Perdido
Art Tatum Lionel Hampton & Buddy Rich Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Perdido,
I look for my heart
It`s perdido
I lost it way down in Torito
The day the fiesta started

Bolero,
I sway that they play the Bolero

I kissed me the listing sombrero
And that`s when my heart departed

High, was the sun when I held him close
Low, was the moon when we said, "Adios"

Perdido
My heart ever since is Perdido
I know I must go to Torito
To find what I lost Perdido

High, was the sun when I held him close
Low, was the moon when we said, "Adios"

Perdido

Goodnight perdido
I lost perdido

Overall Meaning

The song Perdido by Art Tatum Lionel Hampton & Buddy Rich is a passionate and melancholic ballad that tells the story of a heart that got lost in Torito during a fiesta. The lyrics are simple yet powerful, expressing the singer's longing for a lost love and a desire to find the missing piece of their heart. The first verse sets the scene with the singer declaring that their heart is perdido, or lost, and that they lost it way down in Torito during a fateful day of celebration. The second verse alludes to the bolero, a slow-tempo Latin American dance that accentuates the mournful feeling of the song. The singer reminisces about the time they spent with their lost love, holding them close under the bright sun and saying goodbye under the gloomy moon. The third verse reiterates the singer's hope of returning to Torito to find what they have lost and the lingering pain of being without it.

One interesting fact about Perdido is that it was originally an instrumental jazz tune composed by pianist and bandleader Juan Tizol in the 1940s. It was a favorite of Duke Ellington, who popularized the song and made it a hit with his orchestra. The lyrics were later added by Ervin Drake and Hans Lengsfelder, becoming a staple of Latin American jazz and a standard in the American Songbook. Another fascinating aspect of the song is the use of Spanish words and expressions, such as perdido, torito, bolero, and sombrero, which add a sense of exoticism and romanticism to the lyrics. The song has been covered by numerous artists in different genres, including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Tito Puente, and Santana, among others. Perdido is a classic example of a song that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries, its melody and lyrics conveying universal themes of love, loss, and longing.

Chords (for the original instrumental version):

Part A:
|Am7 D7 |Gm7 C7 |F6 D7 |Bbmaj7 Eb7 |
|Am7 D7 |Gm7 C7 |F6 D7 |Bbmaj7 Eb7 |
|Gm7 C7 |F6 D7 |Bbmaj7 Eb7 |Am7 D7 |

Part B:
|G7 C7 |G7 C7 |G7 C7 |G7 C7 |
|Bm7b5 E7b9 |Bm7b5 E7b9 |Bm7b5 E7b9 |Bm7b5 E7b9 |
|Am7 D7 |Am7 D7 |Am7 D7 |Am7 D7 |
|Gm7 C7 |Fmaj7 D7 |Bbmaj7 Eb7 |Am7 D7 |

Outro:
|Am7 D7 |Gm7 C7 |Fmaj7 D7 |Bbmaj7 Eb7 |
|Am7 D7 |Gm7 C7 |Fmaj7 D7 |Bbmaj7 Eb7 |
|Am7 D7 |Gm7 C7 |Fmaj7 D7 |Bbmaj7 Eb7 | Am7 |

Line by Line Meaning

Perdido,
I am lost, searching for something

I look for my heart
I am searching for my true love

It's perdido
My love is lost

I lost it way down in Torito
I lost my love in Torito

The day the fiesta started
During the fiesta, my love was lost

Bolero,
The music is Bolero

I sway that they play the Bolero
I dance to the Bolero music

I kissed me the listing sombrero
I kissed a hat, high on tequila

And that's when my heart departed
I lost my love in that moment

High, was the sun when I held him close
The sun shone brightly when I was in love