"Jueves" is a song by the Spanish group La Oreja de Van Gogh (Van Gogh's Ear). Written four years after the atrocities of 11 March 2004, it evokes a sentiment contained within Gustavo Becquer's "Rimas" poems, which are alluded to in the text. Rhyme 53 speaks of the tragedy that is love's fulfilment, for it thereafter has only one place to go: loss.
"Jueves" is conceived in memory of the nearly 200 victims of 11M. It's an artistic expression and one is therefore verging on presumption to explain every last aspect of it. However, it contains those lines:
Y así pasan los días de lunes a viernes
Como las golondrinas del poema de Bécquer
And thus the days pass, from Monday to Friday,
Like the swallows in the poem by Bécquer.
I decided to cite the poem in order to satisfy any residual curiosity as to what the reference was to.
What I believe Xabier San Martin (the writer) was alluding to was the mundanity of travel on the metro. In fact, you can enjoy a road trip, or plane travel, a journey by train, even a bus. But, who looks forward to a metro journey? It is a suspension of life.
But the people whose lives are suspended on a subway train continue to breathe. There is romance in the tube, why not? And love is probably the only life experience that San Martin could gamble would have been shared by each and every victim of the outrages.
So, he wrote a song about falling in love on a subway train, whose fulfilment came on this "dia especial, este once de marzo". Love, fulfilled was then destined to be lost, and he alludes to the Enlightenment poet for confirmation of that, as life suspended becomes life ended. A last breath: último soplo.
"That" Thursday would later revert to being just "Thursday" (jueves) again. La Oreja de Van Gogh themselves offer this explanation:
Jueves es una historia de amor sobre la que nunca hubiéramos querido escribir. Es una canción especial, quizá la más especial de toda nuestra carrera. Es una de las pequeñas grandes historias que demasiadas veces las estadísticas terminan eclipsando. Por una vez y durante apenas cinco minutos de música, aquel 11 de marzo de 2004 vuelve a ser sencillamente “Jueves”.
Y por qué el titulo ?
The date 11 March 2004 is inscribed on Spain's memory as "11M" (once de marzo), just as 11 September 2001 is inscribed on the US's as "9/11".
I wonder if they'll stop provoking terror attacks before we run out of days of the year.
Yes, I understand. Thanks Graham. But how does it relate to the poem?
Thanks Graham. I’ll listen to the song with new ears:)
"Jueves" is a song by the Spanish group La Oreja de Van Gogh (Van Gogh's Ear). Written four years after the atrocities of 11 March 2004, it evokes a sentiment contained within Gustavo Becquer's "Rimas" poems, which are alluded to in the text. Rhyme 53 speaks of the tragedy that is love's fulfilment, for it thereafter has only one place to go: loss.
"Jueves" is conceived in memory of the nearly 200 victims of 11M. It's an artistic expression and one is therefore verging on presumption to explain every last aspect of it. However, it contains those lines:
Y así pasan los días de lunes a viernes
Como las golondrinas del poema de Bécquer
And thus the days pass, from Monday to Friday,
Like the swallows in the poem by Bécquer.
I decided to cite the poem in order to satisfy any residual curiosity as to what the reference was to.
What I believe Xabier San Martin (the writer) was alluding to was the mundanity of travel on the metro. In fact, you can enjoy a road trip, or plane travel, a journey by train, even a bus. But, who looks forward to a metro journey? It is a suspension of life.
But the people whose lives are suspended on a subway train continue to breathe. There is romance in the tube, why not? And love is probably the only life experience that San Martin could gamble would have been shared by each and every victim of the outrages.
So, he wrote a song about falling in love on a subway train, whose fulfilment came on this "dia especial, este once de marzo". Love, fulfilled was then destined to be lost, and he alludes to the Enlightenment poet for confirmation of that, as life suspended becomes life ended. A last breath: último soplo.
"That" Thursday would later revert to being just "Thursday" (jueves) again. La Oreja de Van Gogh themselves offer this explanation:
Jueves es una historia de amor sobre la que nunca hubiéramos querido escribir. Es una canción especial, quizá la más especial de toda nuestra carrera. Es una de las pequeñas grandes historias que demasiadas veces las estadísticas terminan eclipsando. Por una vez y durante apenas cinco minutos de música, aquel 11 de marzo de 2004 vuelve a ser sencillamente “Jueves”.
So beautiful ! The poem and your translation.