Gracias a la Vida

Gracias a la Vida

Parra composed "Gracias a la Vida" in La Paz in 1966. In 1971 the song was popularized throughout Latin America by Mercedes Sosa, and later in Brazil by Elis Regina and in the US by Joan Baez. It remains one of the most covered Latin American songs in history. The song opens with a very common shift between A minor and E major chords, then it goes to G7-C/C7 before returning to the Am/E motif. "Gracias a la vida" was written and recorded in 1964–65, following Parra's separation from her long-term partner.

04:38

1

Parra's lyrics are ambiguous at first: the song may be read as a romantic celebration of life and individual experience, but the circumstances surrounding the song suggest that Parra also intended the song as a sort of suicide note, thanking life for all it has given her. It may be read as ironic, pointing out that a life full of good health, opportunity and worldly experience may not offer any consolation to grief and the contradictory nature of the human condition.