Gardel possessed a baritone voice deployed with unerring musicality and dramatic phrasing, creating miniature masterpieces among the hundreds of three-minute tangos which he recorded during his lifetime. Together with his long-term collaborator, lyricist Alfredo Le Pera, Gardel also wrote several classic tangos, notably 'Mi Buenos Aires querido', 'Amores de Estudiante', 'Soledad', 'Volver', 'Por una cabeza' and 'El día que me quieras'.
Gardel was born to unmarried 25-year-old laundress Berthe Gardes, the baby registered under the name Charles Romuald Gardes in Toulouse, France, on 11 December 1890. The father of the baby boy was listed on his birth certificate as "unknown"; eleven days later Berthe Gardes signed a statement establishing the baby's father as Paul Laserre, a married man who left Toulouse a few months before the baby was born. Berthe Gardes left Toulouse a few years later, likely to escape the social stigma of having a child born out of wedlock. In early 1893 in Bordeaux, France, mother and son boarded the ship SS Don Pedro and sailed to Buenos Aires, arriving on 11 March 1893. Berthe Gardes had her passport recorded; she told immigration authorities that she was a widow. The two-year-old boy was recorded as Charles Gardes.
Gardel grew up going by Carlos, the Spanish version of his French name, and often by the familiar diminutive form Carlitos. He lived in the Abasto neighborhood of Buenos Aires. He attended Pio IX Industrial high-school located in the Almagro neighborhood of Buenos Aires. His mother worked pressing clothes in the French style.
Gardel began his career singing in bars and at private parties, and in 1911 formed a duet with Francisco Martino, and after with José Razzano (which would last until 1925), singing a wide repertory. Gardel made the music his own by inventing the tango-canción in 1917 with 'Mi Noche Triste', a theme by Pascual Contursi and Samuel Castriota, which sold 100,000 copies and was a hit throughout Latin America. Gardel went on to tour Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia and made appearances in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and New York. He sold 70,000 records in the first three months of a 1928 visit to Paris. As his popularity grew, he made a number of films for the Paramount in France and the USA, which were essentially vehicles for his singing and matinée-idol looks.
When Gardel and his collaborator Le Pera were killed in an airplane crash in Medellín, Colombia in 1935, millions of his fans throughout Latin America went into mourning. Hordes of people thronged to pay their respects as the singer's body travelled via Colombia, New York and Rio de Janeiro to its final resting place in La Chacarita cemetery in Buenos Aires.
Gardel is still revered from Buenos Aires to Tokyo, where people like to say that "he sings better every day." His fans still like to place a lit cigarette in the fingers of the life-sized statue which adorns his tomb. One of Gardel's favourite phrases, 'Veinte años no es nada' (Twenty years is nothing) became a famous saying across Latin America.
Ramona
Carlos Gardel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the mountains high
Seem to kiss the sky
Someone is out yonder, o'er the hills
Waiting patiently, Waiting just for me
Ramona, I hear the mission bells above
Ramona, they're ringing out our song of love
To always remember the rambling rose you wear in your hair
Ramona, when day is done you'll hear my call
Ramona, we'll meet beside the water fall
I dread the dawn when I awake to find you gone
Ramona I need you my own
Let's wander out yonder o'er the hills
By a babbling brook
Where we'll find a nook
To build our own love nest, o'er the hills
Darling of my heart, Never more to part
Ramona, I hear the mission bells above
Ramona, they're ringing out our song of love
I press you, caress you, and bless the day you taught me to care
To always remember the rambling rose you wear in your hair
Ramona, when day is done you'll hear my call
Ramona, we'll meet beside the water fall
I dread the dawn when I awake to find you gone
Ramona I need you my own
Carlos Gardel's song "Ramona" is a romantic love song that speaks about a lover who is wandering in the hills, waiting for his beloved, who goes by the name Ramona. The singer hears the mission bells ringing, and this reminds him of the love he shares with Ramona. He is grateful to her for teaching him to care, and he cherishes the rambling rose she wears in her hair. The two share a love that is pure and everlasting and plan to build a love nest where they can be together always.
The song speaks not just of the lover's affection but also of their connection with nature. The mountains and the babbling brook become a witness to their love as they plan to build their own love nest in the hills. The song reflects the common theme of the Romanticism era where nature was considered a source of passion and inspiration.
Interestingly, the song is not just about a lover's love for Ramona, but it also reflects Carlos Gardel's love for his mother, Romana. He is believed to have written the song in honor of her and later changed the name to Ramona to make it more universal.
Line by Line Meaning
I wander out yonder o'er the hills
I'm hiking over the hills
Where the mountains high
These are high mountains
Seem to kiss the sky
The mountains look like they're touching the sky
Someone is out yonder, o'er the hills
There's someone out there, waiting for me
Waiting patiently, Waiting just for me
They're patiently waiting for me to arrive
Ramona, I hear the mission bells above
I hear the church bells ringing in the distance
Ramona, they're ringing out our song of love
The bells sound like they're playing our love song
I press you, caress you, and bless the day you taught me to care
I hug, kiss and thank you for teaching me how to love
To always remember the rambling rose you wear in your hair
To never forget the flower in your hair
Ramona, when day is done you'll hear my call
At the end of the day, I'll call out to you
Ramona, we'll meet beside the water fall
We'll meet by the waterfall
I dread the dawn when I awake to find you gone
I worry about waking up to find you're not there
Ramona I need you my own
I need you with me
Let's wander out yonder o'er the hills
Let's explore together, hiking over the hills
By a babbling brook
Near a small stream
Where we'll find a nook
We'll find a cozy spot
To build our own love nest, o'er the hills
To build a place of love, up in the hills
Darling of my heart, Never more to part
My love, we will never be separated
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group
Written by: L. Wolfe Gilbert, Mabel Wayne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Guillermo Calvo
Ramona.
Sueña muchacha con ese amor
que en tu corazón
se vino a ocultar...
Sueña muchacha con el dolor
que quiere asaltar
tu belleza en flor.
¡Ramona!,
si sientes en tu corazón
las suaves caricias
de una gran pasión,
entorna tus ojos
y entre tules deja flotar
las rosas fragantes
primaveras de tu ilusión.
¡Ramona!,
tus labios sienten palpitar
arpegios sublimes
de un dulce besar...
¡Ramona!,
teje la malla de tu suspirar,
que es dulce,
muy dulce, soñar...
Sueña muchacha con ese amor
que en tu corazón
se vino a ocultar...
Sueña muchacha con el dolor
que quiere asaltar
tu belleza en flor.
¡Ramona!
yo sé que un día has de lograr
los sueños azules
que hoy ves aletear...
¡Ramona... Ramona!
si pudiera yo, como tú,
hacer de mis años
gratos sueños de juventud...
Es triste,
la vida pasa y se va,
como una caricia
que se ve esfumar.
¡Ramona!,
a la ventana de tu ensonación,
Ramona...
¡tu Príncipe irá..!
Jorge Luis Minturn
Escuchar a Gardel es entrar en otra dimensión. Simplemente sublime.
Guillermo Calvo
Ramona.
Sueña muchacha con ese amor
que en tu corazón
se vino a ocultar...
Sueña muchacha con el dolor
que quiere asaltar
tu belleza en flor.
¡Ramona!,
si sientes en tu corazón
las suaves caricias
de una gran pasión,
entorna tus ojos
y entre tules deja flotar
las rosas fragantes
primaveras de tu ilusión.
¡Ramona!,
tus labios sienten palpitar
arpegios sublimes
de un dulce besar...
¡Ramona!,
teje la malla de tu suspirar,
que es dulce,
muy dulce, soñar...
Sueña muchacha con ese amor
que en tu corazón
se vino a ocultar...
Sueña muchacha con el dolor
que quiere asaltar
tu belleza en flor.
¡Ramona!
yo sé que un día has de lograr
los sueños azules
que hoy ves aletear...
¡Ramona... Ramona!
si pudiera yo, como tú,
hacer de mis años
gratos sueños de juventud...
Es triste,
la vida pasa y se va,
como una caricia
que se ve esfumar.
¡Ramona!,
a la ventana de tu ensonación,
Ramona...
¡tu Príncipe irá..!
RAMONA ROMERO GOZAIN
Hermosa letra y musica
cesar santoyo
Hermosa canción, la preferida por mi padre Edgardo. QEPD.
Rosita Knudsen
Esta canción solía cantar mi.padre a mi madre y bunca supimos el.titulo del.vals.Mi padre fallecido a los 96 años en el.año 2008.Mi madre Ramona en el.año 2015 a los 86 años...
CARBALLO AECUJDCU
Probablemente esta era canción la escuchaba el escritor Fernando González en las tardes de Medellín en su carro con los amigos que menciona en su libro Viaje a Pie. Gracias por traer esta joya a mí.
Marie Morgan
Gracias,gracias!...El canto favorito de mi padre!
Luis Salvador Gallucci
Carlos Gardel fue tan grande que era capaz de cantar hasta la guía telefónica.
Beatriz Cotello
A Luis Salvador: Me encanta tu apreciación del talento de Gardel. La citaré.
Juan Diaz
Cada día canta mejor