Close to Your Heart
lyrics by José María Contursi
music by Enrique Francini & Héctor Stamponi
What a horrible night I’ve had!
Everything in my room is cold.
I owe it all to you, my love:
despair and weariness.
I gave my whole life up to you
and this affection of mine—
a wounded bird that sought a warm nest
close to your heart.
Today as before
my poor eyes are left with no light,
and on my sleepless nights you alone are there
mocking my sorrow.
Today as before
I will go back to being alone…
you caused me so much pain
when, forgetting my love, you left.
Today as before
I will be wrapped in shadows once again,
and among these shadows I too shall become a shadow,
the better to remember you.
Today as before
today as before, I love you…
I will drag myself down a thousand roads
and you will live on inside of me.
Orquesta Carlos Di Sarli, singer Alberto Podestá
Orquesta José Garcia, singer Alfredo Rojas
(Spanish original after the jump)
Junto a tu corazón
¡Que noche horrible para mí!
Todo en mi cuarto es frío.
Te debo todo, amor, a ti:
desolación y hastío.
Mi vida entera te la di
y este cariño mío—
pichón herido que buscó nido y calor
junto a tu corazón.
Hoy como ayer
mis pobres ojos han quedado sin luz,
y en mis desvelos solamente estás tú
como una burla a mi dolor.
Hoy como ayer
vuelvo a quedar tan solo…
fue tanto el daño que me hiciste
cuando olvidando mi querer te fuiste.
Hoy como ayer
envuelto en sombras otra vez quedaré,
y entre esas sombras una sombra seré
para acordarme más de ti…
Hoy como ayer,
hoy como ayer, te quiero…
me arrastraré por mil senderos
y seguirás viviendo en mí.
Poesía de gotán: The Poetry of the Tango 
Thanks for translating one of my favorites by Di Sarli with Podesta. I’m interested in hearing why you translated “ayer” to before, not yesterday. I know that’s part of the art of translation and it makes sense.
Posted by jantango | 07.04.2011, 4:27 AMYou’re quite welcome—it’s one of my favorites as well.
As far the translation goes, you are correct, I took it as part of my artistic license. Rather than using my own words, I will quote Vladimir Nabokov, a master prose stylist in both English & Russian. In the Foreword to the English edition of his book Invitation to a Beheading, he writes:
Just like Nabokov, I felt the duplication of the last syllable in “Today as yesterday” sounded cumbersome and awkward (especially since the phrase is repeated so much in this tango), whereas “Hoy como ayer,” especially in a porteño accent, sounds quite musical and lovely. Among all the alternatives, I felt “Today as before” to be the best and most elegant English rendering of the phrase.
Posted by poesiadegotan | 07.04.2011, 4:44 AMGRANDI!!!
Posted by Vito | 06.12.2015, 1:12 AMjust beautiful translation. thanks a lot
Posted by yuchun ahn | 07.28.2015, 2:09 PM