Gracias A La Vida - From Beberley on Feb 4th 2010

Spanish
Gracias A La Vida

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio dos luceros, que cuando los abro,
Perfecto distingo lo negro del blanco
Y en el alto cielo su fondo estrellado
Y en las multitudes el hombre que yo amo

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el oído que en todo su ancho
Graba noche y día, grillos y canarios,
Martillos, turbinas, ladridos, chubascos,
Y la voz tan tierna de mi bien amado

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario;
Con el las palabras que pienso y declaro:
Madre, amigo, hermano, y luz alumbrando
La ruta del alma del que estoy amando

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados;
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos,
Playas y desiertos, montañas y llanos,
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me dio el corazón que agita su marco
Cuando miro el fruto del cerebro humano,
Cuando miro al bueno tan lejos del malo,
Cuando miro al fondo de tus ojos claros

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la risa y me ha dado el llanto
Así yo distingo dicha de quebranto,
Los dos materiales que forman mi canto,
Y el canto de ustedes que es mi mismo canto,
Y el canto de todos que es mi propio canto
Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto

English
THANKS TO THE LIFE

THANKS TO THE LIFE THAT HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH
IT GAVE ME TWO BRIGHT STARS AND WHEN I OPEN THEN
I DISTINGUISH PERFECTLY THE BLACK FROM THE WHITE
AND IN the high sky its starred bottom
AND INT THE CROWD THE MAN I LOVE

THANKS TO THE LIFE THAT HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH
IT GAVE ME THE EARING IN ALL ITS WIDE
IT RECORD NIGHT AND DAY, CRICKETS AND CANARIES
HAMMERS, TURBINES, BARRKS, AND SHOWERS
AND MY LOVER'S TENDER VOICE

THANKS TO THE LIFE THAT HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH
IT GAVE ME THE SOUND AND THE ALPHABET
WITH IT THE WORDS I'M THINKING AND I DECLARING
MOTHER, FRIEND, BROTHER AND A LIGHT ILLUMINATING
THE WAY TO THE SOUL OF MY LOVER

THANKS TO THE LIFE THAT HAS ME SO MUCH
IT HAS GIVEN ME THE STRENGTH TO MY TIRED FEET
WITH THEM I WALKED CITIES AND PUDDLES
BEACHES AND DESSERTS, MOUNTAINS AND PLANES
AND YOUR HOUSE, YOUR STREET AND YOUR COURTYARD

THANKS TO THE LIFE THAT HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH
IT GAVE MY BEATING HEART
WHEN I LOOK THE FRUIT OF THE HUMANE BRAIN
WHEN I LOOK THE GOOD SO FAR FROM THE BAD
WHEN I LOOK INSIDE YOUR CLEAR EYES

THANKS TO THE LIFE THAT HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH
IT GAVE THE LAUGHTER AND THE CRIYING
SO I CAN DISTINGUISH HAPPINESS FROM SADNESS
BOTH MATERIALS THAT FORMS MY SONG
AND YOUR SONG THAT IS MINE TOO
AND THE SONG OF ALL WHICH IS MY OWN SONG
THANKS TO THE LIFE THAT HAS GIVEN ME SO MUCH

From: http://lyricstranslate.com

Violeta Parra



Mercedes Sosa and Joan Baez


Mercedes Sosa


Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a notable Chilean folklorist and visual artist. She set the basis for "New Song," La Nueva Canción chilena, a renewal and a reinvention of Chilean folk music which would absorb and extend its influence far beyond Chile.

Parra was born in San Carlos, province of Ñuble, a small town in southern Chile. She was involved in the progressive movement and the Socialist Party of Chile. She revived the Peña, (now known as La Peña de Los Parra). A Peña is a community center for the arts and for political activism. Some think she established the first 'peña' but according to the records of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language, places such as these had been called that since 1936 (RAE). During the government of President Salvador Allende there were Peñas mushrooming all over Chile. These were subsequently banned by the military regime that toppled the Allende government, making exiles and political prisoners out of whole sectors of the Chilean artistic and intellectual community. Nevertheless, there are still many Peñas operating throughout Chile, Latin America, North America, Europe, and Australia. They continue to serve the expat communities that fled Chile after the coup on 11 September 1973 that overthrew President Salvador Allende.

Violeta Parra was a member of the prolific Parra family. Her brother is the notable modern poet, better known as the "anti-poet", Nicanor Parra. Her son, Ángel Parra, and her daughter, Isabel Parra, were also important figures in the development of the Nueva Canción Chilena. Their children have also mostly maintained the family's artistic traditions.
Violeta Parra committed suicide[1] with a gunshot to her head in 1967, because of her depression over the breakup of her relationship with Gilbert Favre.

Her most renowned song, Gracias a la Vida (Thanks to Life), was popularized throughout Latin America by Mercedes Sosa and later in the US by Joan Baez. It remains one of the most covered Latin American songs in history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Parra