Qs people asked me on songs and my replies to them

El condor pasa, “The condor passes”, or even, the condor flies by, denotes the spirit of freedom. It is about being in control of your life.

A condor is a very large type of bird which is commonly seen in the Andes region of South America

Like while the snail is slow and stuck to the ground, the sparrow is swift and free and can fly to places it wants to reach.

The nail is stuck to the wall and endures pain or oppression, while the hammer is free and strong.

While a forest is huge and can expand, the road is stagnant and trampled upon by others.

So “I would rather be … free, in control of my life, rather than a weak and meek person”. That is what most strong people aspire - like the condor that is passing.

Condor is a symbol of the sky, limitless, free. It is also the King of Birds, and embodies the four cardinal virtues of wisdom, justice, goodness, and leadership.

The meaning is really great and the soft soothing song ‘s made popular by Simon and Garfunkel.

It is a Peruvian song, something like an anthem. Listen to it one more time…

The title of the song is in Spanish because the music was written by Daniel Alomía Robles in 1913 and he was a Peruvian. However, the lyrics were written by Paul Simon. One of the lines that you hear very often in the song is "If I could...", which is often used as another title for this song. So, "El Condor Pasa", or "If I Could". The phrase, "if I could..." expresses possibility. "If I could" means if I were capable, if it were possible for me. It's like a kind of potential. It's like saying, if I had the capacity to do this then I would.

--

There are a few things that the writer, Paul Simon, is really valuing. He's valuing movement. Not being stuck. He doesn't want to be tied to one place and to not have the freedom to move around and make changes in his life. He's saying, if I could, I would rather have a life of change, of evolution, of growth.

The sparrow represents this freedom. He can fly fast and high above everything else, unlike the snail which is stuck on the ground, moving slowly.

The hammer is symbolic of being involved in many different pursuits and also being the one causing the action, making the changes.

And just like the swan, he wants his life to be beautiful. He wants the freedom to be here and to leave. The person who doesn't have this life is like that man who gets tied up to the ground. That man gives the world a sad sound, the saddest sound. This would be the opposite of what he wants for his life.

What else would he really like? He would like to be a forest rather than a street. He wants to be in touch with nature, in touch with the universe and life.

Taking all the lyrics together, I think it's partly a critique of our society, pointing out how many of us have lost our way and gotten distracted in life. It also expresses this primal and deep desire to live lives that are not only meaningful but also beautiful.

While this song had a lot of success in 1970 when it was released, it has had a sort of revival due to the movie Wild. You can hear this song playing all throughout that movie.

                                                      **************8888888***************