some Catalan more than 20 years ago and it's nice to know some if it has stuck!)