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Cristal (1944)

Crystal
lyrics by José María Contursi
music by Mariano Mores

My heart has been torn to pieces,
my feelings shattered on this day…
Night after night with no rest
and this unease in my soul…
So, so many years have passed—
my life and my hair are gray!
Mad, nearly dead, crushed,
my spirit is still chained
to the days of our youth.

More fragile than crystal,
was my love
at your side…
Crystal your heart, your gaze, your laugh…
your dreams and my voice
and our shyness
quietly trembling on your balcony…
And now I only know
that all was lost
the evening I was gone.
I will never return, I know,
I know it well–never again!
Perhaps you shall wait for me
with God, on the other side…

Everything has ended for me,
everything has been forgotten.
A tragic lesson is all that remains
of the dark hours I have lived.
So, so many years have passed—
my life and my hair are gray!
Alone, always alone, and forgotten,
my spirit is still chained
to the days of our youth.

Orquesta Aníbal Troilo, singer Alberto Marino

Orquesta Francisco Canaro, singer Carlos Roldán

Susana Rinaldi

Neither Roldán nor Marino sing the italicized verse. Rinaldi sings “loneliness” instead of “unease” in the fourth line.

(Spanish original after the jump)

Cristal

Tengo el corazón hecho pedazos
rota mi emoción en este día…
Noches y más noches sin descanso
y esta desazón del alma mía…
¡Cuántos, cuántos años han pasado,
grises mis cabellos y mi vida!
Loco… casi muerto… destrozado,
con mi espíritu amarrado
a nuestra juventud.

Más frágil que el cristal
fue mi amor
junto a ti…
Cristal tu corazón, tu mirar, tu reír…
Tus sueños y mi voz
y nuestra timidez
temblando suavemente en tu balcón…
Y ahora sólo sé
que todo se perdió
la tarde de mi ausencia.
Ya nunca volveré, lo sé,
lo sé bien, ¡nunca más!
Tal vez me esperarás,
junto a Dios, ¡más allá!

Todo para mi se ha terminado,
todo para mi se torna olvido.
¡Trágica enseñanza me dejaron
esas horas negras que he vivido!
¡Cuántos, cuántos años han pasado,
grises mis cabellos y mi vida!
Solo, siempre solo y olvidado,
con mi espíritu amarrado
a nuestra juventud…

About Derrick Del Pilar

Born and raised in Chicago, I came to the tango while studying at the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires in 2006. In 2008 I earned my B.A. with majors in Creative Writing and Spanish & Portuguese from the University of Arizona, and in 2009 I earned an M.A. in Latin American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. My specialty is the history & literature of early 20th century Argentina.

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