CUALQUIER COSA: She did whatever it took...

Cualquier cosa (Whatever it took)
Tango, 1927
Words and music: Herminia Velich / Juan Velich

Listen on YouTube:
• Ignacio Corsini (1929)
• Raúl Berón w/ Aníbal Troilo (1952)
• Mario Alonso w/ Francisco Canaro (1952)
• Angel Vargas w/ Armando Lacava (1952)

Cualquier cosa resultaste para que un hombre derecho tu maldad tomara a pecho entregándose al "splin". Con tu acción me comprobaste lo que de ti suponía que tu amor me sonreía para lograr otro fin. Loca mía, alma cruel y atravesada por tu artera puñalada toda mi dicha perdí. Quién diría que tu pensamiento terco te volviera flor de cerco y no encanto para mí. Tus divinos ojos verdes mezcla de mar y de cielo han dejado un desconsuelo que amargó mi corazón. Quiera Dios que no te acuerdes de volver ya que te fuiste porque el daño que me hiciste no merece mi perdón.

You did whatever it took so that an honest man would take your wickedness to heart, surrendering to spite. By your actions you confirmed what I suspected all along: that your love smiled upon me to gain some other end. Wanton woman,* cruel and treacherous soul, through your cunning betrayal I lost all my happiness. Who would have known that your obstinate thoughts would turn you into a noxious weed* and not a spell over me. Your divine green eyes mixed of sea and sky have left me with a grief that embittered my heart. Now that you’ve left I pray to God you don’t think of coming back because the damage you did me doesn’t deserve my pardon.

* O, wanton woman: Loca mía. The word loca means "crazy woman," but the alternate reading, "whore," is probably more apt here. "Wanton woman" is intended to cover both senses.

* noxious weed: flor de cerco, literally "fence flower." Possibly a reference to the Cardo común (Carduus acanthoides), a thistle-like flowering plant in the sunflower family, a relative of the artichoke, that is an invasive weed of Latin America. Its stalk bears tiny spines that may cause considerable pain when touched, not unlike the lady in the song.