Known as "Pirincho" Canaro, he had a career that spanned many decades, and his orchestra was one of the most recorded. Much of his recorded music is in the classic salon style of the 1940s, but he is also considered a member of the old guard, and some of his later recordings contributed to the transition to concert tango. For many contemporary dancers and listeners, his early golden age recordings are the best.
Canaro composed the music for the 1915 Argentine classic, Nobleza gaucha.
Soledad
Francisco Canaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que de tu dulce vida vos ya me has arrancado.
Mi corazón una mentira pide
Para esperar tu imposible llamado
Yo no quiero que nadie se imagine
Cómo es de amarga y honda mi eterna soledad,
En mi larga noche el minuto muele
En la doliente sombra de mi cuarto, al esperar
Sus pasos que quizás no volverán,
A veces me parece que ellos detienen su andar
Sin atreverse luego a entrar
Pero no hay nadie y ella no viene,
Es un fantasma que crea mi ilusión.
Y que al desvanecerse va dejando su visión,
Cenizas en mi corazón.
En la plateada esfera del reloj,
Las horas que agonizan se niegan a pasar.
Hay un desfile de extrañas figuras
Que me contemplan con burlón mirar
Es una caravana interminable
Que se hunde en el olvido con su mueca espectral,
Se va con ella tu boca que era mía,
Sólo me queda la angustia de mi mal.
The lyrics of Francisco Canaro's song "Soledad" speak of the pain and deep loneliness of a person who has been abandoned by the love of their life. The first stanza states that the singer doesn't want to hear anybody telling them that their loved one has taken away their sweet life. His heart longs for a lie that would bring him hope that his loved one would call him back. The second stanza shows that the singer is struggling with his eternal solitude, it's deep and bitter, and the ticking of the clock makes him feel worse. He waits for his love's footsteps, which might not come, and sometimes he believes that they stop right before his door, but then never enter.
The chorus of the song talks about the illusory presence of the singer's love. The singer yearns for the love of his life and his heart sees hallucinations of her presence. The only thing that's left is the ashes of her love, and his heart is broken. In the final stanza, the singer speaks of the clock's silver sphere, and how the hours seem reluctant to tick away. He sees strange figures and caravans that mock him and remind him that his loved one is now gone, taking her lips, which were once his own. All that remains is the singer's anguish and sadness.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo no quiero que nadie a mí me diga
I don't want anyone to tell me that you have taken away your sweet life from me.
Que de tu dulce vida vos ya me has arrancado.
That you have already taken away your sweet life from me.
Mi corazón una mentira pide
My heart asks for a lie
Para esperar tu imposible llamado
To wait for your impossible call
Yo no quiero que nadie se imagine
I don't want anyone to imagine
Cómo es de amarga y honda mi eterna soledad,
How bitter and deep is my eternal loneliness.
En mi larga noche el minuto muele
In my long night, the minute grinds
La pesadilla de su lento tic-tac
The nightmare of its slow tick-tock.
En la doliente sombra de mi cuarto, al esperar
In the painful shadow of my room, while waiting
Sus pasos que quizás no volverán,
For her steps that may not come back.
A veces me parece que ellos detienen su andar
Sometimes it seems to me that they stop their walk
Sin atreverse luego a entrar
Without daring to enter.
Pero no hay nadie y ella no viene,
But there is no one and she does not come,
Es un fantasma que crea mi ilusión.
It is a ghost that creates my illusion.
Y que al desvanecerse va dejando su visión,
And as it fades away, it leaves its vision.
Cenizas en mi corazón.
Ashes in my heart.
En la plateada esfera del reloj,
In the silver sphere of the clock
Las horas que agonizan se niegan a pasar.
The dying hours refuse to pass.
Hay un desfile de extrañas figuras
There is a parade of strange figures
Que me contemplan con burlón mirar
That contemplates me with a mocking look
Es una caravana interminable
It is an endless caravan
Que se hunde en el olvido con su mueca espectral,
That sinks into oblivion with its ghostly grin,
Se va con ella tu boca que era mía,
Your mouth that was mine goes away with her,
Sólo me queda la angustia de mi mal.
Only the anguish of my suffering remains for me.
Writer(s): Carlos Gardel, Alfredo Le Pera
Contributed by Harper N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alexander Zuyev
on Milonga brava (feat. Roberto Maida)
(Thanks to Jeremiah I discovered another meaning of this great song. Also, being a tango dancer myself I can see in the lyrics another dimension, another layer and a more literal meaning which I want to contribute. The more interpretations the lyrics can provide the greater it is.)
Yo soy la milonga brava
I am the fierce milonga, full of energy and passion.
Candombera y entradora.
I am a candombe-style milonga, seductive and captivating.
Yo soy la expresión sonora
I am the sound expression
Que el progreso deshilacha,
That my skills as a tango dancer as well as my looks are worn-out
Canción me hizo una muchacha
But the song has made me a young girl again
De boca fresca y golosa.
With fresh, luscious and lickerish mouth
Y me bailó en la baldosa
And that was actually me who danced on the roof tiles
Quebrada del conventillo,
Dropped down the roof of a tenement building
Con el mozo del altillo
With a dreamboat from an attic
A quien le dio el corazón.
To whom I gave my heart.