A Ese Pájaro Dorado...

Joan Manuel Serrat's song "A Ese Pájaro Dorado..." is a poetic exploration of a love that is both capricious and free-spirited. The metaphor of the 'golden bird' symbolizes a love that soars high, breaking through the mundane and the sinful, embodying a sense of freedom and unpredictability. This love is described as one that cannot be silenced or caged, emphasizing its wild and untamed nature. The imagery of the bird splitting the sky in two suggests a love that is powerful and transformative, yet inherently elusive and difficult to contain.

Serrat laments that this love does not fit well into the 'daily clothes' or the ordinary aspects of life. The 'washed face' represents the everyday, unadorned reality that this love struggles to thrive in. He describes this love as a 'delicate flower,' highlighting its fragility and the care it requires to flourish. The love Serrat sings about is one that blooms under the full moon but withers under the constraints of daily life, suggesting a love that is beautiful in its rarity but impractical in its everyday existence.

The song also touches on the fleeting and ephemeral nature of this love. It 'burns poorly in the brazier,' 'drowns in a tear,' and 'yields little in the stew pot,' indicating that this love is not sustainable in the long run. It is a love that thrives on passion and intensity but falters in the face of routine and practicality. Serrat's poignant lyrics capture the essence of a love that is both enchanting and tragic, a love that is as beautiful as it is doomed to fade away.