LA COLEGIALA: Poor little (rich) student

"She’s a poor little student whose dedication never flagged. Always and everywhere she had the elegance to be the mistress of her own heart."

La Colegiala (The student)
Foxtrot, 1938

Words: Enrique Rodriguez
and Roberto “Chato” Flores
Music: Enrique Rodriguez

This song is interesting from a class point of view. Most tangos are about people of the working-class and the underworld, but LA COLEGIALA is about a young woman from a family wealthy enough to send her to college. In the Argentina of 1938 there was no middle class; only very wealthy families could send their sons to college. And to send a daughter? Very unusual. Enrique Rodriguez's "All-Rhythms Orchestra"—so-called because they played pasodobles, foxtrots, pasodobles, etc., thus obviating the need to hire a second orchestra, as was the custom—must have had some rather high-toned private clients; songs with upper-class heroines like this and the vals "Isabelita" would have appealed to them, and encouraged lucrative engagments for the orchestra. Just a guess, but it makes sense, no?

Thanks to Dr. Martha Santos of Buenos Aires for her generous assistance, advice, and all-round tanguera wisdom. Thanks also to mi viejo amigo Dmitry Pruss for post-pub translation support! Dmitry made several key corrections to the text. Please be sure to visit his fascinating blog, tango links & lists.

Ella es una pobre colegiala que jamás salió de su pasión por doquier y siempre tuvo ganas de ser la dueña de su corazón. estudió la físiografía retórica cursó en un mes del violín conoce la armonía y además un poquito de francés nunca tuvo amores ni un amargo sinsabor pero busca un hombre que le diga qué es amor yo no sé por qué cupido enseña la desgracia de una gran pasión  a una niña que inocente sueña y que tiene miedo de un ratón.

She’s a poor little student whose dedication never flagged. Always and everywhere she wanted* to be the mistress of her own heart. She studied physiography;* rhetoric she read in a month. On the violin she knew harmony and even a little French. She never had lovers nor a bitter breakup,* but she’s looking for a man who’d tell her what love is. I don’t know why Cupid teaches the misfortune of a great passion to a girl who naively dreams and is afraid of a mouse.

NOTES:

* she wanted to be the mistress of her own heart: All the available transcriptions of the lyrics give this phrase as tuvo gala de ser la dueña de su corazón (she had the elegance to be mistress of her heart).As Dmitry Pruss points out, "Chato" clearly sings, gana(s).

* Physiography: Dmitry again: The transcriptions say fisigeographía; Chato sings the much more sonorous fisiografía.

* breakup: sinsabor. The word doesn't usually carry the connotation of an amorous breakup; it's more like a painful moment, trouble, sorrow, uneasiness, worry. Dmitry suggested breakup; I checked it out with Martha de Buenos Aires, and she agreed that in this context, it could be taken to suggest an actual breakup rather than mere trouble. 

Comments

[Dmitry Pruss (aka MOCKBA)]

"She used to have the elegance of being the owner of her own heart" ~~ but suddenly she's no longer in control!

"She didn't know loves, nor bitter breakups" (Sinsabor is roughly falling out of love; Donato has a tango titled Sinsabor, about the bitter end of love)

BTW it looks like comments has become functional :)

[Tango Decoder]

Good suggestions, Dmitry! Will incorporate them. You're the best!

[Dmitry Pruss (aka MOCKBA)]

Thanks man! You know that I'm partial to El Rey del Fox, and translated several of his "tangofoxes" too :)

BTW the letras transcribe it with minor errors AFAICT. Listen at 1:12 ... El Chato sings, "estudió la fisicografía" (which naturally rhymes with "armonía
") ~~ "studied physical geography", and which should most clearly be fisiografía (only elision would normally have made the vowels "io" a monosyllabic diphthong and broken the meter, so one stray consonant crept in).

[Dmitry Pruss]

Still listening, fun track and good memories :)
I don't think it's "siempre tuvo galas" either, sounds like "siempre tuvo ganas" to my ear. She always *wanted* to be in control of her heart.
People put far less effort into transcribing foxes than tangos, I'm afraid.

[Tango Decoder]

Excellent, Dmitry, your ears are as good as your mind! I agree, on the recording it does sound more like "ganas." And "fisiografia," most definitely. Thanks again and regards to your lovely wife--la tanguera fantastica!