Great tune, no matter who slices it: Tanturi/Castillo, Biagi/Duvál, Gardel, or Fresedo. The refrain is pretty easy to catch, "Mozo, traiga otra copa," (Waiter, bring another glass), but where does it go from there? I'm usually too busy dancing to notice!
My English-language title, "The wine of oblivion," reflects a certain amount of poetic license. A literal translation would be, "The glass of forgetting" or "The glass of oblivion." Choose your poison.
PS: Dig the crazy typography on that sheet music!
Another version at Poesía de Gotán.
La copa del olvido
(The wine of oblivion)
Tango
1921
Music: Enrique Delfino
Lyric: Alberto Vacarezza
Waiter! Bring another glass
And pour one for yourself,
Because I’m very sad and alone
Since I learned the cruel truth.
Waiter! Bring another glass
Because last night, together, I saw them together...
I wanted to take revenge, to kill her,
But an impulse held me back.
I went out into the deserted street,
Without knowing how I got there
On asking the wise men
On asking them what I should do....
“Forget, friend”—some say—
But forget her I could never do...
And if I kill her, I’d have to live without her,
And live without her I could never do.
Waiter! Bring another glass
And pour one for yourself...
I want to get myself drunk on this wine
Let’s see if the wine will make me forget.
Waiter! Bring another glass
and pour one for yourself.
¡Mozo! Traiga otra copa
y sírvase de algo el que quiera tomar,
que ando muy solo y estoy muy triste
desde que supe la cruel verdad.
¡Mozo! Traiga otra copa
que anoche, juntos, los vi a los dos...
Quise vengarme, matarla quise,
pero un impulso me serenó.
Salí a la calle desconcertado,
sin saber cómo hasta aquí llegué
a preguntar a los hombres sabios,
a preguntarles qué debo hacer...
Olvide, amigo—dirán algunos—,
pero olvidarla no puede ser...
Y si la mato, vivir sin ella,
vivir sin ella nunca podré.
¡Mozo! Traiga otra copa
y sírvase de algo el que quiera tomar...
Quiero alegrarme con este vino
a ver si el vino me hace olvidar.
¡Mozo! Traiga otra copa
y sírvase de algo el que quiera tomar.
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