La Mentira-Javier Solis
The other day I was talking to a friend of mine about music, when I made the most stupid remark ever. I said, “I don’t like romantic music.” I regretted it as soon as I said it. I absolutely love Boleros, music that can only be described as romantic. I love Flamenco, heart-wrenching melodramatic Italian arias, Kings of Convenience, Bossa Nova and I love this song! It’s one of my mom’s favorites and she had me sing it on her new karaoke machine the other day (much more fun that it sounds!). I’m familiar with the tune but it wasn’t until I actually attempted to sing it that I realized what a beautiful piece of music it is, very different than other Musica Romantica melodies. Javier Solis’ interpretation is my favorite.
Lyrics:
Se te olvida
Que me quieres a pesar de lo que dices
Pues llevamos en el alma cicatrices
Imposibles de borrar
Se te olvida
Que hasta puedo hacerte mal si me decido
Pues tu amor lo tengo muy comprometido
Pero a fuerzas no será
Y hoy resulta
Que no soy de la estatura de tu vida
Y al dejarme casi, casi, se te olvida
Que hay un pacto entre los dos
Por mi parte
Te devuelvo tu promesa de adorarme
Ni siquiera sientas pena por dejarme
Que ese pacto
No es con Dios
for personal reasons I will take to the grave, sabor a mi always makes me cry (inside, the only place this cholo sheds tears), but la mentira has always been my favorite bolero ever. I’ve always loved the composition, the way the melody follows updward on the line, “Y hoy resulta…que no soy de la estatura de tu vida…” kind of sadly playful (and maybe still a bit hopeful?) but then kind of gradually descends into the last stanza, where the singer is like, oh well, I guess that’s it, you hate me now, but por mi parte, don’t worry about it, I’m gonna be big about it, it’s all good, y te devuelvo tu promesa de adorarme… aaaa! all that melodramatic pride and melancholy.
the other one that gets me is that one, “La puerta se cerro detras de ti…”
I recently came across Ely Guerra’s version of Jurame. on the very rare occasion when I drive these days, I make sure to have a cd in my car with this song on it so I can blast it and sing along–with the tinted windows up, of course.
http://www.imeem.com/people/JWuh8T/music/0D1C3x0I/ely_guerra_jurame/
My dad says Sabor a Mi is the unofficial Chicano anthem. I know it’s one of my favorites to sing.
La Mentira has a structure and a melody that is very Bossa Nova in flavor. I wonder who wrote it? I guess I need to do my research. I’ve heard all these songs growing up but never paid much attention to them. Now they grab my full attention. It must be my age. It’s like when you get older you can drink Brandy and enjoy stinky cheese.
Oh, the link doesn’t work but I’ll do a search, thanks for recommendation!
i love this song as well. Is javier the first to sing it?
Ritzy, I’ve been trying to find more info on this song with not much luck. There’s another version that would make me think the song was written as a Bossa Nova/Jazz standard:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1yHFNhmvrbg
so with some digging
i found out who wrote it and the many boleros we know and love
Alvaro Carrillo from Oaxaca (one of my favorite places on earth). Here’s what I found:
http://www.elsoldelacosta.com/carillo.html
http://www.oaxaca-mio.com/celebres/alvaro_carrillo.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9ZVTJkWA8s
Hey Ritzy, I finally got a chance to check out the links, thanks! Of course, he would be from Oaxaca, also one of my favorite places on earth!
Great site, I found this article on Yahoo!!!