15 phrases by Joaquín Sabina that are authentic poetry

Surely there are phrases from songs that have accompanied you in important moments in life. This is what happens for many with this great artist. If Joaquín Sabina’s songs have something, it is that they reach the soul. Their poetic, and often provocative lyricsthey tell us about love and heartbreak, about peculiar characters, about the fight for freedom, about the human condition… in short, about life with all its contradictions.

Joaquín Sabina, the poet from Úbeda

Joaquín Sabina was born in 1949 in Úbeda, Jaén. As a teenager he started writing poetry. and to compose music for his first rock group. He studied Romance Philology at the University of Granada, where he participated in the student movement against the Franco regime, which led him to exile in London.

During his stay in England, wrote his first songs and organized theatrical performances with other Spanish exiles.

It was at the end of the 70s, back in Spain, when his career in music took off and with his second album, «Bad companies», he gained a lot of popularity. In his more than 40-year career he has published numerous albums, collaborated with many renowned artists (Joan Manuel SerratFito Páez, Leiva, Andrés Calamaro…) and made international tours.

This 2024 he has announced his farewell to the stage with a final tour called “Hello and goodbye” that will take him to various places in America and Spain.

Poetic phrases by Joaquín Sabina

Sabina has become one of the most important figures of Spanish music. His lyrics have accompanied and continue to accompany generations. Below we have compiled some of his most beautiful verses.

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1. «The kisses I lost, for not knowing how to say: ‘I need you’.»

Some verses from Where Oblivion Dwells that remind us that we should not let the fear of showing ourselves vulnerable damage the connection with our loved ones.

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2. «Even the soles of my shoes miss you.»

in the song Lime RoseSabina illustrates us with this verse that miss someone feel even in the most ordinary and seemingly insignificant parts of life.

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3. «I prefer war with you, to winter without you.»

For Sabina, love, even with its difficulties, is preferable to emotional coldness what it feels like without the loved one.

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5. «There is no nostalgia worse than longing for what never ever happened.»

Sabina tells us in this verse about With a withered forehead of the pain it entails longing for possibilities that never came true.

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6. «And life continued, as things continue that don’t make much sense.»

life goes on even when we have no purpose or motivation, often leaving us with a bitter feeling of resignation.

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7. «The good thing about years is that they heal wounds, the bad thing about kisses is that they create addiction.»

Although time can soften the pain of past wounds, love often leaves a persistent desire that is difficult to escape.

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8. «This goodbye does not mask a see you later, this never does not hide a hopefully.»

Goodbyes are often painfulbut in order to move forward you have to accept the end of relationships without clinging to the hope of a reunion.

9. «Love, when it does not die, kills, because loves that kill never die.»

Love, even when it causes pain, endures and It leaves deep and indelible marks on our soul.

10. «The death of a friend hurts me more than the death that haunts me.»

Sabina reflects, in this verse from Lágrimas de Mármol, on the value of friendshipwhich for him is more important than his own life.

11. «The best promises are those that do not have to be kept.»

The best promises are those made lightly, without the pressure of commitment.

12. «If I leave forever it’s because I can’t take it anymore; I have nothing to lose, only the fear of loneliness.»

In Character Incompatibility Sabina explains how sometimes we need to escape despite the fear of loneliness.

13. «Love is the game in which a couple of blind people play at hurting each other.»

Here Sabina offers us a quite pessimistic outlook on love and presents it as a risky game that leads to pain.

14. «You should not try to return to the place where you have been happy.»

This verse from City Fish reminds us that Returning to places we associate with past happiness can be disappointing because it is often impossible to recreate them in the present.

15. «These lips that taste like goodbye, like vinegar on wounds, like seasonal handkerchiefs.»

Sabina uses powerful images to convey the bittersweet and painful emotions that are associated with goodbye.