"Penélope" is a song by Joan Manuel Serrat and Joaquín Sabina, released in 1998. The song tells the story of a woman named Penelope who waits for her lover to return. In the lyrics, Penelope is described as sitting on a bench at the train station, wearing her Sunday dress, brown leather bag, and high-heeled shoes. She waits for the first train to arrive, fanning herself with her fan. The people in town say that a traveler once stopped her clock on a spring afternoon. She tells her lover not to cry because she will return before the willow leaves fall. She asks him to think of her and promises to come back for him. The song then describes how Penelope's lover left her, causing her clock to stop and her garden to wither. There is no willow tree left on the main street for Penelope. She becomes sad and waits for every passing train, watching the faces of the passengers but considering them as mere dolls. The townspeople say that the traveler returned and found Penelope waiting on her green pine bench. He called her name, but Penelope, with eyes filled with memories of the past, realizes he is not the one she has been waiting for. She stays at the station with her brown leather bag and high-heeled shoes, still waiting for her true love to return. The song portrays the dedication and faithfulness of Penelope, as she waits endlessly for her lover's return. It explores themes of unrequited love, loneliness, and the passage of time.
