Listen to it here #
Intro #
November 12, 2022 was the day! Yes, 2022. This post is about a song I finally got to hear in concert in 2022, even though it’s already 2023. It had been months since I bought the tickets, many month, but the day to get to see Jorge Drexler in conctert had finally arrived.
A Concert In Pictures #
The concert stage was simple with a backdrop that changed colors throughout the songs to match the mood of the music and lyrics.
What I Needed #
Being honest with you, I bought two tickets for this concert and the person I had originally thought would be able to go with me did not go. Yet, the reality of what happened was just as enjoyable as anything I could have imagined. I got to go with a great friend, meet new people, enjoy great music, and am left with good memories nonetheless.
I can’t choose the life I want, but I can choose how I’ll die, and it’ll be on my terms. - Asuna
Said another way,
I can’t choose the life I want, but I can choose to live the one I have. - Jerry
Now that I’ve had some time to reflect, and paper, I can write about how much I enjoyed watching Jorge Drexler sing so many of the songs I knew, live! I sang along with him when I could, and when I didn’t know the lyrics I got lost in the sounds surrounding my ears.
This concert, along with so many other things from 2022 are written in the story of my life and each chapter will be told in the best way I can manage. I just need some time and paper.
Jorge Drexler #
I can’t remember exactly when Jorge Drexler became a part of my musical life. It’s like a person you meet and you start talking and keep talking to over the next couple of days and soon it’s as if you’ve known each other your whole lives. It’s like having an imaginary past but not really.
That’s the way it is with Jorge Drexler, even though if I think hard enough I can guess exactly when I first heard his songs. A story for another time. So many of his songs have crossed my CD player that I doubt I’ll limit myself to only sharing one of them.
Thank you Jorge Drexler for having this concert for me. You’re welcome for showing up. (:
Favorite Lyrics #
I tried to translate this song by leaving a part of it intact, however, I was unable to. Maybe later I will com up with a better translation. Here is my favorite part
Near the end, I’m always grasping
Through the storm without a compass
I’m disheartened but then after
every chapter
if it should be told, will be told
…
Paper and time
Paper and time
Paper and time
Paper and time
You’ll notice that unlike most of the song, this verses switches from “Time and paper” to “Paper and time”. It’s hard to explain but in Spanish it is reversed in a clever way to rhyme the word “time” with the word “told”. Obviously, in English those words don’t rhyme with the way I translated it here. Like I said, maybe another time.
What I like about this one is that encapsulates my writing experience. The stories that are meant to be told will make it out there into the world. Those that are not won’t survive past the barrel of a pen.
I ask for no more than I need
…
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Anyone that writes knows that one of time’s gifts is ideas, and that inking them down helps capture them, refine them, and prepare them for exposition. Anything not written down or trapped in some way is at risk of being becoming unknown again.
I like typing as much as anyone else, but writing things down on paper is one of life’s pleasures that I choose to not give up on. I think it’s because it forces me to reflect. It helps my insides feel better. It helps me look at the world more brightly. Now that I’ve been to see Lin-Manuel’s musical, Hamilton, it makes me think of the lyric from the song titled Hurricane,
I’ll write my way out
I’m not writing my way out of anything like in Alexander Hamilton did as he sang that song. It’s more like I’m writing my way into something. What exactly that is, I don’t know yet.
Lyrics #
[Verso 1]
Lo que dejo por escrito
No está tallado en granito
Yo apenas suelto en el viento
Presentimientos
Pido lo que necesito
All that I’ve left written
Into marble is not stricken
I let loose onto wind currents
my premonitions
I ask for no more than I need
[Refrán 1]
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
[Verso 2]
Pero me cuesta esperar
Y cuando toca decantar
Lentamente lo que siento
Yo me impaciento
Luego lo vuelvo a intentar
But I don’t like the wait
when I have to peel
away slowly what I feel
I start to reel
Shortly after I retry
[Refrán 1]
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
[Estribillo 1]
Nunca sé
Ni por qué
Ni cuándo
Esa voz
Yo no la
Comando
I don’t know
why, when, how
no never
This voice is
Not mine to
Command
[Verso 3]
Y al final, siempre ando a tientas
Sin brújula en la tormenta
Pero tras el desaliento
Cada cuento
Si ha de pintarse, se pinta
Near the end, I’m always grasping
Through the storm without a compass
I’m disheartened but then after
every chapter
if it should be told, will be told
[Refrán 2]
Tiempo y tinta
Tiempo y tinta
Tiempo y tinta
Tiempo y tinta
Paper and time
Paper and time
Paper and time
Paper and time
[Estribillo 2]
Puede que
Nunca te
Calibre
Corazón
Siempre irás
Por libre
Maybe I’ll
never find
your rhythm
Heart of mine
always sing
your own song
[Estribillo 1]
Nunca sé
Ni por qué
Ni cuándo
Esa voz
Yo no la
Comando
I don’t know
why, when, how
no never
This voice is
Not mine to
Command
[Refrán 1]
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
Tinta y tiempo
(Tinta y tiempo)
(Tinta y tiempo)
(Tinta y tiempo)
(Tinta y tiempo)
(Tinta y tiempo)
(Tinta y tiempo)
(Tinta y tiempo)
(Tinta y tiempo)
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
Time and paper
(Time and paper)
(Time and paper)
(Time and paper)
(Time and paper)
(Time and paper)
(Time and paper)
(Time and paper)
(Time and paper)