Music that Takes You Back to Your Camino

[PilgrimDance]

Here is a question we stumbled into in another thread. A particular piece of music can remind us of where we were and what we were doing when we used to listen to it. It can take us right to another time and place. What music (vocal or instrumental) do you associate with your Camino? Please list the title and the composer / performer. SYates says this topic should keep us busy for months!

 

[Bradypus]

The tune which takes me right back to my first arrival at the cathedral in Santiago is "Brincadeiro", from Milladoiro. The version on the album "O Berro Seco" was playing in one of the souvenir shops nearby. Very simple but infectious tune

 

[SYates]

... SYates says this topic should keep us busy for months!

Actually I was more thinking of a thread about 'what would you like to sing on the Camino if music and lyrics where provided?' or similar ;-) But I am sure this thread will also keep us busy ;-) Buen Camino, SY

 

[SYates]

 

[evanlow]

So serious... Here's something more contemporary ...

 

[evanlow]

Another one....

 

[evanlow]

And finally, when you feel rebellious and decide to take a 30+ km route for the day in the hot sun this may be quite inspiring .....

 

[Levi]

Father John Misty for me....started listening in Zubiri and now it's my 'Camino' music. (Although I did have a lovely half hour singing Old McDonald Had a Farm with a fellow pilgrim when the Roman road got too much for us...)

 

[Alasdair Kay]

Terrible to confess this but lady GaGa's Fame Monster Album always makes me think of the three days on the Senda on the Meseta ..... just banging out the km's on the side of the road. I can still feel every stab of the walking poles hitting the gravel and cobbles

.... sure this album got me from Bercianos to Religious and Mansilla

 

[Alasdair Kay]

I also used to have regular what I called crying days on the Camino Days. Times when the beauty and the letting go of stress and pain would all bubble up and I was being healed by the Camino.... This one would often set me off

 

[Alasdair Kay]

I also used to have regular what I called crying days on the Camino Days. Times when the beauty and the letting go of stress and pain would all bubble up and I was being healed by the Camino.... This one would often set me off

remember listening to this at dawn at O Ceberio and being a total mess of snot and tears

 

[Louise2016]

Two years ago when we did the Camino, we kept hearing this song in shops and cafes along the way. It will always remind us of the Camino. It is called "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.

 

[PilgrimDance]

Actually I was more thinking of a thread about 'what would you like to sing on the Camino if music and lyrics where provided?' or similar ;-) But I am sure this thread will also keep us busy ;-) Buen Camino, SY

I'm sorry I misunderstood. But let's do this one too!

 

[SYates]

Triple like! Mejor Camino con música! SY

 

[SabsP]

Tallest Man on Earth with King of Spain.

 

[Seabird]

"Across the Great Divide" with the wonderful starting lyric: "I've been walking, in my sleep....." My theme song!
I used the music in a video I put together of the Camino Frances. You can watch it here:
https://caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/walk-the-way-with-me-in-6-minutes.42909/

 

[SabsP]

For me, it's Tous les matins in the version sung by a choir of Premonstratensians from Conques. I've had it as a mp3 version for a long time, now someone has put some pictures to it and uploaded it to Youtube:

If someone knows how I can buy this version of the song, please let me know.

This link might be a start...
http://www.produits-monastiques-mondaye.com/6-disques
http://www.produits-monastiques-mondaye.com/217-voix-dans-l-abbatiale.html

 

[C clearly]

Joan Baez singing Forever Young. I tossed my parents ashes on the meseta to this music, and had to leave the Camino the next day to attend my father-in-law's funeral. The lyrics are very poignant - worth reading.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Two years ago when we did the Camino, we kept hearing this song in shops and cafes along the way. It will always remind us of the Camino. It is called "Happy" by Pharrell Williams.

Happy for us at the same time.
Pacabel's Canon in D for our first camino and trip to Paris and London - this piece linked all three places.
None for the Portuguese.
On the Via de la Plata this year we fondly remembered 2014 on the few occasions we heard "Happy", but there was no one song this time - except for one the kids sang together very often as they walked. Funnily, one line was "it's your breath in our lungs......as we pour out our praise" I saved my breath for walking ;-)

 

[Djimbo]

Here is a question we stumbled into in another thread. A particular piece of music can remind us of where we were and what we were doing when we used to listen to it. It can take us right to another time and place. What music (vocal or instrumental) do you associate with your Camino? Please list the title and the composer / performer. SYates says this topic should keep us busy for months!

Hello.
I've not yet been on The Way...I start from Leon mid Sept. I was initially going to walk with my best mate of 44 years...but he is now unable due to a stroke and the onset of pneumonia. HOWEVER, some months back, he sent me a copy of a CD by a friend of his, and I've listened to little else since then. Canadian musician and teacher Oliver Schroer walked the Camino Frances (carrying his violin "like a wooden chalice, like my own precious relic, carefully packed in it's reliquary of socks and underwear and waiting to work a miracle") in 2008 with his wife and a couple of friends and recorded a stunning collection of solo violin impressions in various churches along the way, simply titled "camino". Oliver died of Leukemia in 2008, but left a tremendous musical legacy that enriches us all.

In addition, maybe because I lived for a time in Ireland, I seem to be especially fond of different takes on the music of Galicia, which I'll list in no particular order;
Susana Seivane
Luar Na Lubre
Banda De Gaitas 'Ledica'
Riobo
Banda De Gaitas 'Xarabal'
and of course...
Carlos Nunes
Hevia

I understand that while many folks don't particularly care for Bagpipes or Doodlesacks...(same for accordions and didgeridoos), the aforementioned artists are the seeds of Camino momentos that I will tend in my head. and which I shall harvest later.

See you on the way. Buen camino!
JIMMY!

 

[PEI_Heather]

Believe it or not, Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen for Camino #1. It was my Little Camino Brother's favourite song and he sang it over and over and over and over and over and over..... Hard not to get rid of that kind of earworm after oh, 700 km and over 3 weeks of walking together! (Hardly walking, inspiring or spiritual music, but certainly energetic! )

On Camino #2 along the Portuguese, it was Wake Me Up! By Avicii...there was a big youth festival taking place somewhere along our walk--sorry, can't remember where--and a tent with stage not too far from our hotel. This song played and it stuck in my head the rest of the Way.

Wish that I could stay forever this young
Not afraid to close my eyes
Life's a game made for everyone
And love is the prize

So wake me up when it's all over
When I'm wiser and I'm older
All this time I was finding myself
And I didn't know I was lost

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

For me it will always be this poem of Antonio Machado and the poignant tune of Cantares by Joan Manual Serrat. A hauntingly beautiful song that accompanied me the entire Way...

 

[nidarosa]

@louise2 and @Kiwi-family I just have to post this Happy Pilgrim version for your (and mine and every pilgrim's) enjoyment:

 

[CdnDreamer]

Happy was one of my favourite songs during my 2015 camino. I was often dancing down the trail - my poles flying in the air. I was often dancing behind people, who never turned around, and never noticed how much fun I was having.

I also laugh every time I hear the Katy Perry song "Firework" - It starts off "do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind..." I was walking through a rain storm, with the wind blowing my $1.00 plastic poncho when the song came on.

 

[OTH86]

Taizé - Jesus, Remember Me -- playing when I went into Santa Maria de Eunate and I had my first Camino Moment.

 

[DurhamParish]

 

[DurhamParish]

I recorded this choir in the plaza in front of the Cathedral in Santiago. I love them.

 

[TaijiPilgrim]

Here is a question we stumbled into in another thread. A particular piece of music can remind us of where we were and what we were doing when we used to listen to it. It can take us right to another time and place. What music (vocal or instrumental) do you associate with your Camino? Please list the title and the composer / performer. SYates says this topic should keep us busy for months!

I have enjoyed reading all the replies. The variety of genres reminds me that we pilgrims are a varied lot with varied tastes and opinions. I am pleased to see others who enjoy Oliver Schroer and Carlos Nunez whose camino specific music resonated in my heart. I am not a musically talented pilgrim, so I found it surprising that my 2015 camino was full of music. I found myself singing each day "Morning has Broken," words by poet, Eleanor Farjeon, and first heard sung by Cat Stevens. However, when I reached Galicia, I subconsciously changed to the Celtic song "Come by the Hills," which I first heard sung by Gordon Bok and Ann Mayo Muir. One of my special memories of that camino is climbing up the misty gray O Cebriero gently singing the refrain "Ultreia" from "Tous les Matins" with a Swedish mother and daughter, who taught it to us. Ultreia!

 

[t2andreo]

Anything by Galician musician Carlos Nunez. He played with the famous Irish group "The Chieftains" for about four years as well, raising that group's understand of appreciation for the historical source for Celtic music...Galicia.

In particular, his album "Discovery" is a compendium of Galician influenced music as well as other Camino-centric favorites. There are 39 songs on 2 CDs. I was able rto buy it from iTunes...

Also, his CD album "Almas de Fisterra" contains a cut named "Yann Derrien."

Every time I hear "Yann Derrien," it brings tears to my eyes. The music is all Carlos Nunez. The vocal is sung by Eimear Quinn, an Irish female singer with a fairy-like voice. Carlos met her when he was playing at the celebration of the Millenium in Dublin New Year’s Eve, 1999. The collaboration is hypnotic.

The story is about a young man is is compelled by the spirits of deceased relatives to make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The first time I heard the song was in the Cathedral chapel where the daily English Mass is offered...thank you Johnnie Walker... The effect in that place and at that circumstance, was overwhelming.

Here are the lyrics:

"Dom Yann Derrien please do not be afraid
This is no demon's dream you have made
I am the ghost of your dear mother's soul
This night to Compostela you must go

Long and far is the path of the pilgrims of old
Paved with pebbles of silver and stones of gold
From Galicia you may deliver my soul
To the city of Compostela you must go

And as the pilgrim's way you retrace
A beast of darkness you will face
He will entice you your journey to forsake
Or he will cast you in the ocean's wake

Long and far is the path of the pilgrims of old
Paved with pebbles of silver and stones of gold
From Galicia you may deliver my soul
To the city of Compostela you must go

O Santiago will you be my guide
And will your spirit travel by my side
This prayer was heard throughout Galicia
Then he appeared at Compostela

Long and far is the path of the pilgrims of old
Paved with pebbles of silver and stones of gold
From Galicia you may deliver my soul
To the city of Compostella you must go

And he delivered three souls
His father's soul, his mother's soul and his own soul

Long and far is the path of the pilgrims of old
Paved with pebbles of silver and stones of gold
From Galicia you may deliver my soul
To the city of Compostela you must go

O Santiago will you be my guide and your spirit will travel by my side
This prayer was THROUGHOUT Galicia heard
Then I Appeared at Compostela, and I delivered three souls
His father's soul, his mother's soul and his own soul."

You get the idea...chilling, ain't it? If interested in the latter album and song, you can learn more about it here, on Carlos' Nunez' web site: http://www.carlos-nunez.com/almas-de-fisterra/

I hope this helps and adds value to the thread...

 

[Deleted member 56069]

I have a little different take on music and the Camino. First off I love music and have a huge range of what I like to listen to.
My own belief after 3 Camino's is not to listen any music via my ear buds as I walk each day.
Why? Because I believe you are missing out on the unique 'sound track' of the Camino itself. I want to hear the birds early in the morning as the sun comes up. The wind rustling through the grass or wires. Or the faint sound of a church bell that may be many miles away.
I also find that people who have their ear buds in during the day are essentially saying they are not interested in talking, they choose to be in their own world.
During my pre-Camino training, I am always listening to music though. I am 56, so still solidly love my 60', 70's and 80's. But I am always open to expand my music horizons. I think most of us have a strong affinity to the music they listened to when they were young.
So when I am training I may be listening to Vivaldi, The Four Seasons or Metalica, just depends on my mood.

 

[Mary Crnkovic Pilas]

What a lovely question! I took my ukulele on every Camino (the Frances 2013 - 2015, and the Camino Portugues this year) and always enjoyed singing and playing on the way, be it in an albergue, in a wood somewhere or busking on the street. A song that I always sing and is very near and dear to my heart is Schubert's Ave Maria. I met some dear friends from New Zealand in 2013 in Santo Domingo de la Calzada while singing it and sang it before pilgrim's dinner in the Parador in Santiago de Compostela. Having said that, I also associate "El Condor Pasa" with the camino, particularly the words "I'd rather be a forest than a street, I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet". I sang it today while busking here in Zagreb, closed my eyes and imagined myself on the camino. Sigh!

 

[Hollie C]

The tune which takes me right back to my first arrival at the cathedral in Santiago is "Brincadeiro", from Milladoiro. The version on the album "O Berro Seco" was playing in one of the souvenir shops nearby. Very simple but infectious tune

Well that music would have you walking...dancing along "the way".

 

[Former member 52467]

OK, so I have to admit on tough afternoons, when I was moaning and groaning about the mileage left, we would (if we were along) turn on The Best of ABBA! It would always do the trick. Thanks, ABBA.

 

[DurhamParish]

I never really liked the song "Morning Has Broken". I had always thought it was a bit "wimpy" (even though it is hymn number 8 in the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal). The morning I was leaving Roncesvalles, downstairs getting my boots on, preparing to go out into the pre-dawn drizzle, one of the hospitalleros came down playing his guitar and leading us in singing this song. I came home and learned to play the guitar and that's one of the songs that I play now almost every day.

 

[DurhamParish]

Anything by Galician musician Carlos Nunez.

"t", I've seen Nunez in concert here in Maryland three times now. One thing that I'm always impressed with (besides his amazing music) is his genuine sweetness and his willingness to share his stage with others. I've seen him invite people (probably prearranged by the promoter) of marginal abilities to perform a number with him and his band, and show them the respect and kindness he would have shown any top level professional. He truly is an amazing human being.

 

[Mary Crnkovic Pilas]

Hahaha, remember when I mentioned that Ave Maria reminded me of the Camino? My friend just sent me this!

 

[Rhun Leeding]

I liked the mention of Joan Baez' Forever Young, although I didn't have any of her music on my MP3 player this year. For me, the album that got the most plays was Frank Turner's Tape Deck Heart, just enough positivity and energy to keep a bounce in my step, while also having enough lyrics to make you think and appreciate the areas you are walking through. I would like to apologise to anyone who had the misfortune of catching a verse or more of my singing in Welsh while I was away. Apparently what you lack in talent cannot necessarily be made up by increases in volume!

 

[Smallest_Sparrow]

I think I've written about music I associate with the camino elsewhere on the forum, but...to tie it to a specific place, I'd say Invitationary: Regem Regum Dominum, Miracles of Sant'iago, Anonymous 4 as I approached the Cathedral, and Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, Warren Zevon (one of my all time very favorites) as I walked from the Cowboy Bar (Ganso) after trading war stories with the bartender, who had served in the Spanish Foreign Legion (the Bridegrooms of Death) ...both songs came up on my iPhone set to random shuffle. So of course, I read great meaning into it and of course, can't listen to either now without being back in the moment

 

[Bradypus]

I heard the song Our Lady of the Highways recently on the Mike Harding folk show podcast here in the UK. By an American singer-songwriter Zoe Mulford and inspired by a statue which stands beside a highway and commemorates a fatal accident. Reminded me of so many wayside shrines I have passed by over the years and the stories that lie behind so many of them. A beautiful voice too.

http://zoemulford.com/?section=music-10

 

[Djimbo]

I heard the song Our Lady of the Highways recently on the Mike Harding folk show podcast here in the UK. By an American singer-songwriter Zoe Mulford and inspired by a statue which stands beside a highway and commemorates a fatal accident. Reminded me of so many wayside shrines I have passed by over the years and the stories that lie behind so many of them. A beautiful voice too.

http://zoemulford.com/?section=music-10

Lovely!

 

[eviemonkey]

Some already mentioned...'The Way' soundtrack, 'El Condor Pasa'.

The Jose Gonzales and Eddie Vedder tracks from the 'Walter Mitty'and 'Into The Wild' soundtracks respectively. Also Joe Purdy 'Wash Away', Dario G 'Voices. Kiezsa's 'Hideaway' to evoke random dance moments along the way. Depeche Mode 'Walking In my Shoes', INXS 'Just Keep Walking', A-Ha 'Stay On These Roads' for the lyrics and being bloody great songs. Cheesy honourable mention to Tim Cappello's 'I Still Believe' which got me up one or two hills.

My go-to Camino song will always be Alanis's 'Thank You' from 'The Way' soundtrack. A great song in its own right but the lyrics reflected my own camino experiences, with references to 'fraility', 'consequences', 'silence', 'enjoying the moment for once', 'divinity' 'not equating death with stopping', 'nothingness', 'clarity', and 'unabashedly bawling your eyes out'.

 

[pstok]

A few years ago as we arrived in Spain for our Camino I assisted a young man and woman who were struggling with suitcases and instruments onto a bus. Later I helped them off the bus as well. The young man had some walking difficulties. A short while later we found ourselves in the same coffee shop. I nodded and they smiled. A few moments later he came over to our table with a cd of his music as a gift. I didn't get a chance to play it on the Camino. But later when I did, this young man's beautiful Spanish guitar music takes my wife and me back to our walk. It it is the warmest of memories!

 

[pstok]

My other music memory came when we walked out of Puente la Riena early one morning in the dark. As we got to the pilrim's bridge a group of men carrying a crucifix were standing there singing the most beautiful songs acapella. We didn't understand a word but it was a wonderful and inspirational way on which to start anew day's walk.

 

[Kanga]

I've been sitting reading the forum this morning, thinking about the next camino, and listening to this - the words are so spot on for me: "No matter the time, no matter the place, waiting in the wind, just outside, the road is always waiting in the wind" :

 

[Bradypus]

A great happy singalong song from the Proclaimers - with very appropriate lyrics too

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/proclaimers/imonmyway.html

 

[FRL]

Music Question
At an albergue in Burgos (Divina Pastora) in mid May we heard wonderful music in the morning. I am thinking it was a commerical CD as I believe there were CDs for sale, but maybe it was mix that someone had created. A couple of the songs I remember were John Lennon's Imagine, What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong and Cohen's Hallelujah. Does anyone know of a CD with these songs?

 

[KinkyOne]

For me, it's Tous les matins in the version sung by a choir of Premonstratensians from Conques. I've had it as an mp3 version for a long time, now someone has put some pictures to it and uploaded it to Youtube:

If someone knows how I can buy this version of the song, please let me know.

It reminded me a little bit of Marseillaise, but even more "heretic" many songs from Spanish Civil War are alike... Well at least to my taste/hearing... Beautiful anyway!

 

[lthrnck55]

 

[CdnDreamer]

I like to pick a song for every trip I take. This year I will be walking the Salvador and Primitivo and during my exercise class I found my song for this trip - "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake. It doesn't matter if I'm lifting weights, or walking on the treadmill. When that song comes on I just have to dance. I've even had the trainer come over and dance with me! So if I am tired, and feeling that I can't go on, I know I can just play that song and I will dance up and over the mountain!

 

[Bradypus]

The remarkable album "Santiago" by the Chieftains and a lot of guest musicians and singers ends with a riotous medley called "Dublin In Vigo". One of my favourite tracks ever - full of joy and energy. Someone recently posted a video to YouTube which may have been the original recording of the track live on a Galician TV programme. The picture quality is poor. Probably recorded off air on VHS tape. With the Chieftains, Carlos Nuñez, Irish dancers and others! I am very grateful to the person who posted the clip to YouTube. Looks like an event to remember for those who were there!

 

[mspath]

Camino Frances
towards Villatuerta

photo shot 0ctober 24, 2012



Somewhere west of Lorca/east of Villatuerta lay this evocative "long, long trail a-winding".

"...There's a long, long trail a-winding
Into the land of my dreams,
Where the nightingales are singing
And a white moon beams.
There's a long, long night of waiting
Until my dreams all come true;
Till the day when I'll be going down
That long, long trail with you."

lyrics by Stoddard King 1913