5 MOST ROMANTIC ARGENTINE TANGO SONGS YOU SIMPLY MUST KNOW
Argentine Tango is known for its intense and sensuous dance style that is also romantic and elegant. We compiled a list of the top five most romantic Argentine Tango songs you can learn and dance to!
There are plenty of love songs to swoon over, but what is most popular and seemingly romantic, when analyzed in depth - reveals some not-so-romantic threads.
So, instead, we focused on tango songs with lyrics, rhythm, and narrative that capture the most romantic vibe.
Yo no sé porque te quiero
I don’t know why I love you
I don’t know why I adore you
Seeing that...
Seeing that your eyes are always cold
Never looking into mine!
Yo no sé por qué te quiero.
yo no sé por qué te adoro
viendo qué...
que tus ojos siempre fríos
no se miran en los míos!
Yo no sé porque te quiero was written in 1934 by the incredibly prolific musician, Francisco Canaro, with lyrics by the famous playwright Ivo Pela.
"I don’t know why I love you," says the singer in this poetic tango song filled with anguish and desperation. One can't help but be moved by this song about an unrequited love that is tragic yet so passionate. It reassures us that these feelings are valid, and to top it off is the melody's beautiful blend of melancholy and fantasy.
Song trivia: In his book Mis Memorias, Francisco Canaro tells an amusing story regarding Yo no sé why te quiero. This song was performed by Alicia Vignoli and Ignacio Corsini in the musical comedy play, La canción de los Barrio. Translated from Spanish, he said:
One night, while Corsini was singing to Vignoli in the middle of the stage, a very funny episode occurred for those of us who were in the gaffe, and not for the audience in general, because only the spectators in the first rows and those in the avant-scéne boxes who heard Alicia Vignoli's funny witticism said under her breath could be aware of it. The lyrics repeat the phrase "I don't know why I love you", "I don't know why I adore you...", many times. It turned out that that night, Corsini made a mistake in the lyrics and did not get out of "I don't know why...". [He] did not succeed in completing the sentence and he had been stuck in the repetition of the same words, to which Vignoli, very opportunely, said to him in a low voice: "What you don't know is the lyrics, Ignacio..." And the spectators who caught the actress's exit celebrated it with laughter…
Al Compás del Corazón (Late un Corazón)
And a beat, and a beat of love
Will unite forever the goodbye.”
Y un compás, y un compás de amor
Unira para siempre el adios.
Tango songs, before their popularity, often dealt with lost love rather than the newly discovered. Which, if you think about it, captures perfectly human nature - we love to complain!
Tango lyrics originated as a means of expressing sadness and despair, but there are a few songs like this one that provide a different perspective.
Al Compás del Corazón, a timeless classic that has made a thousand hearts beat to its rhythm, is an exquisite composition by Homero Exposito and Domingo Federico, orchestrated by Miguel Calo, and sung by Raul Beron.
This song captures the essence of the intense feelings of a strong connection and a love that knows no bounds. The song title translates to "To the Heart's Beat (A Heart is Beating) and it emphasizes how one can not fight their own heart. The heart wants what it wants, even if the mind says otherwise. The singer expresses an emotional pull and how drawn they are to one another despite the odds; how when a heart beats for its eternal soulmate, one should embrace it and hang on to that feeling with all of their might, and everything will fall into place.
Song trivia: According to Todo Tango, when Domingo Federico joined Miguel Caló's ensemble,
He showed his tango to his colleagues and it was warmly accepted. The members of the orchestra wanted to play it, but the singers Raúl Berón and Alberto Podestá had doubts because they did not know the lyrics well yet. One day they decided to premiere it without Caló’s consent... As the vocalists did not want to sing it, one of the most fervent enthusiasts of that tango piece, Enrique Francini, decided to do it. So was the improvised debut of this tango, with great public acclaim. The audience wanted to hear the piece again. When Caló arrived the public were requesting that the tune be played one more time. As he did not know what [it] was about, he asked them to play it and it immediately was included in the book.
Esta Noche de Luna
If I give you a kiss
Sin is not to be
Guilty is the night
That incites to love.
Si un beso te doy
Pecado no ha de ser
Culpable es la noche
Que incita a querer...
Despite the fact that love is an overly-simplified subject that has been covered extensively in history, the way it was subtly addressed in Esta Noche de Luna (A Moonlit Night)'s lyrics added a layer of sparkle to it. It can be understood in a number of ways, depending on the listeners' own experiences or the situation they are in when they hear it. Some see it as a desperate plea, wishing to feel and offer love, while others see it as a song about innocent love, and yet others see it as a song about temptation. Let’s take a look at how our friends in the Tango community interpreted the lyrics of this powerful love song:
According to Tango DC, the subject, a star shining above the sea, is “lost, a kind of fallen angel, for the sake of its desire,” and could also mean that “on an astronomical note, the stars most visible on a night with a full moon are the brightest, since the Moon’s light washes out the dimmer ones.”
In line with this, Tanguito has stated that "the song uses various images of nature, hence conveying strong emotions such as longing and despair in a way that makes us feel close to the poet’s personal drama: the sky has been used to express how minuscule the poet feels to the world and to love, and the sea to communicate his feeling of being swept off his feet with no control... Witchcraft and spells are referred to throughout the song, expressing the idea that love is out of this world, that it can be magical when it goes right or witchcraft when it doesn’t."
No matter how one interprets it, this 1943 hit is undeniably a passionate love song brilliantly composed by Graciano Gomez and Jose Garcia with lyrics by magical wordsmith Hector Marco and an outstanding voice by Alfredo Rojas, imbued with just the right amount of fantasy, romance, and poetry, all of which can be perfectly conveyed by the Argentine Tango.
Tampa Tango Argentino shared an excerpt on their Facebook page of the story tango maestro, Daniel Arias, had told Milonga El Floridita about:
The melody [was] written by Jose Garcia and Graciano Gomez. It was beautiful and enchanting, yet they needed some lyrics to go with it, so they decided to approach Hector Marco (singer, poet, and dancer) to see if he was willing to add some lyrics to the song. Hector took his time, [then] one night he was at a gig by the river. He had been singing all night and was exhausted. During his band's break, he decided to take a walk by the river to clear his mind. As he was strolling, he looked up and saw the most beautiful moon in the sky... Bright, inviting, enchanting. And he murmured... "Acercate a mi y oiras mi corazon... contento latir... (Come close to me and you will hear my heart beating with joy...)" This is how one of the most romantic tangos ever written came to be.
Te Quiero
And the pains are not pains
When they are pains of love.
Today I love you more than yesterday
but less than tomorrow.
Y las penas no son penas
Cuando son penas de amor.
Hoy te quiero más que ayer
Pero menos que mañana,
Love songs, as lovely as they are, aren't always about rainbows and butterflies. That being said, the best love songs, no matter how tragic the lyrics or backstory may be, are the ones that stir up emotions and instill a newfound appreciation for love. Though it's painful to see love come to an end, this next song captures beautifully the desire to love and be loved, something we can all relate to.
Te Quiero is an achingly beautiful song about a woman's precious love. It appears to be a typical love song on the surface, but when you come upon the story of singer Ada Falcon's life, the song takes on a whole new meaning that is heartbreakingly beautiful.
Dubbed as the “Empress of Tango”, Ada was a film actress and tango vocalist whose voice was heard all over the radio. Despite the widespread recognition for her talent and flair, the tango star’s professional legacy has been overshadowed by speculation and exaggerations about her private life, particularly her tumultuous affair with her married maestro, Francisco Canaro (who wrote this song and dedicated another to her), and how, at the pinnacle of her success, abandoned everything to lead an eccentric life, all out of love.
"Y las penas no son penas, cuando son penas de amor," she sings, which roughly translates to that if the suffering is caused by love, it isn’t punishment. She sings of her unconditional love for someone, even if she is unable to take it further. How it is irrational and can be a strong force. Love has the potential to be unbreakable and resilient… Intense even when everything else is trying to keep you apart.
Song trivia: There is a male version by Ernesto Fama whose magisterial voice brightens up the song.
Vida Mía
My life, from afar I love you even more,
My life, think about me coming back.
I know that gold will not have your kisses,
And for that, I love you more.
Vida mía, lejos mas te quiero.
Vida mía, piensa en mi regreso.
Se que el oro mo tendrá tus besos,
Y es por eso que te quiero más.
If you’re getting married soon, why not try something new for your wedding?
Argentine Tango is a dramatic, passionate dance that is a great choice for a couple's first dance.
It's fun and works with all kinds of music. It doesn't have to be steamy or sexy, and can do without acrobatics and bold moves, but still be romantic.
For couples beginning their lives together, Vida Mía, a 1933 work by Osvaldo Fresedo, is a great choice. Because of his many styles, Fresedo's long-term recording career (the longest in tango), lasting from 1925 to 1980, is apparent in his works. His style is usually grand with varying arrangements, instruments, and repressing parts, yet it never loses sight of the essence of tango in the process.
Although short, the lyrics of Vida Mia are so captivating and packed with hope and love. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling. It brings back memories of a first love. It entices you to dream. Brimming with a charming and romantic melody, it inspires you to dance in sync with a significant other.
TodoTango website on the many renditions of this song:
Those that succeeded in committing it to record were three: Roberto Ray, the first one, in 1933; Oscar Serpa, in 1944; [and] Héctor Pacheco, in 1952. Fresedo also cut two special recordings accompanying well-known foreign singers: Tito Schipa in 1934 and Pedro Vargas in 1945. There is also a live recording —in 1956 at the boite Rendez Vous— in which the jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie improvises while the Fresedo orchestra, without vocalist, plays “Vida mía”.... Carlos Gardel was also very close to singing “Vida mía”. It is [also] worthwhile to mention the ones made by Horacio Salgán without a singer: with the Quinteto Real and with the Salgán-De Lío duo.