Osmar Maderna / Miguel Caló, 1942

Argentine tango London | Qué te importa que te llore spacer_small Qué te importa que te llore is not another love song, it’s one with a twist – a song of lost milonguero love and… alcohol. It also is a favourite at milongas around the world.‘No puede ser esa esperanza que me ahoga’, ‘it can’t be this hope that makes me drawn’ is a reference to alcohol. Unfulfilled love, passionate nightlife and alcohol often come together in tango songs…

 ‘Los Mareados’, played beautifully by Troilo’s orchestra is another example of how alcohol is featured in tango songs. So next time you listen to a tango song, watch for the word ‘champán’, the Spanish word for champagne…

The story behind Qué te importa que te llore

“Jamás retornarás” and “Qué te importa que te llore”, both recorded with the voice of Raúl Berón are two exquisite songs born from the collaboration between Miguel Caló and the pianist Osmar Maderna.

Caló, who throughout his career supported young unknown musicians, discovered and trained the singer Raúl Berón in the art and style of his orchestra. One can say that he had an eye (or an ear!) for unusual talent. Soon after recording of ‘Al Compás del corazón’, radio broadcasting officials who didn’t like Berón asked Caló to dismiss him, but the record was such a success that they later apologised and congratulated Caló for his flair.

 

This song has been translated in collaboration by Tanguito, Argentine Tango Academy in London and María Cecilia Perna, Spanish teacher and milonguera in Buenos Aires.

We hope you enjoy this translation. If you have any comments, don’t hesitate to drop either of us a line.

Nathalie, Tanguito & María Cecilia Perna ([email protected])
 
 

The music

The lyrics

Déjame mentir que volverás
que volverás con el ayer,
con el ayer de nuestro sueño.
Déjame esperarte, ¡nada más!,
ya que comprendo que esperar
es un pedazo de recuerdo,
sé que este dolor, es el dolor de
comprender
que no puede ser esa esperanza
que me ahoga.
Déjame llorar, siempre llorar,
y recordarte y esperar
al comprender que no volverás.
 
 
Qué te importa que te llore,
qué te importa que me mienta
si ha quedado roto mi castillo del ayer,
 
déjeme hacer un dios con sus pedazos.
 
 
Qué te importa lo que sufro,
qué te importa lo que lloro…
si no puede ser aquel ayer de la ilusión,
déjame así llorando nuestro amor.

Mucho te esperé sin comprender,
sin comprender por qué razón
te has alejado y no volviste.
Mucho te esperé; fatal dolor
de consumir la soledad
en el calor de lo que fuiste.
Debes indicarme qué camino continuar
ya que es imposible que se junten nuestras vidas.
Déjame llorar, siempre llorar,
no ves que ya ni sé qué hablar,
ni qué mentir, ni qué esperar.

 Let me lie that you’ll come back
that you’ll come back with the bygone days,
with the bygone days we dreamt of together.
Let me wait for you, nothing else!
now that I understand that my longing
is a recollection,
I know that my suffering is the suffering of understanding that
it can’t be this hope
that makes me drawn.
Let me cry, cry endlessly,
and remember you and wait,
now that I understand that you will not come back.
 
What does it matter to you that I cry for you,
what does it matter to you that I lie to myself
if my castle from the bygone days is now in pieces,
let me use these pieces to create an altar.

What does it matter to you how much I suffer,
What does it matter to you how much I cry…
if those bygone days of illusion cannot be,
leave me like that, crying for our love.

Long did I wait for you without understanding,
without understanding the reason why
you had gone away forever.
Long did I wait for you; the fatal pain
of being alone
in the warmth of what had been.
You have to tell me which way forward
now that our lives can’t be united.
Let me cry, cry endlessly,
don’t you see that I am running out of words, out of lies and out of hope.