El Cóndor Pasa, El Cóndor Pasa Lyrics, Peruian Music, Peruian Melodies, Simon and Garfunkel, Simon and Garfunkel songs, Billboard Hot 100 Songs, The Condor Passes, The Condor Passes Lyrics;
“El Cóndor Pasa”, Spanish for “The Condor Passes”) is an orchestral musical piece from the zarzuela El Cóndor Pasa by the Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles, written in 1913 and based on traditional Andean music, specifically folk music from Peru.
Since then, it has been estimated that, around the world, more than 4,000 versions of the melody have been produced, along with 300 sets of lyrics. In 2004, Peru declared this song to be a part of their national cultural heritage. This song is now considered the second national anthem of Peru.
It is the best-known Peruvian song in the English-speaking world, due to a 1970 cover by Simon & Garfunkel on their Bridge over Troubled Water album. Their version is called “El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)”. In 1913, Peruvian songwriter Daniel Alomía Robles composed “El Cóndor Pasa”, and the song was first performed publicly at the Teatro Mazzi in Lima. The song was originally a musical piece in the Peruvian zarzuela (musical play), El cóndor pasa.
In 1965, the American musician Paul Simon heard for the first time a version of the melody by the band Los Incas in a performance at the Théâtre de l’Est parisien in Paris in which both were participating. Simon became friendly with the band, later even touring with them and producing their first US-American album. He asked the band for permission to use the song in his production. The band’s director and founding member Jorge Milchberg, who was collecting royalties for the song as co-author and arranger, responded erroneously that it was a traditional Peruvian composition. Milchberg told Simon he was registered as the arrangement’s co-author and collected royalties.
In 1970, the Simon & Garfunkel duo covered the Los Incas version, adding some English lyrics which in turn added Paul Simon to the author credits under the song name “El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)”. The instrumental version by Los Incas was used as the base track. They included the song on the 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water. Simon & Garfunkel released their version as a single in the US, which reached number 18 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and number 6 on the Easy Listening chart, in fall 1970. This cover achieved major international success and fame.
In regard to the Simon & Garfunkel version, Daniel Alomía Robles, Jorge Milchberg, and Paul Simon are now all listed as songwriters, with Simon listed alone as the author of the English lyrics.
El Cóndor Pasa Lyrics (1970)
I’d rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would
I’d rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would
Away, I’d rather sail away
Like a swan that’s here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound
I’d rather be a forest than a street
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would
I’d rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes, I would
If I only could
I surely would
Away, I’d rather sail away
Like a swan that’s here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound
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