Tango music is definitely not for the faint at heart, and this title is just another example of how dramatic many songs are. If you study the lyrics regularly and educate yourself about tango topics, you will inevitably start to make a lot of connections (for instance, in word choice), which make all the hard work quite a rewarding experience – your newly acquired knowledge will probably make your dancing, at least for yourself, much more intense and meaningful.

If I had to choose a single lyricist who can best summarize the darker side of tango poetry in a few lines, I would definitely say Discépolo. One of his favourite subjects was probably a combination of disillusion and betrayal. Songs like Soy un Arlequin, Infamia (both coming soon) and Confesión show a lot of particularly strong feelings, that at least in my case, have an uniquely devastating effect.

The strong content of the following song should, therefore, come as no surprise. Listen to Discépolo’s lover, the actress Tania, and to the orchestra that bore his name. The first version below (with limited lyrics) is also simply great in a musical sense.

*I wonder how a cross could be open. In Marino’s version, the word is replaced by ‘a veces’, sometimes. The original words are, perhaps, a religious reference, which is quite common in Discépolo. I am not sure, though.