In this blog I explore the lyrics of songs from the Golden Age of tango. Tango lyrics were often written by some of the best poets of Argentina and Uruguay. Many exhibit notable literary qualities. Some rise to the level of real poetry. They also shed light on the history and culture of tango.
Personally, I've found that knowing what the lyrics mean enhances my appreciation and enjoyment of tango music and dance. Has it made me a better dancer? Perhaps. It certainly has added another dimension of feeling to my dance. For example, the music of MONEDA DE COBRE (see below) touched my heart on first hearing, long before I listened closely to the lyrics. Now that I know what the lyrics mean, the song is even more meaningful to me. The tragic theme affects me emotionally, stirring me to dance with greater passion. Isn't that what it's all about?
As a native speaker of English, I've found that interpreting tango lyrics is an enjoyable way to build my Spanish-language vocabulary and reading skills. In that sense, these versions are works in progress, reflecting my growing language ability. I am sure I'll make plenty of mistakes. Feel free to correct me if you think I've gone off the track. You're welcome to post your own versions, too.
There's more to say by way of introduction to the blog, but I think I'll just go ahead and post my Tango Decoder version of the tango MONEDA DE COBRE. There'll be more musings on tango and life in forthcoming entries.
Moneda de Cobre (Copper Coin) 1942 Music: Carlos Viván Lyric: Horacio Sanguinetti
English-language translation Copyright © 2014 by Michael Krugman.Your father was blond, a drunk, a hoodlum, Your mother was black with broad pink lips.* You were born mulata--mixed--with blue eyes and wavy, coal-black hair. You grew up in the mire of a poor neighborhood, turned twenty in a cabaret, And today they call you Moneda de Cobre, Copper Coin, Old and sad and worth very little. Moneda de cobre, I know you were beautiful back then; With your pink wings,* Like a butterfly, I saw you fly, And then I saw you fall... Moneda de fango*—tarnished coin, How well you used to dance the tango! I know that you were beautiful back then, Like a bronze queen, There in the "Folies Bergere." [That sad barrio full of mud and pain Now vanished, along with your youth... Twenty years have passed, my dear, Your parents, gone, the streetlamps, gone. Perhaps you got lost out on the corner, Looking for the house where you were born; Keep looking, don't stop, don't show the pain... Don't cry, mulata, what good would it do?][Tango Decoder version Copyright © 2013, Michael Krugman]
Notes:
The lyrics given here are those of the Ricardo Tanturi recording of 1942 (Alberto Castillo singing). The military dictatorship that came to power in 1943 exercised censorship over tango lyrics. The 1943 recording of the song (by Lucio Demare's orchestra with Raul Berón) featured sanitized lyrics. The father is described as buen mozo (good-looking) instead of drunk, and the mother is morena (brunette) instead of black. The forbidden word cabaret was expunged, replaced by the placeholder phrase, "total, para qué" (for what it's worth, what's the use, etc). The censorship of tango lyrics was lifted in 1949 by Juan Perón after a meeting with a group of widely admired tango lyricists including Enrique Santos Discépolo, Homero Manzi, and others.
* Broad pink lips: The original is labios malvón. Malvón is geranium, a flower with broad, pink petals, hence the mother is a black woman with broad, pink lips. Malvón appears in many tango lyrics. There is even a tango called just that, MALVÓN, recorded by Ricardo Tanturi in 1943. Maybe we'll see an English-language version of that in a future post.
* Pink wings: Presumably a costume that the protagonist wore in a show at the "Folies Bergere" cabaret.
* Moneda de fango: Fango means mud--an ever-present reality of the Buenos Aires slums--but it also has the implication of scandal or disgrace, so I translated it as "tarnished," which fits the context nicely. Fango is one of the few words that rhyme with tango, so it shows up a lot in tango lyrics. Rango (rank, status, or stature) is another. CANCIÓN DE RANGO employs all three.
[Spanish original follows]Tu padre era rubio, borracho y malevo, tu madre era negra con labios malvón. Mulata naciste con ojos de cielo y mota en el pelo de negro carbón. Creciste entre el lodo de un barrio muy pobre, cumpliste veinte años en un cabaret. Y ahora te llaman moneda de cobre porque vieja y triste muy poco valés. Moneda de cobre, yo sé que ayer fuiste hermosa; yo con tus alas de rosa te vi volar mariposa y después te vi caer... Moneda de fango, ¡Qué bien bailabas el tango!... Yo sé que ayer fuiste hermosa, como una reina de bronce, allá en el "Folies Berger." [Aquel barrio triste de barro y de latas igual que tu vida desapareció... Pasaron veinte años, querida mulata, no existen tus padres, no existe el farol. Quizás en la esquina te quedes perdida buscando la casa que te vio nacer; seguí, no te pares, no muestres la herida... No llores mulata, total, ¡para qué!]
[Tango Decoder's subtitled bilingual video of MONEDA DE COBRE on YouTube]
Hello, very good translation! Small tweak: "yo se que ayer fuiste hermosa" => "I know yesterday you were beautiful".
Although very different, this song makes me think about part of the lyrics of "mano a mano" too, a woman who will lose all her charms after she ages. They were very sincere with women those days.
Posted by: Lucia Figueroa | 06/28/2014 at 02:33 AM
Hi, Lucia--
Thanks for your kind words and your constructive criticism. You are quite right, both Raúl Berón, Alberto Castillo, and Argentino Ledesma all sang, "yo se que ayer fuiste hermosa"! The text I used came from todotango.com and hermanotango.com, which both agree on, "que linda estaba entonces." My guess is that those two sites took the lyrics directly from the sheet music; that seems to be their source. Anyway, since my translation claims to be based on the Castillo version (!) I guess I'd better change it to match the Castillo version. Thanks so much for your help!
Posted by: Tango Decoder | 07/02/2014 at 04:47 PM
PS: Yes, I see the similarity to Mano a Mano, especially "descolado mueble viejo." Ouch!
Posted by: Tango Decoder | 07/02/2014 at 04:50 PM
Fixed the lyrics! Just reading them, I get all choked up. :)
Posted by: Tango Decoder | 07/02/2014 at 05:03 PM