Un País Con Un Nombre De Río Lyrics in English by Jorge Drexler
Añorar means 'to long for' or 'to yearn for'. It's a beautiful and evocative verb that expresses a deep sense of missing something or someone from the past.
In the context of the song, Jorge Drexler sings about "un pueblo habituado a añorar" (a town accustomed to yearning). This word perfectly captures the melancholic and nostalgic tone of the lyrics, describing a place and its people who constantly look back with longing, making it a poignant and memorable choice.
Jorge Drexler's "Un país con un nombre de río" [A country with the name of a river] is a beautiful, wistful look at his home country, Uruguay, and the complex feelings of leaving it. He describes it as "un prado vacío" [an empty meadow] and "un edén olvidado" [a forgotten Eden], a place of natural beauty by the sea. But it's also a place where "pocos caminos abiertos" [few roads are open] and "todos los ojos en el aeropuerto" [all eyes are on the airport], hinting at a longing to leave.
The song explores the push and pull of this longing. Drexler sings, "Como me cuesta quererte / Me cuesta perderte / Me cuesta olvidar" [How hard it is for me to love you / It's hard for me to lose you / It's hard for me to forget]. He talks about people seeking a new life, "Como las aves buscamos el norte" [Like birds we look for the north], especially during a "invierno largo" [long winter] of "tragos amargos" [bitter drinks]. Even with the difficulty of leaving, the call of home is strong, with the repeated line, "Brisa del mar, llévame hasta mi casa" [Sea breeze, take me home]. It's a song about the bittersweet experience of being from a place you love, but also need to leave.
