If I only could, I surely would

This past spring, walking down Alameda Street looking at the cracks in the sidewalk, I heard a beautiful, melodic song filling the air. I crossed over to Olvera Street and found a street busker playing what looked like an ancient flute that he had amplified. I realized he was playing a Simon and Garfunkel song that I heard as a child when my mom played her Bridge Over Troubled Water eight-track.

Subsequently, over the summer, I was looking for Spanish language songs to download and came across a 1960s band called Los Incas. I clicked on a song titled El Cóndor Pasa which turned out to be purely instrumental but also the melody of the Simon & Garfunkel song (I was unaware of the title).

And, this week I found another cover by Siskiyou! A brilliant piano cover with alternating acoustic guitar that starts off with the expected tempo of a funeral procession or dirge. It sounds somber but it builds up, add a little banjo and emotive vocals to Simon’s lyrics that were added to the original Peruvian folk song. Read more about the song here.

Siskiyou - El Condor Pasa (If I Could) ::mp3::

Check out Siskiyou’s new album on Constellation Records too! You can preview the entire album courtesy of the band and label here.