Tango Time Machine — Tango Decoder

CONDENA: Life sentence for love

In our small tango community, some of our best dancers  jump to their feet upon hearing the opening bars of Canaro's 1937 tango, CONDENA; that's their long-awaited chance to dance that old-time canyengue with the guapo or guapa of their arrabalero dreams. But what's the meaning behind that slow, somber, arrastre-drenched rhythm? What is it meant to evoke? Let's see what composer/lyricist Enrique Santos Discépolo and his co-lyricist Francisco Pracánico had in mind....

CONDENA (Life sentence)* 
Tango 1937
Música: Enrique Santos Discépolo / Francisco Pracánico
Letra: Enrique Santos Discépolo*

Yo quisiera saber
qué destino brutal
me condena al horror
de este infierno en que estoy...
Castigao como un vil,
pa' que sufra en mi error
el fracaso de un ansia de amor.
Condenao al dolor
de saber pa' mi mal
que vos nunca serás,
nunca... no para mi.
Que sos de otro... y que hablar,
es no verte ya más,
es perderte pa' siempre y morir.

I’d like to know
what brutal fate
condemns me to the horror
of this hell I’m in...
Whipped like a cur
in order that I may suffer, for my misdeed,
the ruin of love’s longing.
Condemned to the pain
of knowing that, for my trespasses,
you’ll never be,
not ever...mine.
That you belong to another...and that to speak out
is to never see you again,
is to lose you forever and to die.

[Remaining lyrics and my notes are below the video...]

 

He arrastrao llorando
la esperanza de olvidar,
enfangando mi alma
en cien amores, sin piedad.
Sueño inútil. No he podido
No, olvidar...
Hoy como ayer
ciego y brutal me abraso
en ansias por vos.

I’ve dragged the hope 
of forgetting you, weeping,
through a hundred pitiless love affairs,
muddying my soul.
Worthless dream! I couldn’t,
no, I couldn’t forget...
As always,
blindly, brutally, I burn
with longing for you.

Y lo peor, lo bestial
de este drama sin fin
es que vos ni sabés
de mi amor infernal...
Que me has dao tu amistad
y él me brinda su fe,
y ninguno sospecha mi mal...
¿Quién me hirió de este amor
que no puedo apagar?
¿Quién me empuja a matar la razón
como un vil?
¿Son tus ojos quizás?
¿O es tu voz quien me ató?...
¿O en tu andar se estremece mi amor?*

And the worst of it, the beastly part
of this never-ending drama, 
is that you know nothing of
my infernal love...
That you’ve given me your friendship
and he offered me his faith,
and no one suspects my transgression...
Who wounded me by this love
that I cannot extinguish?
Who drives me to recklessly abandon 
all reason like a fiend?
Could it be your eyes?
Or is it your voice that bound me?...
Or is it in your very being that my love shudders? 

Notes:

*Condena: The title denotes condemnation, a prison sentence, or both. "Condemnation" would be a nice enough title, a first-cousin to Infamia, Humillación, Indiferencia; "Prison sentence," not so much. I took a little artistic license and made it "Life sentence." See whether that matches your own interpretation of the lyric or not.

*Discépolo: This is Tango Decoder's third version of an Enrique Santos Discépolo lyric. The others are INFAMIA and EL CARILLÓN DE LA MERCED. Discépolo had a very unique way of expressing himself that becomes more transparent to me with each new version—at least I imagine so! I look forward to tackling other songs of his, and to gaining a greater understanding of this key tango composer and lyricist. As always, your comments are welcome. Feel free to chime in in the comments section!

*your very being: tu andar. The literal meaning is simply "your walk," but the verb andar is used very broadly in Spanish to indicate a variety of behaviors, including the most general behavior of all, "being." The phrase could mean either "the way you walk" or "your very being." I chose the latter. 

 

Tiburon, Take Two

Here's my second take on Enrique Dizeo's lyric for Julio Pollero's 1927 tango, Tiburón. A few of the song's images and innuendoes eluded me the first time around. Below, I've made changes to the English-language version and added notes where appropriate.

[Photo: Cabaret scene, Buenos Aires 1924]

Tiburón (Shark)*

Tango, 1927 
Música: Julio Pollero / Luis D’Abraccio
Letra: Enrique Dizeo 

I'm a man whose been around,* 
I know the world like the best of them.
Since my youth I styled myself
a smart-talker and skillful lover. 
I come from the barrio of Villa Crespo,
but I’ve left the poor folks behind.* 
And now I dress myself to the nines
and arrive downtown looking quite the playboy.* 

Yo soy un hombre ya veterano, 
conozco el mundo como el mejor. 
Desde purrete me hice de línea, 
locuaz y ducho para el amor. 
Vengo de un barrio, de Villa Crespo, 
con gente pobre me divertí. 
Y ya de grande me hice de pilchas 
y llegué al centro hecho un fifí. 

And so I pass my luxurious nights
out on the town, going wild.*
And so I pass my luxurious nights
because I wasn’t born to suffer.
And at four in the morning
with a babe, with a babe,
and at four in the morning* 
with a babe* I leave for my bachelor pad* 

Y así paso mis noches bacanas 
de parranda, como el rana. 
Y así paso mis noches bacanas 
porque yo no nací pa’ sufrir. 
Y a las cuatro de la matina 
con la mina, con la mina, 
y a las cuatro de la matina 
con la mina me voy pa’l bulín. 

One party after another, that’s what I crave, 
celebrations and dances, whatever’s clever!* 
If I’ve got cash,* you’ll always
find me happy to spend it
That’s "life," as the poet said,
but a poet of the arrabal,*
and you gotta know how to live it, buddy,
not let it get you down.

Farras corridas es lo que anhelo, 
fiestas y bailes, ¡meta placer! 
Si tengo un mango para gastarlo 
siempre contento me van a ver. 
Así es la "davi", dijo un poeta, 
pero un poeta del arrabal 
y hay que saberla vivir, compadre, 
sino resulta sentimental. 

NOTES:

*Shark: In Argentina and Uruguay, the word tiburón, shark, refers to a wolf or Don Juan, a serial seducer of women.

*an old hand: The word veterano means a veteran, but it also means an old hand, somebody who's "been around." The latter interpretation is clearly indicated here. I don't know how I missed it on the first try!

*...I've left the poor folks behind: The song's protagonist is from Villa Crespo, which was a working-class, immigrant neighborhood and the site of several conventillos (overcrowded boarding houses with minimal sanitation, inadequate heating, and common cooking facilities). How he supports his luxurious lifestyle is not immediately apparent, although it isn't farfetched to assume that he is a criminal of some sort, probably a pimp. (See below.)

*looking quite the playboy: hecho un fifí. A fifí is a person from a wealthy family who chooses not to work; a playboy (or girl). The song's protagonist is clearly not a fifí, he merely dresses like one. (See previous note.)

*out on the town, going wild: De parranda means "out on the town." Como el rana, literally, like a frog, means "wild" or "wildly." A similar expression appears in Celedonio Flores' lyric for "El bulín de la calle Ayacucho." El bulin de la calle Ayacucho, que en mis tiempos de rana alquilaba (The bachelor pad on Ayacucho street that I used to rent in my wild days".

*At four in the morning...bachelor pad: One of the only remunerative forms of employment available to young women in this period was in the cabaret as a copera or alternadora. The copera danced and flirted with male customers and received a small percentage of what they spent on drinks. Many of them were also prostitutes. Here, the relationship between the song's protagonist and his mina, his girl, is not entirely clear. It may be that she is a woman that he  encountered at a party and is taking back to his bulín. Or she may be a copera that he, her pimp, is picking up after her night's work at a cabaret. The song does not specify.

*with a babe: The text of the lyrics gives this as con la mina, "with the girl." In Pollero's recorded version, however, the chorus sings con la piba. Piba is a young girl or "babe." On the recording, at least one member of the chorus sings con las pibas (plural), suggesting that our Shark has more than one piba, or perhaps several in succession.

*bachelor pad: bulín. A small apartment or room, often used for trysts or other sexual assignations. 

*whatever's clever: ¡meta placer! The expression meta... followed by a noun indicates a restatement or summation of what came before it. The sense of this line is "celebrations and dances, and all such things that give pleasure" or, in idiomatic English, "whatever's clever."

*cash: mango (Lunfardo). 

*That's "life"...arrabal: The word vida, life, is written "davi." The letters are transposed, a form of slang called Vesre (Reverse). Only a poet of the arrabal, the rough and tumble suburbs of BA, would write it that way.

Tiburon: Vagaries of a vivacious veteran

Thanks to Paul Bottomer and Fifi's Tango Music Musings (Fi Gosali) for calling my attention to this lyric. Now we know what a "fifí" really is! (See my notes below.) Oddly, Julio Pollero's own 1927 rendition of the song is not listed on tango.info, but a 1950 version by Domingo Federico, canta Mario Bustos, is. That's "davi," I guess. 

Enrique Dizeo (1893-1980) was an extremely prolific lyricist. He penned the verses to Mas solo que nunca, Cuando se ha querido mucho, Que nadie sepa mi sufir, El encopao, Ficha de oro, and more than fifty other tangos, milongas, and valses. That's Dizeo (r.) being interviewed by Luis Acosta of Mosaicos Porteños in 1977. 

An improved version of this translation with additional annotations is here.

Tiburón (Shark)
Tango, 1927 
Música: Julio Pollero / Luis D’Abraccio
Letra: Enrique Dizeo 

Now that I’m a veteran,
I know the world like the best of men.
Since my youth I styled myself
a smart-talker and skilled in love
I come from the barrio of Villa Crespo,
I’ve left the poor folks behind
And now I dress myself to the nines
And I arrive downtown looking quite the playboy.* 

Yo soy un hombre ya veterano, 
conozco el mundo como el mejor. 
Desde purrete me hice de línea, 
locuaz y ducho para el amor. 
Vengo de un barrio, de Villa Crespo, 
con gente pobre me divertí. 
Y ya de grande me hice de pilchas 
y llegué al centro hecho un fifí. 

And so I pass my luxurious nights
out partying wildly*
And so I pass my luxurious nights
because I wasn’t born to suffer.
And at four in the morning
with a gal, with a gal
and at four in the morning
with a gal I leave my bachelor pad* 

Y así paso mis noches bacanas 
de parranda, como el rana. 
Y así paso mis noches bacanas 
porque yo no nací pa’ sufrir. 
Y a las cuatro de la matina 
con la mina, con la mina, 
y a las cuatro de la matina 
con la mina me voy pa’l bulín. 

One party after another, that’s what I crave
celebrations and dances, whatever’s clever!
If I’ve got cash, you’ll always
find me happy to spend it
That’s "life," as the poet said,
but a poet of the arrabal,*
and you gotta know how to live it, buddy,
not let it get you down.

Farras corridas es lo que anhelo, 
fiestas y bailes, ¡meta placer! 
Si tengo un mango para gastarlo 
siempre contento me van a ver. 
Así es la "davi", dijo un poeta, 
pero un poeta del arrabal 
y hay que saberla vivir, compadre, 
sino resulta sentimental. 

NOTES:

*quite the playboy: hecho un fifí.

*partying wildly: como el rana, literally, like a frog. A similar expression appears in Celedonio Flores' lyric for "El bulín de la calle Ayacucho." El bulin de la calle Ayacucho, que en mis tiempos de rana alquilaba (The bachelor pad on Ayacucho street that I used to rent in my wild days".

*bachelor pad: bulín. See previous note.

*That's "life"...arrabal: The word vida, life, is written "davi." The letters are transposed, a form of slang called Vesre (Reverse). Only a poet of the arrabal, the rough and tumble suburbs of BA, would write it that way.

Infamia: Discepolo's Dionysian dread

Here's another shattering vision of life from tango's woozy prophet of sturm and drang, Enrique Santos Discépolo (a.k.a. Discepolín). Perhaps for the best, the really disturbing bits are in the final stanzas, which aren't sung in the better-known, Golden Age versions of the song. 

Notes are below the English-language version. Many thanks to Jozef Van Der Molen for getting me interested in this lyric. It's been a wild ride! 

[That's Discepolín on the right, doing his own little puppet show.]

Song data at tango.info
Discépolo biography at Wikipedia

Infamia (Disgrace)
1939 
Music: Enrique Santos Discépolo
Lyric: Enrique Santos Discépolo

People who are brutal when they act without mercy,
people who are savage when they’re doing evil,
sought to turn the image of your love and my hope
into puppets in their Punch and Judy show....*

For myself, what did I care about your past....?
if with a pure heart you faced the future.
Joyfully I opened my arms to your desire and with my love,
as clowns,* we went on with our lives. 

It was useless to protest
that you wanted to be good.
It was silly to wail
promises of your redemption.

People are brutal;
they always hate him who dreams.
Derisively they mock him;
throwing his best intentions off a cliff.

With your history and my honor
stripped bare in the marketplace,
they danced their dance of horror,
without compassion...

[Canaro/Adrian and D'Arienzo/Mauré end the song here, repeating the preceding verse. Remaining stanzas are not sung. Proceed at your own risk!]

[Your anguish understood* that it was impossible;
to struggle against people is pure hell.
That's why you left without telling me, my love!
And in the end you plunged into your destiny.]

[Your life from then on was an act of self-destruction,
a whirlpool of horror and alcohol.
Last night you self-destructed, once and for all.
My soul tenderly weeps for you in your final rest...Dear heart!]

[May God shelter you in your sleep,
sweet angel who could not achieve her dream.
I wanted to do more for you,
but that was no more than a wish;]

[May your soul forgive my life
for the best it could do.
In death, all in white,
your hope will be realized,
dressed as a bride before God...
just as it dreamed.*]

NOTES:

*Punch and Judy show: The Spanish word guiñol means a puppet show in general, or more specifically a Punch and Judy show. I chose the latter interpretation for its aggressive, violent connotaitons, which reflect the context of the song more accurately.

*as clowns, we went on with our lives.": salimos, de payasos, a vivir. The image of clowns stands, figuratively, in opposition to the earlier image of Punch and Judy show. The song's protagonists prefer to live as happy, freely-moving clowns rather than hateful, violent puppets held captive to the whim of a puppet-master. To be a puppet is to be a slave; to be a clown is to live free. Discépolo himself seems to have been something of a clown. He was sometimes compared to Charlie Chaplin.

*your anguish understood that it was impossible: Discépolo personifies the emotion of anguish.

*your hope will be realized...as it dreamed: llegará tu esperanza
…como soño. Again, the poet personifies an emotion.

[En castellano]

La gente, que es brutal cuando se ensaña,
la gente, que es feroz cuando hace un mal,
buscó para hacer títeres en su guiñol,
la imagen de tu amor y mi esperanza...

A mí, ¿qué me importaba tu pasado...?
si tu alma entraba pura a un porvenir.
Dichoso abrí los brazos a tu afán y con mi amor
salimos, de payasos, a vivir. 

Fue inútil gritar
que querías ser buena.
Fue estúpido aullar
la promesa de tu redención...

La gente es brutal
y odia siempre al que sueña,
lo burla y con risas despeña
su intento mejor...

Tu historia y mi honor
desnudaos en la feria,
bailaron su danza de horror,
sin compasión...

Tu angustia comprendio que era imposible,

luchar contra la gente es infernal.

Por eso me dejaste sin decirlo… amor!…

y fuiste a hundirte al fin en tu destino.

Tu vida desde entonces fue un suicidio,

vorágine de horrores y de alcohol;
anoche te mataste ya del todo,
y mi emocion
ante llora en tu descanso.. corazón!

Quisiera que Dios amparara tu sueño,

muñeca de amor… que no pudo alcanzar su ilusión.

Yo quise hacer mas pero todo fue un ansia;

que tu alma perdone a mi vida su esfuerzo mejor.

De blanco al morir, llegará tu esperanza

vestida de novia ante Dios…como soño.