He was gifted with an innate musicality and fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrased with great expressivity. Moré was a master of all the genres of Cuban music, including son montuno, mambo, guaracha, guajira, cha cha cha, afro, canción, guaguancó, and bolero.
The eldest of eighteen children, Moré was born in Santa Isabel de las Lajas in the former province of Las Villas, in central Cuba. In 1936, at age seventeen, he left Las Lajas for Havana. His first breakthrough was winning a radio competition. He then joined Trío Matamoros (later known as Conjunto Matamoros), with which he remained several years, making a number of recordings.
In 1945 Moré went with Conjunto Matamoros to Mexico, where he performed in two of the most famous cabarets of the age, the Montparnasse and the Río Rosa. He made several recordings. Conjunto Matamoros returned to Havana, while Moré remained in Mexico, where he made several recordings for RCA Victor, together with the orchestra of Mariano Mercerón: "Me voy pal pueblo" y "Desdichado". He also recorded with Pérez Prado: "Bonito y sabroso", "Mucho corazón", "Pachito el ché", and "Ensalada de mambo". He also recorded "Dolor carabalí", which Moré considered his best composition recorded with Pérez Prado, and one he never wanted to re-record.
At the end of 1950, Moré returned to Cuba. He was a star in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Brazil and Puerto Rico, but virtually unknown on the island. His first Cuban recording was "Bonito y Sabroso". Moré eventually decided to start his own orchestra, which he called Banda Gigante. In the years 1954 and 1955, Moré's group became immensely popular. In 1956 and 1957, it toured Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, Colombia, Panama, Mexico and the United States, where the group played at the Oscar ceremonies.
He died in 1963 at age 43 of cirrhosis. An estimated 100,000 fans attended his funeral.
Donde Estabas Tu?
Beny Moré Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
pero el destino quizo compensarme
y tropecé con un amor tan grande
nunca pense que esto iba a pasarme
ahora dices que quieres dejarme
y que por otro tu vas a cambiarme
no te das cuenta que tu eres mi vida
si tu me dejas me muero enseguida
nuevamente me declaro perdedor ...
feliz me siento cuando estoy contigo
tomo un suspiro y todo lo olvido
y quiero gritar, pensando escapar
muu fuera de este planeta
y
The lyrics to Beny More's Donde Estabas Tu are a lament about the pains of love and the desire to escape from emotional distress. The opening line expresses the singer's disbelief at the prospect of falling in love again after suffering through heartbreak in the past. The second line attributes this unexpected turn of events to destiny, implying a sense of fatalistic resignation to the whims of fate. The singer then describes the intensity of the new love they have found, which comes as a surprise and feels overwhelming. However, this newfound love is threatened by the partner's desire to leave for someone else, which the singer perceives as a betrayal. The singer pleads with the partner to stay, emphasizing how important they are to their life and how the thought of losing them would be unbearable. Despite this, the singer ultimately recognizes their own defeat in the situation and feels resigned to the idea that love has once again brought them pain.
The lyrics reveal a complex mix of emotions, including surprise, joy, and devastation. The singer seems to vacillate between feeling happy and content with their new love and feeling crushed by the possibility of losing it. The overall tone is one of sadness, however, with the singer resigned to their fate and unsure of how to escape the pain.
Line by Line Meaning
jamás pensé volver a enamorarme
I never thought I would fall in love again
pero el destino quizo compensarme
But destiny wanted to make it up to me
y tropecé con un amor tan grande
And I stumbled upon a love so great
nunca pense que esto iba a pasarme
I never thought this would happen to me
ahora dices que quieres dejarme
Now you say you want to leave me
y que por otro tu vas a cambiarme
And that you will change me for another
no te das cuenta que tu eres mi vida
Don't you realize that you are my life?
si tu me dejas me muero enseguida
If you leave me, I will die immediately
porque me tiene que pasar
Why does this have to happen to me?
nuevamente me declaro perdedor ...
Once again, I declare myself a loser...
feliz me siento cuando estoy contigo
I feel happy when I'm with you
tomo un suspiro y todo lo olvido
I take a deep breath and forget everything
y quiero gritar, pensando escapar
And I want to scream, thinking of escaping
muu fuera de este planeta
Far away from this planet
Writer(s): Ernesto Duarte Brito
Contributed by Dominic C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.