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.
Silencio
Carlos Gardel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ya todo esta en calma
el musculo duerme
la ambicion descansa
Meciendo una cuna
una madre canta
un canto querido
porque en esa cuna
esta su esperanza
Eran cinco hermanos
ella era una santa
eran cinco besos
de cada manana
Rosaban muy tierno
las ebras de plata
de esa viejecita
de canas muy blancas
Eran cinco hijos
que al taller marchaban
Silencio en la noche
ya todo esta en calma
el musculo duerme
la ambicion trabaja
Un clarin se oye
peligra la patria
y al grito de guerra
los hombres se matan
cubriendo de sangre
los campos de Francia
Hoy todo ha pasado
renacen las plantas
un himno a la vida
los arados cantan
Y la viejecita
de canas muy blancas
se quedo muy sola
con cinco medallas
que por cinco heroes
la premio la patria
Silencio en la noche
ya todo esta en calma
el musculo duerme
la ambicion descansa
un coro lejano
de madres que cantan
mecen en sus cuna
nuevas esperanzas...
Silencio en la noche
Silencio en las almas
The lyrics of Carlos Gardel’s “Silencio” describe the contrast between the peacefulness of night-time and the tumultuousness of the day, specifically during wartime. The first verse sets the scene with a sense of stillness, as the night quiets everything down, and people rest. However, this sense of calmness is disrupted in the second verse when a mother sings a lullaby to her baby, her hope for the future. The repeated lyrics of “Eran cinco hermanos” (They were five siblings) emphasize the intimacy of the family unit and how much they love one another. The scene is disrupted again in the third verse, as the clarion call of war is sounded and men go into battle, their blood staining the fields of France.
The fourth and final verse reflects on the aftermath of the war, as life begins to return to normal, with new growth heralding a new beginning. However, for the woman with the five medals, representing her five heroic children, the war had only brought sorrow, as she is now alone, with only memories of her children as her companions. The final chorus revisits the idea of “Silencio en la noche” (Silence in the night), but now with the addition of “Silencio en las almas” (Silence in the souls), as the mothers who still have children must continue to hope, love, and pray for the safety of their loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
Silencio en la noche
The stillness of the night
ya todo esta en calma
Everything is calm
el musculo duerme
The muscle sleeps
la ambicion descansa
Ambition rests
Meciendo una cuna
Rocking a cradle
una madre canta
A mother sings
un canto querido
A beloved song
que llega hasta el alma
That reaches the soul
porque en esa cuna
Because in that cradle
esta su esperanza
Her hope lies
Eran cinco hermanos
They were five siblings
ella era una santa
She was a saint
eran cinco besos
They were five kisses
de cada manana
Every morning
Rosaban muy tierno
They moved very gently
las ebras de plata
The silver threads
de esa viejecita
Of that little old lady
de canas muy blancas
With very white hair
Eran cinco hijos
They were five children
que al taller marchaban
Who went to the workshop
Un clarin se oye
A bugle is heard
peligra la patria
The homeland is in danger
y al grito de guerra
And at the cry of war
los hombres se matan
Men kill each other
cubriendo de sangre
Covering with blood
los campos de Francia
The fields of France
Hoy todo ha pasado
Today everything has passed
renacen las plantas
Plants are reborn
un himno a la vida
A hymn to life
los arados cantan
The plows sing
Y la viejecita
And the little old lady
de canas muy blancas
With very white hair
se quedo muy sola
Was left very alone
con cinco medallas
With five medals
que por cinco heroes
That for five heroes
la premio la patria
The homeland rewarded her
un coro lejano
A distant choir
de madres que cantan
Of mothers who sing
mecen en sus cuna
Rock their cradles
nuevas esperanzas...
New hopes...
Silencio en las almas
Silence in the souls
Contributed by Olivia O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
NAROA LOVE 1111
DIVINO ESCUCHARLO 🏆 2022❤️👈
LA VIDA, ES UN PLACER
LA VEJEZ, ES UN PRIVILEGIO
LA SABIDURIA, SE APRENDE
EL EXITO, SE LUCHA
LA HUMILDAD, SE NACE
EL AMOR, SE SIENTE
EL RESPECTO, SE GANA
EL ODIO, TE ENFERMA
EL DESEO, TE FORTALECE
EL CASTIGO, TE HUMILLA
LA ALEGRIA, TE REJUVENECE
LA FELICIDAD, TE AMAS
LAS BENDICIONES, TE PROTEGEN
LA GRATITUD, SON BENDICIONES
Javier
A los cantantes modernos les pondría este tema para que supieran lo que es cantar sin ninguna ayuda tecnológica, simplemente sublime
Gonzalo P
Este hombre es la expresión de la excelencia.
Elsa Noriega Ortiz
Fue y será unico, nació en cualquier parte de la tierra, unos dicen que en Francia, otros que Argentina. y también nació en Colombia, que importa donde naciera vino a dejarnos estas bellas canciones inolvidables que ni en miles de años se olvidarán y se cantarán y gustaran siempre. Que Dios lo tenga en su santa gloria Q. P. D.
Al Pujol
Uruguayo Colmilloblanco Nació en Francia... Y le cantó a todos, y en especial a su Buenos Aires querido...
Sebastian Cordero
Cada día canta mejor
Daniel Santoro
Uruguayo Colmilloblanco 😂😂😂
Magali Llanso
@Fernando Fonseca se llamó Charles Gardés y nació en un barrio de Toulouse. Se fue muy joven en Argentina, a Buenos Aires! Inventó un pasado uruguayo para no ir a la guerra porque había la movilización general en Francia y tenía razón! Evitó así de tener problemas con la justicia francesa. Su lengua maternal era el occitano. Puedo confirmar que cantaba perfectamente el francés aunque tenía un acento… sabía pronunciar las diptongas francesas que son complicadas para la gente que no habla francés
Hugo Sanchez
Estoy contigo amiga lo más grande y tambien me recuerda a mi padre que era tanguero
Cristian Andres Rodriguez Rubio
Sublime canción, Gardel empieza a cantar en el segundo 14 y hace referencia a la primera guerra mundial por eso la letra y la triste historia de la viejecita por sus 5 hijos en la guerra de 1914.saludos desde 🇨🇴.
JESUS Y LINA
HERMOSOS TANGOS,EL GRAN Gardel nadie como el ese carisma se queda en la piel