Tú (1949)

You*
lyrics by José María Contursi

music by José Dames

You arrived like a dazzling ray of light…
I was stumbling through the world with no love and no peace!
My longings had already taken refuge
in the ruins of my past!
You carried in your eyes…in your lips…your voice…
the warm promise of a better future…
your hands and my hands found each other
and my heart began to beat again.

You…
with the magic of your love and your goodness…
You…
taught me to smile and to forgive…
You see…
I was a scream of resentment
at the tragic ending
of my desperation!
You see…
all of that vanished
like mist on the sea
when sunlight arrives…
You…
miraculous crystalline music…
You…
taught me to smile and to forgive!

How sad my every moment was without you…
I was drowning in the torment of wandering without dying.
Tired of my sorrows and my despair
and of these old memories of mine…
Your kisses…your tenderness…your emotion and your faith
performed the miracle of erasing the past…
that distant, shadowy past
that must never, ever return.

Orquesta Miguel Calo, singer Raul Beron (1949)

Orquesta Aníbal Troilo, singer Edmundo Rivero (1949)

*As those who have spent time in Buenos Aires will know, speakers of Rioplatense Spanish use the pronoun “vos” in place of “tú”. While it is by no means exclusive to this region, it is a feature of the dialect that porteños in particular now often take pride in.
There were periods in the 1930s and 1940s in Argentina where various governments proscribed the use of slang and language deemed to be “vulgar” or “incorrect”, which may be a reason some songs from this period use “tú” in place of “vos.”
Also, some tango lyricists use “tú” to evoke a more timeless romantic mood—the effect on Argentine ears is analogous, though not quite as archaic, to when English speakers hear “thou/thee/thy/thine” in, say, a sonnet (“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…” “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” etc.).
But it would be a bit too much to start the translation of this song off as “So thou didst come, a dazzling ray of light…“—tuteo is the contemporary standard in populous countries with prolific media industries (such as Spain and Mexico), so Spanish speakers whose native dialect uses voseo are completely familiar with it, whereas in modern English “thou“ sounds inevitably archaic or religious.

(Spanish original after the jump)

Tú
letra de José María Contursi

música de José Dames

Llegaste como un rayo deslumbrante de luz…

¡Yo andaba por el mundo sin amor ni quietud!

¡Mis ansias ya se habían refugiado

entre las ruinas de mi pasado!

Traías en tus ojos… en tus labios… tu voz…

la cálida promesa de un destino mejor…

mis manos y tus manos se encontraron

y nuevamente palpitó mi corazón.



Tú…

con la magia de tu amor y tu bondad…

Tú…
me enseñaste a sonreir y a perdonar…

¡Ves…
yo era un grito de rencor

en el trágico final
de mi desesperación!

Ves…
todo aquello se esfumó

como brumas en el mar

al llegar la luz del sol…


Tú…

milagrosa musiquita de cristal…

Tú…
me enseñaste a sonreir y a perdonar!



Qué tristes eran todos mis momentos sin ti…

me ahogaba la tortura de rodar sin morir.

Cansado de mis penas y mi hastío

y de esos viejos recuerdos míos…

Tus besos… tus ternuras… tu emoción y tu fe

hicieron el milagro de borrar el ayer…

aquel lejano ayer ensombrecido

que nunca… nunca… nunca más ha de volver.