Home · Songs · Joaquín Sabina · Pero qué hermosas eran
From album
19 días y 500 noches
Joaquín Sabina · 1999 · Track 10
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The story behind
In Pero qué hermosas eran time stands still in a slow waltz, where each chord seems to whisper a confession between glasses and goodbyes. It is not just a song: it is a moment where nostalgia becomes tangible, with a rhythm that drags like the smoke of a cigarette in an empty bar. The bass traces melancholic lines that intertwine with the harmonica, while Joaquín Sabina's voice paints images of women who leave, of loves that fade into the air. What surprises most is how the piece is built on an irregular meter, almost as if the heart were beating with unexpected pauses, giving it that sense of controlled chaos that makes each repetition sound fresh.
The recording of this track was not easy. Sabina and his team worked for seven months in the studio, battling the record label's objections, which viewed a double album with skepticism in a market used to shorter formats. The result, however, justified the effort: 19 días y 500 noches sold half a million copies, becoming one of his longest albums up to that point, with nearly seventy-five minutes of music. The mixing was handled by Brett Rader, while production was led by Enrique Berro García and Alejo Stivel, the latter a former member of Tequila, who contributed that raw sound that contrasts with the elegance of the lyrics. The track, with its seven-plus minutes of duration, was not meant to be an immediate commercial success, but rather a piece that breathes on its own, like those stories shared among friends late at night.