I did this version of the tango "Bigotito" a while back, before I started Tango Decoder. This morning I noticed Jozef had posted the video of Osvaldo Fresedo and Teofilo Ibañez's 1930 rendition of the song on his Facebook timeline! So here it is—Tango Decoder's English-language version, notes, and original castellano courtesy of TodoTango. The YouTube video's down there, too; I chose to include Anita Palmero's performance rather than Ibañez's. Not only does she sing all the verses, but she's a real snappy dresser—check out that getup in the first few seconds of the video. Love the shoes!
For Jozef Van Der Molen.
Bigotito (Little Mustache)
Music: Manuel Buzon
Lyrics: Gerónimo Martinelli Massa and Ismael Aguilar
Fitted jacket with thirty buttons,
boots in the shape of a toad,*
scarf hanging like wisteria,
and wide, flared pants* that smartly clear the way.
Little hat stuck on the forehead,
underneath, hair tonic and plenty of sawdust,*
And on the lip, ten strands of hair
like an impressionist* doing Charlie Chaplin.
If your old man
should lift his head
and I see you showing off
that pathetic Chaplin fuzz,
Little mustache, I swear to God
I’ll yank out that silly affectation*
one hair at a time.
And with those looks, he even has bride!
The girl is sweet, beautiful, coquettish,
and the father-in-law a lout with waxed mustachios*
like the handlebars of a motorcycle.
With all that, sure thing, jealousy runs rampant,
and seeing them pass arm in arm
I put a silencer on my rage and pain.
It's true what they tell me: "Love is blind!"
NOTES
*boots in the shape of a toad: Botines could be either spats or ankle-high boots. My Argentine informant assures me that boots are the correct interpretation. They would have had broad, rounded toes that gave them a toad-like shape.
*wide flared pants: "un Oxford"
*underneath...plenty of sawdust: That is to say, empty-headed.
*"caricato": An artist specializing in comic portrayals of known persons; an impressionist.
*silly affectation: berretín (Lunf.), whim, affectation, obsession, or mania.
*waxed mustachios: tegobis, meaning bigotes, big mustaches. The letters are transposed, ala Vesra.
[en castellano]
Saquito entallado con treinta botones,
botines que tienen la forma de sapo,
pañuelo colgando como una glicina
y un oxford que se abre camino de guapo.
Sombrero chiquito pegado en la frente,
debajo gomina con mucho aserrín
y sobre la boca, diez guitas de pelo
como un "caricato" de Carlos Chaplín.
Si tu viejo
levantara la cabeza
y te viera luciendo esa
pelusita a lo Chaplín,
Bigotito,
te lo juro por el cielo
Que a tirones—pelo a pelo—
te arrancaba el berretín.
¡Y tiene hasta novia con esa figura!
La piba es hermosa, gentil y coqueta
y el suegro un goruta con unos "tegobis"
que son dos manubrios de motocicleta...
Con todo, una fija, se corre el pelusa,
y yo a la sordina con bronca y dolor
al verlos que pasan prendidos del brazo
bien dicen, me digo, "que es ciego el amor".
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