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Song

La cumparsita · Julio De Caro · 1930

Music by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez, lyrics by Pascual Contursi. 95 recordings in our catalogue, 1917–2008.

La cumparsita · Julio De Caro · 1930: De Caro's only-ever recording of this tango, a sprawling, nearly-minute-long-introduction arrangement that needed an oversized disc pressed to fit its four and a half minutes.†

Credit

Music
Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
Lyrics
Pascual Contursi

Source: TangoCloud catalogue

Every recording

95 recordings · our catalogue, dances filmed on TangoTube · 193 more we know of

  1. Roberto FirpoNot in our catalogueInstrumental · tango.info1916
  2. Roberto FirpoEarliest we holdInstrumental
    Not danced on film yet
    1917
  3. Alberto Alonso, Minotti Di CiccoNot in our catalogueInstrumental · tango.info1917
  4. Carlos GardelNot in our cataloguetango.info1923
  5. Carlos GardelNot in our cataloguetango.info1924
  6. Francisco LomutoNot in our catalogueInstrumental · tango.info1924
  7. Francisco LomutoInstrumental · Odeon
    Not danced on film yet
    1925
  8. Orquesta Típica VictorInstrumental · RCA Victor · May 12
    Not danced on film yet
    1926
  9. Roberto DíazNot in our cataloguetango.info1926
  10. Francisco PracánicoNot in our catalogueInstrumental · tango.info1926
  11. Alberto Alonso, Minotti Di CiccoNot in our catalogueInstrumental · tango.info1926
  12. Trío ArgentinoNot in our catalogueInstrumental · tango.info1926
  13. Pedro Laurenz, Pedro MaffiaNot in our catalogueInstrumental · Jul 7 · tango.info1926
  14. Pedro Laurenz, Pedro MaffiaNot in our catalogueInstrumental · Nov 7 · tango.info1926
  15. Francisco CanaroInstrumental · Odeon · Feb 17
    3 dances
    1927
  16. Osvaldo FresedoInstrumental · Odeon · May 3
    Not danced on film yet
    1927
  17. Carlos GardelNot in our cataloguetango.info1927
  18. Carlos GardelNot in our catalogueDec 17 · tango.info1927
  19. Guillermo Barbieri, José RicardoNot in our catalogueCarlos Gardel · Dec 17 · tango.info1927
  20. Roberto FirpoInstrumental · Odeon · Jan 11
    2 dances
    1928

Lyrics

Español

La cumparsa De miserias sin fin Desfila En torno de aquel ser Enfermo Que pronto ha de morir De pena. Por eso es que en su lecho Solloza acongojado Recordando el pasado Que lo hace padecer... Abandonó a su viejita Que quedó desamparada, Y loco de pasión Ciego de amor Corrió tras de su amada, Que era linda, era hechicera De lujuria era una flor, Que burló su querer Hasta que se cansó Y por otro lo dejó... Largo tiempo después Cayó al hogar materno, Para poder curar su enfermo Y herido corazón... Y supo Que su viejita santa, La que él había dejado El invierno pasado De frío se murió... Hoy ya solo, abandonado A lo triste de su suerte, Ansioso espera a la muerte Que bien pronto ha de llegar, Y entre la triste frialdad Que lenta invade el corazón, Sintió la cruda sensación De su maldad... Entre sombras Se le oye respirar Sufriente, Al que antes de morir Sonríe Porque una dulce paz Le llega... Sintió que desde el cielo Su madrecita buena, Mitigando sus penas Sus culpas perdonó...!

English · machine translation

The cumparsa Of endless miseries Parades Around that being Sick Who will soon die Of sorrow. That's why in his bed He sobs in sorrow Remembering the past That makes him suffer... He abandoned his old lady Who was left forsaken, And mad with passion Blind with love He ran after his beloved, Who was pretty, she was a sorceress Of lust she was a flower, That mocked his love Till he grew weary And for another she left him... Long after He fell to his mother's home, In order to heal her sick And wounded heart... And he knew That his holy old lady, The one he had left Last winter From the cold she died... Now alone, abandoned To the sadness of his fate, Anxiously awaits death Which is soon to come, And amidst the sad coldness That slowly invades his heart, He felt the raw sensation Of his evil... In the shadows You can hear him breathing Suffering, Who before dying Smiles Because a sweet peace Comes to him... He felt that from heaven His good little mother Mitigating his sorrows His faults she forgave...!

Danced to it

Music from 1930 · danced on film 1999–2025

19992025
By the year it was danced; each dance counts once, however many channels filmed it

1999: 1, 2006: 1, 2007: 1, 2008: 1, 2009: 1, 2010: 1, 2025: 1

From TangoTube's videos · our data

What we don't know yet3 of 5 known

The day it was recorded, the record label.

Data: recordings, facts and sources

Recordings by year

Source: TangoCloud catalogue

19172008

1917: 1, 1925: 1, 1926: 1, 1927: 2, 1928: 3, 1929: 2, 1930: 1, 1931: 3, 1935: 1, 1936: 2, 1937: 2, 1940: 2, 1942: 3, 1943: 3, 1944: 1, 1946: 2, 1949: 1, 1950: 1, 1951: 5, 1952: 4, 1953: 4, 1954: 1, 1955: 4, 1956: 2, 1957: 2, 1958: 2, 1959: 2, 1960: 1, 1961: 4, 1962: 1, 1963: 2, 1964: 1, 1965: 1, 1966: 1, 1967: 2, 1968: 4, 1969: 1, 1970: 1, 1971: 1, 1973: 2, 1975: 1, 1977: 2, 1979: 1, 1983: 2, 1986: 1, 1987: 2, 1998: 1, 2000: 1, 2001: 1, 2002: 1, 2005: 1, 2008: 1

Notes1

De Caro's only-ever recording of this tango, a sprawling, nearly-minute-long-introduction arrangement that needed an oversized disc pressed to fit its four and a half minutes.

Single source

Listen

  1. La cumparsitaRoberto Firpo1917

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