Olimpo Cardenas, an orphan since the age of 3 years, from an early age bega… Read Full Bio ↴Olimpo Cardenas, an orphan since the age of 3 years, from an early age began to express their concerns through music was his mother who raised him and whom he cultivated a taste for music. It was a great interpreter of boleros, waltzes and corridors.

Later he went to Guayaquil where participating in the radio program "The Supreme Court of Art" began his career that led him to become a popular singer in the 50s.

In 1951, he traveled to Colombia with Plutarch Uquillas Pepe Jaramillo and integrating the "Trío Emperor." When the trio broke up, he settled permanently in Colombia where he developed into the most important stage of his career. His popularity transcended borders not only from Ecuador and Colombia, reaching Mexico where he recorded several albums and broke sales records with the bolero "Tears of Love." Then came other hits like Playita Mía, Tu Duda and mine, Our Pledge, fate, Five Centavitos, Licor Bendito and many more that would be interpreted by Julio Jaramillo.

In the seventies, in Colombia, would record several items next to Julio Jaramillo

Olimpo Cardenas remained active in singing popular until the July 28, 1991 death caught him in the town of Tulua, in Colombia, while serving in a public square.

Fume compadre
Olimpo Cárdenas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fume compadre
Fume y charlemos
Y mientras fuma recordemos
Que como el humo del cigarrillo
Ya se nos va la juventud

Fume compadre
Fume y charlemos

Quiero olvidar mi ingratitud
Que con el alma la quería
Y un negar día la abandoné

Voy sin poderla olvidar
Atormentado por la pena
Ella juró que era buena
Y no la quise escuchar

De qué me sirve guapear
Cuando es honda la partida
Pobrecita mi querida
Toda la vida la he de llorar

Y ahora compadre, arrepentido
Quiero olvidarla y no la olvido
Si hasta parece que ella se mese
Entre las nubes del humo azul

Fume compadre
Fume y charlemos
Quiero olvidar mi ingratitud
Al ver que como el humo
Se desvanece mi juventud

Voy sin poderla olvidar
Atormentado por la pena
Ella juró que era buena
Y no la quise escuchar

De qué me sirve guapear
Cuando es honda la partida

Pobrecita mi querida
Toda la vida la he de llorar

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Olimpo Cardenas's song "Fume Compadre" tell the story of a remorseful man who regretfully looks back on his past mistakes. He is smoking and talking to his friend, reminiscing on how quickly time has passed them by, just like the smoke from their cigarettes. The man is trying to forget his ingratitude in leaving the woman he loved so deeply, who had promised to be faithful and true. He now realizes that he should have heeded her words, and the regret is killing him from the inside. He is tormented by the realization that he has lost the love of his life and no amount of pride can make him forget her. The lyrics convey his pain and longing for the lost love, and he is desperate to erase those memories that keep coming back to haunt him.

The song's themes of regret, lost love, and the passing of time resonate with audiences around the world. The melody, slowly building in intensity, perfectly complements the emotional nature of the lyrics. This song has become a classic and is considered one of the most representative songs of Ecuadorian music.

Line by Line Meaning

Fume compadre
Let's smoke, friend

Fume y charlemos
Smoke and chat

Y mientras fuma recordemos
While smoking, let's remember

Que como el humo del cigarrillo
That like the smoke from a cigarette

Ya se nos va la juventud
Our youth is slipping away

Quiero olvidar mi ingratitud
I want to forget my ungratefulness

Que con el alma la quería
That with all my soul I loved her

Y un negar día la abandoné
And one day I abandoned her

Voy sin poderla olvidar
I go without being able to forget her

Atormentado por la pena
Tormented by the pain

Ella juró que era buena
She swore she was good