The divine sound that penetrates the soul
”Eagle Song” (El condor pasa) is a world-renowned Peruvian song with a strong Indian style. The literal translation of the song’s title is “Eagle Flying Over”, which expresses the Indians’ spirit of resistance to the colonizers, their unceasing pursuit of freedom and their deep nostalgia for heroes. According to legend, the song was written in memory of the Peruvian national hero Tupac Amaro, who died against Spanish colonial rule. In 1780, he was killed in leading an uprising against the Spanish. According to legend, after his death, he turned into a mountain eagle, soaring in the Andes, watching over the land and people he loved…
The earliest lyrics of this song are Quechua (also translated as “Quechua”, English: Quechua), to the effect: “Condor, king of the Andes, bring me back to my dear land, my homeland of the Andes, and I will The Inca brothers I miss living together. Wait for me in Cusco Plaza and let’s soar over Machu Picchu and Huaina Picchu!” Chichua is a tribal name for the Indians. One of the tribes, the Incas, established the “Inca civilization”, one of the three major civilizations in the Americas. Its scope includes Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina in today’s South America. The main area is located in South America. The Andes Mountains, the political, military and cultural center in the Peruvian province of Cusco.
Peruvian Pan Flute
It was composed in Spanish in 1913 by Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles. However, the song was silent for more than half a century after that. It is also thanks to the famous American folk singer Paul Simon that made it a household name in the world. In 1965, while performing at a Paris theatre with his partner Art Garfunkle, he met the Peruvian Los Incas. Simon was drawn to the band’s Andean style. So he invited the “Incas” band to record the instrumental part of “Song of the Eagle” the following year and filled in English lyrics for it. The song was included on Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 album Bridge Over The Troubled Water. Since then, many musicians have adapted it into various styles such as rock, jazz, and even Latin dance, and the “Song of the Eagle” has spread all over the world. In 1980, it was voted “the most beautiful song in the world” at the European Music Festival in Dortmund, Germany. Now the song has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has become a symbol of Andean music (produced along the Andes Mountains, geographically including the mountains of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, as well as central Colombia, Argentina and northern Chile). The synopsis and translation of its English lyrics are as follows.
El Condor Pasa
Eagle Song
I’d rather be a sparrow than a
snail,
Yes I would. If I could, I surely
would If I could, of course I would.
I’d rather be a hammer than a
nail
Yes I would. If I only could, I surely
would If I could only, of course I would.
Away, I’d rather sail away, I’d rather
fly far, Like a swan
that’s here and gone A man gets tied up to the ground , He gives the world its saddest sound I’d rather be a forest than a street Yes I would, if I could, I surely would . If I could, of course I would! I’d rather feel the earth beneath my feet Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would If I could only do this, of course I would!
The song first uses three pairs of common things for comparison: sparrow and snail, hammer and nail, forest and street, the author chooses the former of each pair because they enjoy greater freedom in comparison. There is another pair of comparisons in the song, swans and people. The swan flies high in the sky, free, while the man is bound to the earth and sings a song of sorrow. The song expresses the author’s deep helplessness, revealing the ethereal ideal and the hopelessness of freedom. The first half of the song is about freedom from reality, expressing the author’s wishful thinking and fantasy that is out of touch with reality. In the second half of the song, the author finally returned to reality, “I would rather experience the feeling of the earth under my feet”, believing that only by being down-to-earth can real freedom be achieved, and ideal and reality can achieve perfect unity.
folk group simon and garfunkel
However, “Song of the Eagle” is most popular in South America in Indian or Spanish, not English. Because the locals believe that this truly represents the spirit of “Song of the Eagle”. According to media reports, the 1913 version of the song has been declared a national cultural heritage by the Peruvian government and has become a cultural symbol of the country along with the famous Machu Picchu site. Scholars in the country believe that the music with strong Andean national characteristics and the uninhibited lyrics in “Song of the Eagle” have the political significance of awakening Peru’s national identity and resisting Western colonialism.
”Song of the Eagle” can basically be played with various musical instruments, such as harmonica, piano, guitar, whistle, pan flute, etc., but the most popular one is the pan flute. The pan flute is a very representative musical instrument in Peru and a symbolic symbol in Indian music. The Chichuya call the pan flute antara. In ancient times, the Indians used wood, stone, clay and metal to make panpipes; now they use reeds, bamboo, sugar cane and other plant roots. The treble of the pan flute is bright and soft, and the bass is deep and mellow.
The “Song of the Eagle” played by the pan flute is simple and natural, ethereal and clear, deep and high, elegant and free. Every beating note is like the sound of nature, purifying the soul. Listen to the divine rhythm, as if following the mountain eagle through the foggy jungle, leaping over the mountains and mountains, the gentle mountain wind blows in my ears, and in an instant, I come to the Andes plateau, enter the ancient and mysterious Indian tribe, and understand the Indians’ desire for freedom. Yearning, feel the strength of the Indians when they experience pain, and understand the integration of the Indians with all things in nature.
The ancient Inca culture of the Andes has created a unique style of Indian music. “Song of the Eagle” is one of the outstanding representatives, it tells the story of Indian civilization to generations of people.
