Lyrics: She was Glory dressed in tulle With a distant and blue gaze Smiling in a shop window With a tiny, garnet little mouth And some patent leather shoes That sparkled in the touch of the sun Clean and beautiful, she always followed the fashion All dressed up as if going to a wedding And I, all hours, went to see her Because I loved that woman Made of cardboard From St. Stephen's to Christmas Among sales and novelties She made my sidewalk softer She wasn't like those April dolls That scratched me from the front and profile That ate my orange in wedges That snatched away my illusion completely With the quickness that comes from rent Forgetting the air it breathed yesterday She plays the cards that the moment gives her Tomorrow is just an adverb of time No, no. She was waiting in her showcase To see me turn that corner Like a bride Like a little bird, asking me "Set me free, set me free And let's escape to write the story" With a stone, I shattered the glass And I ran, I ran, I ran with her to my doorstep Her entire body trembled in my arms The moon of March smiled at us Under the rain, we danced a waltz One, two, three, one, two, three... nothing else mattered And I spoke to her about our future And she silently cried... I swear it And between four walls and a roof She burst against her chest Pain after pain I held the universe in my hands And we turned the past into a verse Lost within a poem And then, they arrived They pushed me out of my house And locked me in these four white walls Where my friends come to see me Every month Two at a time And from six to seven Joan Manuel Serrat's song "De Cartón Piedra" tells the story of a man's love for a woman who seems perfect, like a beautiful mannequin in a shop window. The man dreams of a future with her, but realizes that she is not like other "April dolls." She is not easily swayed by the passing moment, but instead, waits in her showcase for the man to come and set her free. One day, the man breaks the glass of the shop window and takes the woman with him. They dance in the rain and he promises her a future together. However, their happiness is short-lived as they are separated and the man is locked away in a mental institution. The song ends with the man reflecting on his situation and the visits he receives from his friends, longing for the freedom he once shared with the woman made of cardboard. The lyrics convey a sense of yearning, lost dreams, and the fragility of love. The title, "De Cartón Piedra," which translates to "Made of Cardboard," suggests that the woman the man loves is not real, but rather an idealized image. The song explores themes of love, longing, and the fleeting nature of happiness.
