Al mar! [English translation]

You and I have dined in fancy restaurants,

you and I have danced in the light of a street light,

you and I raced around in a yellow Ford Fiesta,

you and I have sung around the campfire,

you and I have wanted the same sort of things,

you and I have filled our heads with fantasies1,

you and I up on the Ferris wheel,

you and I and our history2

but you and I have never swum in the sea

the sea, the sea,

the sea, the sea,

the sea, the sea,

the sea.

We set down our towels, I buy you some ice cream

we play with paddles and a ball, dodging passers-by.

On the horizon you can make out the sails

of some kids in Optimists3 in the cove nearby.

I take a nap now that the sea is blowing in.

Stretched out like that you look amazing:

long and white, reading on the sand

about Vatican intrigues with an unexpected ending.

"This heat is really too much."

You get up and adjust your bathing suit,

with one foot you test the water temperature,

and everything is ready for us to get in the sea4

the sea, the sea,

the sea, the sea,

the sea, the sea,

the sea.

So, if you ever stop by,

and if, in spite of work, we find a morning,

I would never forgive myself, I couldn't accept,

not picking you up on my motorcycle and going

far away from here, to the other side of the world.

There's a little beach shack with four pines behind it.

You and I sitting at the bar,

They're playing good music and we're facing the sea,

the sea, the sea,

the sea, the sea,

the sea, the sea,

the sea.

1. The Catalan expression, which literally means 'to have your had full of sparrows,' means to be unrealistic2. Or 'story'3. A small, fiberglass dinghy that can be sailed by one person, designed for childrenl4. The usual expression here is 'get in the water,' but I chose 'the sea' beacuse of the repetition and for symmetry

• Artist:Manel
• Album:Els millors professors europeus (2008)