PLAYING FOR CHANGE

peter contributed this post the the blog. I hope others will be inspired to contribute too.

VIDEO SERIES

Songs Around The World

Playing For Change is a movement created to inspire and connect the world through music, born from the shared belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. Our primary focus is to record and film musicians performing in their natural environments and combine their talents and cultural power in innovative videos we call Songs Around The World.

Click on title to view and listen to video.

LaBamba

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The pandemic has engendered a sense among many of us, even some of us that may not already have felt so much this way, that we really are all in this together. I expect many of us around the world have experienced this new sense of connection with people we may even have felt estranged from just a little while ago. This is of course a good thing. Playing For Change describes itself as a “movement” that attempts to do something very similar.
 
So, I decided to contribute this video of musicians from around the world performing “La Bamba” to our blog courtesy of Ellie, a song which was made famous in the United States and also around the world decades ago by Ritchie Valens.

There is another reason I chose this Playing for Change video of “La Bamba.”

I like to dance.

I like to do international folk dance and Contra Dance and English Contra Dance. And for years I have enjoyed dancing “freestyle” to all sorts of music from the blues and pop music, Cajun, jazz and so on, even including to some rather unusual (some people might say weird) avant-garde kinds of music.

But I can’t go out dancing right now. Ever. Well, until who knows when.

Luckily, I have enough space in my apartment where I can freestyle to just about any kind of music that gets me moving.

OK. I’m sort of crazy. But I do try to make sure I don’t disturb the neighbors.

But there’s more.

If you listen carefully to the words of La Bamba, and I have included below both Ritchie Valens original Spanish lyrics, as well as an English translation of his lyrics, which pretty much match those in the video best I can tell; “La Bamba” is about grace, and I think in one way or another about more than one kind of grace. Fortunately, as the songs says, “a little grace is needed for me, for you” and “for you I will be only. . .”

So, here I am. I hope you enjoy this video. I enjoy watching and listening to it from time to time. And sometimes dancing too.

Peter

Ritchie Valens Lyrics in Spanish

Para bailar La Bamba

Para bailar La Bamba se necesita una poca de gracia

Una poca de gracia

Pa' mi, pa' ti, y arriba, y arriba

Y arriba y arriba

Por ti seré, por ti seré, por ti seré

Yo no soy marinero

Yo no soy marinero, soy capitán

Soy capitán, soy capitán

Bamba, bamba

Bamba, bamba

Bamba, bamba, bam

Para bailar La Bamba

Para bailar La Bamba

Se necesita una poca de gracia

Una poca de gracia

Para mi, para ti, ay arriba, ay arriba

Para bailar La Bamba

Para bailar La Bamba

Se necesita una poca de gracia

Una poca de gracia

Pa' mi, pa' ti, ay arriba, ay arriba

Y arriba y arriba

Por ti seré, por ti seré, por ti seré

Ritchie Lyrics in English

To dance La Bamba

To dance La Bamba you need a little grace

A little bit of grace

For me, for you, and up, and up

And up and up

For you I will be, for you I will be, for you I will be

I'm not a sailor.

I'm not a sailor, I'm a captain

I'm a captain, I'm a captain

Bamba, bamba

Bamba, bamba

Bamba, bamba, bam

To dance La Bamba

To dance La Bamba

It takes a little grace

A little bit of grace

For me, for you, oh up, oh up

To dance La Bamba

To dance La Bamba

It takes a little grace

A little bit of grace

For me, for you, oh up, oh up

And up and up

For you I will be, for you I will be, for you I will be only