PA' MI ES IGUAL: It's all the same to me....

Pa’ mi es igual
Tango, 1932
Música: Lucio Demare & Roberto Fugazot
Letra: Enrique Cadícamo & Agustín Irusta

Selected performances:

Orquesta Típica Lucio Demare canta J. C. Miranda (Tango Decoder's subtitled video in Spanish and English)

Trio Argentino (Demare/Fugazot/Irusta)

Charlo

Francisco Rotundo canta Julio Sosa

Lyrics in original castellano with English-language version by Tango Decoder:

Aquí estamos los dos, bien frente a frente Dame tu mano, machucá la mía, La desgracia ha venido en este día Para ver si somos hombres de verdad. Hoy lo supe, te juro que he llorado Pobrecita, tu vieja, quién diría, Tan guapaza, tan buena, me quería Como a vos, que eras su hijo ¿te acordás? Desembuchá el dolor, vení, sentate Olvidemos aquello que ha pasado, Que nos tuvo diez años distanciados Y el corazón, sin asco, nos bandeó. Mirame hermano, que hace mucho tiempo Que no nos vemos, que no nos hablamos, Sabés que estamos viejos, ya blanqueamos Esas canas que cinchan la vejez. [Total, por unas trenzas y una boca Más roja que la sangre de esa tarde, Ninguno de los dos fuimos cobardes Me tiraste un hachazo… me atajé.] En fin eso pasó ¿Qué? ¿Estás llorando? Mirá, si te hace daño mi pasada, Después de darle un beso a la finada Yo me voy, si vos querés, pa´ mí es igual.

Here we are, the two of us, face to face, Give me your hand, squeeze mine tight. On this day misfortune has come To see if we’re real men. I just heard about it, I swear I’ve been crying, Poor thing, your mom, who’d have thought, So kind and good, she loved me Just like you who were her son, remember? Come, sit down, get it off your chest, Let’s forget what happened in the past, That kept us distant for ten years And stabbed without scruple at our hearts.* Look at me, brother, it’s been a long time Since we’ve seen each other, since we’ve spoken, You know we’re seniors now, our gray hair Is already turning white, a sure sign of old age. [All that, for some braids and a mouth Redder than the blood of that evening, Neither of us were cowards, You hit me with you best shot... I blocked it.]* All that’s behind us now. What? You’re crying? Look, if my stopping by bothers you, After giving the deceased one last kiss, I’ll leave, if you want, it’s all the same to me.

NOTES:

* And stabbed without scruple at our hearts: Y el corazón, sin asco, nos bandeó. The verb bandear/bandearse (from banda, the gunwale of a boat) can mean "to be out of line, to take or change sides, to know how to manage in life, to betray oneself, to open a wound with a blade, or simply to open."

* You hit me with your best shot... I blocked it: Me tiraste un hachazo… me atajé. The noun hachazo can mean an axe- or hatchet-blow, but that is not the sense of this phrase. Axes/hatchets were not generally used or fighting in Argentina, and attacking someone with an axe would be considered very dishonorable. If you really want to hurt someone, you use a knife, and you hope that you handle it better than your opponent! In this song, the hachazo is more likely a powerful blow of some kind, possibly with a knife, but more likely just a fist. The verb atajar means to stop, stem, contain, or check. I discussed this with a couple of older milonguero friends, including Mr. Ivan Chiesa of the Club Independencia and his wife Chochi, and they both think that the protagonist evades the blow in some way. He might block, duck, or parry it, but it doesn't land. Since the verb is used reflexively, me atajé, I believe it may also mean, "I held myself in check." That seems to be in accord with the narrator's conciliatory attitude. Even so, the image of "a pair of lips redder than the blood of that evening" earlier in the stanza does suggest bloodshed, as does the earlier use of the verb bandear (see previous note). As always, the language is generous, and admits of several interpretations!

 

Comments

[Patricia]

Thanks so much for translating this 'tangazo'. It's my absolute favourite of the Demare/Miranda repertoire, and never fails to have a profound emotional impact.

[Michael]

Thanks for your comment, Patricia. I feel the same!