Hella Gems | Original Music Blog

To the Sea!

June 2012 by

rocky beach in Cadaques

Catalan indie group Manel tends to feature middle-class characters in everyday settings, aggrandized by heroic or mock-heroic balladry. This song is no exception--it's just about going to the beach with a friend or loved one.

See Manel's live version with choir at the Palau.

Our version is a little downtempo and slightly maudlin, hope it doesn't dampen too much your summer festivities.

Tu i jo hem sopat en bons restaurants,
tu i jo hem ballat a la llum d’un fanal,
tu i jo volavem en un Ford Fiesta groc,
tu i jo hem cantat a la vora del foc,
tu i jo hem buscat coses similars,
tu i jo hem tingut el cap ple de pardals,
tu i jo dalt de la nòria,
tu i jo i la nostra història,
però tu i jo no ens hem banyat mai al mar, al mar, al mar.

Plantem les tovalloles, convido a un gelat,
juguem amb alegria, esquivem passejants.
A l’horitzó es divisen les veles
d’uns nens que fan optimist a la cala del costat.
Dormo una estona, a la que bufa la mar,
així estirada se’t veu espectacular
llarga i blanqueta a la sorra llegint
intrigues de final inesperat.
Es abusiva tanta calor.
T’incorpores i et poses bé el banyador,
amb el peu calcules com està l’aigua
i tot esta llest per tal que entrem al mar.

Així doncs si un dia vens i passes per aquí,
i sí malgrat la feina trobem un matí,
no em perdonaria mai, no podria assumir,
no agafar-te amb la moto i que no fessim camí,
molt lluny d’aquí, a l’altra banda del món,
hi ha un xiringuito amb quatre pins al fons,
tu i jo asseguts a la barra d’un bar,
sona bona música i som davant del mar.

You and I have dined in good restaurants,
You and I have danced by a hurricane lamp,
You and I have flown in a yellow Ford Fiesta,
You and I have sung at the edge of the fire,
You and I have searched for similar things,
You and I have flipped our lids,
You and I above the quarry,
You and I and our story,
But you and I haven't ever bathed in the sea, the sea, the sea.

We put down the towels, I buy an ice cream,
We dodge passers-by, we play and scheme
Towards colored sails dividing the sky,
from kids sailing Optimists in the cove nearby,
I sleep a while, the sea breaks,
stretched out like that you give me the shakes
long and pale and in the sand reading
intrigued by an unexpected ending.
So much heat is quite an abuse.
You sit up and adjust your bathing suit
toes in the water you test the degree
and everything is just ready for us to enter the sea.

So if one summer day you pass by,
and if despite work we set aside,
a free morning, I couldn’t resist
grabbing the scooter and giving you a ride,
to the other side of the world, quite far
in front of four pines, there’s a beach bar,
you and I seated under a tree,
good music playing and we are in front of the sea.


To the Sea!

Graham: vocals, bass, keyboards, translation, sea samples
Kelly: vocals, pirate vocals, guitars
Xana: vocals
recorded in August 2011 in Barcelona

1 Responses to “To the Sea!”

  1. billjings

    I loved this track.

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