In March 1987 they released Soy una arveja, an album which unlike their previous record featured dark, humorous and satirical lyrics based around characters from the city of Tajo, a fictional city (an inside-joke between the members). This would also be their first album to feature the drummer Álvaro Pintos.
They would later release Emilio Garcia in 1988 and Canciones del Corazon in 1991. However, in 1994 with the release of Otra navidad en las trincheras the band unexpectedly gained massive popularity in Uruguay and stopped being a cult band. This caused Otra navidad en las trincheras to become the #1 best selling album in the country for a long time.
After the success of their previous album they released Barranca Abajo, a concept album revolving around the life of a fictional character named José Barrancas created by the band. The next year El tren bala was released and generated controversy throughout the country due to the Ministry of Education and Culture's attempts to ban the album over the song "El dia que Artigas se emborracho" which made fun of uruguayan national hero José Gervasio Artigas. However, this only expanded the group's popularity. Afterwards Revista ¡¡Ésta!! was released in 1998.
Riki Musso temporarily left the band in 2000 before the release of Cortamambo due to differences with their label and bandmates about the album cover. However, his brother convinced him to stay. Their 2004 self-titled album was the first to feature Juan Campodonico who would later produce all of their post-Cortamambo discography including Raro, a power pop album which made the band well known in other countries, allowing them to tour through South America. Riki would leave the band a second time due to musical differences with Bipolar being his last contribution to El Cuarteto de Nos.
Gustavo Antuña replaced guitarist Riki Musso in 2010 and joined the band alongside keyboardist Santiago Marrero. The first album to feature them both was the more pop rock influenced Porfiado which won two latin grammy awards.
Amnesia
El Cuarteto De Nos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
a partir del cual yo de vos me olvidé
pero aparte de vos, el ataque me hizo
olvidarme de como fue que te olvidé
No puedo acordarme de como sufría
cuando yo te recordaba noche y día
pensando en lo lindo que había sido amarte
No puedo acordarme si yo reaccionaba
al verte desnuda mientras te espiaba
hoy para acordarme de lo que veía
debo mirar un libro de anatomía
Así es que jugando con negras o blancas
hoy comienza para el amigo Barrancas
una nueva vida en que sin saber cómo
todos tus recuerdos le importan un pomo
Lo que yo procuré
por fin yo lo logré
te olvidé
te recagué
The lyrics of El Cuarteto De Nos's song "Amnesia" depict a narrator who is experiencing a sudden onset of forgetfulness, specifically in regards to a past relationship with someone referred to as "vos." The singer muses on how the amnesia erased all memories associated with their past relationship, including how they fell out of love. The singer also reflects on how they used to suffer due to constantly thinking about their ex-partner, but now cannot even remember what it was like to love them. The lyrics also talk about how the amnesia may have erased potentially salacious memories, as the singer cannot recall if they used to sneakily watch their ex-partner undress.
Overall, the song seems to be about the strange and sometimes frustrating nature of memory and how it can impact our relationships and experiences. The song's refrain, "te olvidé, te recagué," which roughly translates to "I forgot you, I screwed you over," expresses a sense of relief for the singer in finally being able to move on from the past relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Me debe haber dado un ataque de amnesia
I must have suffered from a sudden memory loss
a partir del cual yo de vos me olvidé
which made me forget about you
pero aparte de vos, el ataque me hizo
But apart from you, the attack also caused
olvidarme de como fue que te olvidé
me to forget how I forgot about you
No puedo acordarme de como sufría
I can't recall how much I used to suffer
cuando yo te recordaba noche y día
when I used to remember you day and night
pensando en lo lindo que había sido amarte
thinking about how beautiful it was to love you
y hoy ya ni siquiera recuerdo esa parte
But now, I can't even remember that feeling anymore
No puedo acordarme si yo reaccionaba
I can't remember if I used to react
al verte desnuda mientras te espiaba
when I used to spy on you while you were naked
hoy para acordarme de lo que veía
Now, to remember what I saw
debo mirar un libro de anatomía
I have to look at an anatomy book
Así es que jugando con negras o blancas
So it is that playing with black or white pieces
hoy comienza para el amigo Barrancas
Today, a new life begins for my friend Barrancas
una nueva vida en que sin saber cómo
A new life where, without knowing how
todos tus recuerdos le importan un pomo
All your memories mean nothing to him anymore
Lo que yo procuré
What I tried to do
por fin yo lo logré
I finally achieved
te olvidé
I forgot you
te recagué
I don't care about you anymore
Contributed by Chloe S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.