I have always considered the D’Agostino-Vargas orchestra (yes, let’s just mention both of them) to have the most “porteño” sound of all the orchestras, “porteño” being the Spanish adjective for Buenos Aires, so in other words, the most Buenos Aires-like or Buenos Aires-representing musical style of them all. Their discography contains not only, as far as I can tell, the most songs that refer to certain streets, corners and places of Buenos Aires, but it’s actually the orchestra sound which, in my opinion, is almost signature for evoking a yearning for the city in older times. Nostalgia is the key word here: whenever I hear this powerful combination of orchestra and singing, I always get in this dreamy, nostalgic Buenos Aires mood, and there are a few songs which I consider the absolute best in that regard. I’ve always loved “Adiós para siempre”, and I’m delighted to present this song to you today in the form of a translation video. I hope you will be able recognize the sentiment I’ve described above, along with perhaps a bit of the passionate melancholy of a lost love, which actually goes well with nostalgia, since tango music is often a combination of melancholy and nostalgia anyway.

Adiós para siempre (Goodbye forever)
Lyrics: Nolo López
Composition: José María Rizutti

“Adiós para siempre”, decía su carta,
“yo sé que sos hombre y sabrás comprender.
Te pido que nunca maldigas mi nombre,
pensá que tu madre también es mujer.”
-¡No sé por qué causa se fue de mi lado!,
¡no sé, si es un sueño, o si es realidad!
Parece mentira que a veces la vida
se ensañe con uno con tanta crueldad.

“Goodbye forever”, her letter said,
“I know you are a real man, you’ll understand…
all I ask of you is to never curse my name,
because remember, your mother is a woman too…”
I don’t know why she left me…,
is it a dream… or is it real?
I can’t believe how sometimes,
life can be so awfully cruel…

¡Hoy solo!…
lloro en silencio por ella.
A cuestas
llevando voy mi dolor
y el recuerdo del pasado
se ha metido despiadado
muy adentro del corazón.
¡Quisiera!…
encontrarla en mi camino.
¡Entonces!…
pedirle una explicación.
Pero temo, que me niegue
y me diga, es mentira
nada hubo entre los dos.

Now, all alone,
I cry for her silently.
Struggling,
I carry this lonely pain,
and memories of the past
rage mercilessly,
deep inside my heart.
I wish I could…
find her on my path,
and then…
ask her…. “but why?”
however, I fear that she’ll scorn me
and say instead, “it’s all lies…”
“there was nothing between us.”

(Por eso que a veces no quiero acordarme,
y busco olvidarla, ahogando el dolor.
Parece mentira, qué flojos que somos,
las cosas, hermano, que tiene el amor.
Malhaya con ella, qué Dios me perdone,
lo digo con rabia porque ella se fue.
Quisiera gritarle, maldita mil veces,
me acuerdo y no puedo, mi madre es mujer.)

(Sometimes, I just don’t want to remember,
and I try to forget her, drowning my sorrow.
It seems incredible how weak we are,
brother… the things that love does to us…
Curse that woman! Forgive me, Lord,
I say that in anger, because she left me.
I would like to scream at her,
“damn you, woman!”, a thousand times…
but I can’t, because I remember..
my mother is a woman too…)

Alternative verses in red:

First part, first half:

“Adiós para siempre”, decía su carta
“tal vez, algún día, sabrás comprender.
Quizá te atormenten mis cuatro palabras
escritas con llanto, en este papel.”

“Goodbye forever”, her letter said,
“perhaps, one day, you’ll understand.
I hope these four words of mine,
written in this note, in tears,
will not torment you.”

Third part:

(Por eso que a veces, no quiero acordarme
y busco olvidarla, ahogando el dolor.
¡Parece mentira, lo flojo que somos!,
¡las cosas, hermano, que tiene el amor!
Qué triste sin ella, se hace la vida,
¡adiós esperanza, adiós ilusión!
El alma envejece, se siente vencida
y sólo esperamos, el fallo de Dios.)

(Sometimes, I just don’t want to remember,
and I try to forget her, drowning my sorrow.
It seems incredible how weak we are,
brother… the things that love does to us…
Life is so sad without her…
goodbye dreams, goodbye hope!
The soul grows old, we feel defeated
and we can only wait to be judged by God.)