Tango Lyrics : Tango Negro ( My favorite Candombe )
This is a piece of tango culture that represents the varied nature and scope of tango dancing. If you see someone dancing to this song, you might mistake it as a milonga, but it’s really a Candombe - An Uruguayan style of dancing that originated among the african population in Montevideo (which also happens to be the origin of La Cumparsita).
I love the lyrics of this song too, especially the alliteration “borocotó, borocotó, borocotó, borocotó chas chas”, which is supposed to be an onomatopoeia for the Tamboril (a kind of drum that’s common in Candombe music). Without much ado, here are the lyrics (and my humble attempt at translating them):
Tango Negro (Black Tango)
| Tango negro, tango negro, te fuiste sin avisar, los gringos fueron cambiando tu manera de bailar. Tango negro, tango negro, el amo se fue por mar, se acabaron los candombes en el barrio ‘e Monserrat.
Más tarde fueron saliendo
Borocotó, borocotó borocotó,
Tango negro, tango negro, |
Gloomy Tango, Gloomy tango You left with no warning, Those gringos were changing the manner of your dancing. Gloomy Tango, gloomy tango, The owner went away to sea the candombes came to an end In the Monserrat locality.
In time they kept leaving
borocotó, borocotó, borocotó,
Gloomy tango, gloomy tango, |
My favorite dance rendition of this song is this performance my Louis and Daniela:
(This version of the song is sung by Alberto Casares. For other versions search for tango negro on youtube).