Caminante No Hay Camino Lyrics in English Joan Manuel Serrat

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Caminante No Hay Camino by Joan Manuel Serrat from Spanish to English.

Everything passes and everything stays

But ours is to pass

To pass while making a path

A path over the sea

I never chased glory

Nor to leave in men's memory

My song

I love the subtle worlds

Weightless and gentle

Like soap bubbles

I like to watch them paint themselves

With sun and crimson, to fly

Under the blue sky to tremble

Suddenly and to break

I never chased glory

Traveler, your footprints are the path and nothing more

Traveler, there's no path, the path is made by walking

By walking, the path is made, and when you look back

You see the track that will never be walked again

Traveler, there's no path, only wakes on the sea

Some time ago in that place

Where today the woods are dressed in thorns

You hear the voice of a poet shout

Traveler, there's no path, the path is made by walking

Blow by blow and verse by verse

The poet died far from home

Dust from a neighboring land covers him

As he left, they saw him cry

Traveler, there's no path, the path is made by walking

Blow by blow, verse by verse

When the goldfinch can't sing

When the poet is a wanderer

When praying is no use to us

Traveler, there's no path, the path is made by walking

Blow by blow and verse by verse

And blow by blow, verse by verse

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SONG MEANING

“Caminante, no hay camino…” is Serrat’s poetic reminder that life is not a pre-drawn map, it is a trail we create step by step. The song celebrates the here and now: everything passes, everything leaves a trace, but our true purpose is to keep moving, carving out our own route even if it feels as fleeting as foam on the sea. Serrat, inspired by the Spanish poet Antonio Machado, tells us that glory and fame are not his goals; instead, he delights in delicate, weightless worlds, like soap bubbles that burst in sunlight.

The chorus repeats like a mantra: “Walker, there is no path, the path is made by walking.” Each footprint is unique, and once we look back, the old path can never be trodden again. Through the image of a poet who dies far from home and the silenced goldfinch that can no longer sing, Serrat warns that times of hardship may mute our voices, yet the only way forward is still “golpe a golpe, verso a verso” – blow by blow, verse by verse. Ultimately, the song is a hopeful ode to personal freedom and creativity: trust your steps, craft your own song, and leave shimmering wakes across the sea of life.

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Joan Manuel Serrat Caminante No Hay Camino Lyrics