The Milonga of Buenos Aires
lyrics by Ivo Pelay
music by Francisco Canaro
To your majestic sound
I saw you pass today
through my big city
and in you I discovered
the exact copy
of one that I had forgotten,
and that, like you,
was a porteña…
You are the flower of Buenos Aires,
the beautiful little porteña,
worthy successor of the beautiful one
who used to stride majestically
through that big village [1]
of colonial windows
and Federalist troops on patrol. [2]
You are the flower of Buenos Aires
the little idolized porteña
faithful copy of that iconic image
that has been gone a long time.
Orquesta Francisco Canaro, singer Ernesto Famá
[1] The original Spanish words here are “Gran Aldea” [“big village”] a reference to a classic novel of Argentine literature written by Lucio Vicente López, grandson of Vicente López y Planes, who served as an interim President of Argentina and wrote its national anthem.
[2] A euphemistic reference to the mazorcas of Juan Manuel de Rosas.
(Spanish original after the jump)
La milonga de Buenos Aires
Al son de tu majestad
hoy pasar te vi
por mi gran ciudad,
y en vos descubrí
que la copia sos
de una que olvidé,
y que, como vos,
porteña fue…
Sos la flor de Buenos Aires,
porteñita primorosa,
digna nieta de la bella
que paseaba majestuosa,
en aquella gran aldea
de ventanas coloniales
y patrullas federales.
Sos la flor de Buenos Aires
porteñita idolatrada,
copia fiel de aquella estampa
que hace tiempo que se fue.
Poesía de gotán: The Poetry of the Tango 
Here does the “you” refer to a woman he had known in the past, or is it the milonga itself which is personified as a woman?
Posted by Vishu | 09.25.2010, 7:29 AMEither. Or both. :).
That’s the thing about poetry and lyrics…sometimes they are intentionally ambiguous.
Though since the first line is, “At the sound of your majesty,” that will perhaps color most people’s interpretation.
Posted by poesiadegotan | 09.25.2010, 6:11 PM