CANCION DE RANGO: Tango, a song of distinction

"I sing because I feel the emotion of the tango... rhythmic and proud. I sing whenever someone shouts out that there’s a cheeky tango looking for a heart."

Canción de rango (Pa' que se callen)
A song of distinction (To shut them up)
Tango, 1942
Music: Raul Kaplún
Lyrics: José M. Suñe

Lucio Demare w/ Roberto Arrieta
Rodolfo Biagi w/ Jorge Ortiz
Miguel Caló w/ Roberto Rufino
Ricardo Tanturi w/Alberto
Danced by Natalia Bianchi & Natán Lima
Danced by Amanda & Adrian Costa

 

Que bailen los que vienen pa' bailar. Que escuchen los que quieran escuchar. Pa' todos hay un tango acompasado, pretencioso y retobado reinando en mi ciudad. Yo canto porque vivo la emoción del tango... cadencioso y compadrón. Yo canto cuando alguno pega el grito que hay un tango compadrito buscando un corazón. Pa' que se callen los que andan divulgando que el tango es triste, que es danza y son del fango; pa' que se callen les voy pasando el dato: mi tango es danza triste pero es canción de rango. Pa' que se callen les mando en dos por cuatro esta cadencia viril que se hace canto. Si son sensibles, verán que no es del fango aquél que envuelve en tangos su corazón. Que bailen los que vienen pa' bailar. Que sigan escuchando los demás. Hoy tengo la emoción envuelta en tango y es por eso que me agrando al son de su compás. Yo canto porque vivo la emoción del tango cadencioso y compadrón. Yo canto cuando alguno pega el grito que hay un tango compadrito buscando un corazón.

Let those who come to dance, dance. Let those who want to listen, listen. There's a tango for everyone, rhythmic, showy, and rebellious, reigning in my city. I sing because I feel the emotion of the tango... rhythmic and proud.* I sing whenever someone shouts out that there’s a cheeky tango* looking for a heart. To shut them up, those who go about saying that tango is sad, that it’s a dance and a sound of dishonor;* to shut them up, I‘m spreading the word: My tango is a sad dance but it’s a song of distinction.* To shut them up, I send them in dos por cuatro,* this virile cadence in the form of a song. If they’re sensitive, they'll see that he who wraps his heart in tangos is not dishonorable. Let those who come to dance, dance. Let the rest keep on listening. Today my soul is immersed in tango and that is why I stand tall at the sound of its beat. I sing because I feel the emotion of the proud, rhythmic tango. I sing whenever someone raises the cry that there’s a cheeky tango looking for a heart.

NOTES:

* rhythmic and prideful: cadencioso y compadrón. Cadencioso means melodious, rhythmic or swinging. Compadrón is a Lunfardism meaning a boastful, arrogant person, prone to excessive pride or bragging, prideful. 

* a cheeky tango: un tango compadrito. The compadrito was a typical figure of the arrabal, known for his highly affected style of dress and movement; disdain for regular employment; petulant, unpredictable, sometimes violent behavior; vainglory and braggadocio. Several sources mention a tendency to take credit for deeds that were not his own. The compadrito was regarded with suspicion among other segments of society and played no constructive social role except insofar as they may have influenced the early development of the tango dance and set the sartorial style for would-be tangueros of subsequent generations. Applied to a tango, the term would seem to indicate a more limited set of compadrito-like qualities: pride, impulsiveness, emotionality, marked stylization, and non-conformism.

* a dance and a song of dishonor: danza y son del fango. The word fango, literally "mud," connotes disgrace or dishonor. Fango was a prominent feature of the unpaved streets of the arrabal. Therefore a dance, a song, or a person that is del fango, "of/from the mud, " is one standing "low" in the hierarchy of Argentine society. The word fango and its synonym, barro, appear often in tango lyrics. For examples, see CHAPALEANDO BARRO, MONEDA DE COBRE, COMPADRÓN and others.

* a song of distinction: un canción de rango. Rango means rank, standing, social status. The lyric counterposes the idea that tango is a song of fango, dishonor, to the assertion that it is a dance of rango, status or distinction.

* dos por cuatro: Literally, "two by four." Refers to the putative two-four time signature of early tango, which is sometimes considered to be its distinguishing rhythmic feature. Tango is performed with accents on the first and third beat of each measure, i.e., dos por cuatro (2/4). Musically speaking, however, the time-signature is 4/4, not 2/4.

Comments

[Dmitry Pruss]

So it's really a sister song of Una emocion, right? Same authors, same call for the purified tango of true emotion and time-honored dignity as opposed to dirt and immorality? Same intoxicating violin lyricism? Both presumably born out of polemic against D'Arienzo fans?

[Tango Decoder]

Spot on, Dmitry! I found myself thinking of UNA EMOCIÓN a lot while I was working on CANCIÓN DE RANGO. Both songs share that wish to ennoble the tango, to acknowledge its emotional character, and to downplay its darker side. Thanks--I always appreciate your commentary! M