Mama: Music

• MP3 short clip, hi-fi play (broadband)
• MP3 short clip, lo-fi play (modem)

The title of this song appears on a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo, while some of the lyrics are direct quotations from her journal. Born in 1907 in La Casa Azul (“The Blue House”, now a museum dedicated to her) in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón contracted polio at age six, and in 1925 sustained dreadful injuries when a bus in which she was riding collided with a trolley car. She was plagued by intense pain for the rest of her life, and images of wounds and suffering frequently occur in her work.

Zoë: vocal, classical guitar
Sarah: vocal, steel-string guitar

Why do I need feet
When I have wings to fly
In my house of blue
Bluer than the sky

These broken bones
Teach me to be free
I spend my days alone
I am what I see

And what I see
I don’t forget
I see myself in burning colours
Red, yellow
Oh aquí me pinté yo

A leafy vine
Trails beside my hair
I turn my eyes
The mirror meets my stare

And what I see
I don’t forget
I see myself in burning colours
Red, yellow
Oh aquí me pinté yo

I am tired but I am happy
I am tired but I am happy
¿Pies para qué los quiero si tengo alas pa’ volar?
I am tired but I am happy
Espero alegre la salida – y espero no volver jamás
I am tired but I am happy