Una Paloma Blanca

[Nefertiti]

Hi there.


1. What does 'the night is on the run' mean? Is this expression common?

2. What is a 'golden sky light way'? Is this expression common?

3. What is 'my share of losing' Is this expression common?

Thanks in advance.

__________
The Song

When the sun shines on the mountain
And the night is on the run
It's a new day
It's a new way
And I fly up to the sun

I can feel the morning sunlight
I can smell the new-mown hay
I can hear God's voice is calling
For my golden sky light way

Una paloma blanca
I'm just a bird in the sky
Una paloma blanca
Over the mountains I fly
No one can take my freedom away

Once I had my share of losing
for they locked me on a chain
Yes they tried to break my power
oh I still can feel the pain

Una paloma blanca
I'm just a bird in the sky
Una paloma blanca
Over the mountains I fly
No one can take my freedom away

[Anglika]

Originally Posted by Nefertiti

Hi there.


1. What does 'the night is on the run' mean? Is this expression common?

2. What is a 'golden sky light way'? Is this expression common?

3. What is 'my share of losing' Is this expression common?

Thanks in advance.

The problem with poems is that poets use words in a different way, often creating vivid phrases. Interpreting poems is not helped when there is no punctuation.

#1 No, not a common expression. A poetic way of saying that the night is ending.

#2 No, definitely not a common expression, and I have no idea what the poet is saying.

#3 No, not a common expression. It seems to imply that "I" has had his/her share of losing freedom.

[Ouisch]

I love this song! Bought the 45 back in the day...


I see that the printed lyrics on the Web say "once I had my share of losing," but growing up listening to the song I always thought he was saying "once I had my share of blues, once they locked me on a chain..." Meaning that he'd had his share of trials, tribulations and overall bad times in the past. Also, keep in mind that George Baker (real name: Hans Bouwens), the man who wrote the song, is Dutch and English is not his first language, so he may have taken some liberties with his phrasing.

Here's a video of the George Baker Selection playing this song.

[Nefertiti]

Hi, Anglika.

Thanks for the details.

____

Hi, Ouisch.

You wrote, " I love this song! Bought the 45 back in the day..."

Did you mean 75? The song was first released in 1975.

I love this song too.

Thanks for the reply.

[Anglika]

the 45 = a vinyl record that was played at 45 revolutions per minute, and was about 14cms across. [Ah - those were the days]

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by Anglika

the 45 = a vinyl record that was played at 45 revolutions per minute, and was about 14cms across. [Ah - those were the days]

It seems that 45s (or 7 inch singles, as the Brits call them) have gone the way of typewriters, phonographs, and rotary dial telephones.

[Anglika]

We called them 45s too