Griseta
Griseta(Grisette) is the title of a tango written by José González Castillo in 1924. The music was composed by Enrique Delfino.
Lyrics writer(s):
The poet tells the sad story of a young French woman who, chasing a novelettish dream of love and bohemia, loses herself in the shabby underworld of Buenos Aires, where she ends up finding only death.
Contents
Recordings
| Orchestra | Singer | Record date | Genre | Label | Disco No | Side | Sound snippet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R000035 | Carlos Di Sarli | Roberto Rufino | 21 June 1941 | Tango | RCA Victor | 39331 | A |
Lyrics
Mezcla rara de Musetta y de Mimí
con caricias de Rodolfo y de Schaunard,
era la flor de París
que un sueño de novela trajo al arrabal...
Y en el loco divagar del cabaret,
al arrullo de algún tango compadrón,
alentaba una ilusión:
soñaba con Des Grieux,
quería ser Manon.
Francesita,
que trajiste, pizpireta,
sentimental y coqueta
la poesía del quartier,
¿quién diría
que tu poema de griseta
sólo una estrofa tendría:
la silenciosa agonía
de Margarita Gauthier?
Mas la fría sordidez del arrabal,
agostando la pureza de su fe,
sin hallar a su Duval,
secó su corazón lo mismo que un muguet.
Y una noche de champán y de cocó,
al arrullo funeral de un bandoneón,
pobrecita, se durmió,
lo mismo que Mimí,
lo mismo que Manón.
Strange mixture of Musetta and Mimi,
with caresses from Rodolfo and Schaunard[1] ,
she was the parisian flower
a crazy novelesque dream brought to the arrabal...
And in the frenzied ramblings of the cabaret,
to the murmur of some compadrón tango,
she cherished a hope:
she dreamt of Des Grieux,
she wanted to be Manon[2].
Little French girl,
you brought, lively spirit,
sentimental and coquettish,
the poetry from the quartier[3].
Who would have said
that your grisette poem
would have but one verse:
the silent agony
of Marguerite Gauthier[4]?
But the cold sordidness of the arrabal
weakened the purity of her faith and,
without finding her Duval[5],
dried out her heart, just like a muguet[6].
And one night of champagne and cocó,
to the funeral murmur of a bandoneon,
poor girl, she fell asleep,
just like Mimi,
just like Manon.
References
- ↑ Musetta, Mimi, Rodolfo, Schaunard: Characters from Giacomo Pucini’s La Bohème, based on Henri Murger’s Scènes de la vie de bohème.
- ↑ Des Grieux, Manon: Characters from Manon Lescaut, a novel by Abbé Prévost and an opera by Giacomo Puccini.
- ↑ quartier: ’neighbourhood’, in French in the original.
- ↑ Marguerite Gauthier: Tragic heroine from A. Dumas fils’ The Lady of the Camellias.
- ↑ Armand Duval: Protagonic male character from The Lady of the Camellias.
- ↑ muguet: ’lilly of the valley’, in French in the original.