Many tango lyrics deal with "abandono" - abandonment. The honourable man is "abandoned" by the faithless woman, his pride is insulted, he falls into despair and sometimes takes revenge. It is a typical macho theme and there are variations on it, but the woman never comes out well.
In the jaunty Canaro version ('Abandonada'), a woman, abandoned in life, is "saved", lucky thing, by the man's song.
Desengañada
vas por la vida;
abandonada
y el alma herida.
Y hay en tu mirada
un triste desencanto,
que con mi canto
yo he de borrar.
vas por la vida;
abandonada
y el alma herida.
Y hay en tu mirada
un triste desencanto,
que con mi canto
yo he de borrar.
The man cries: ¡No... no me abandones! in the eponymous De Angelis song. The woman has a dreadful secret he didn't want to know about:
¡Qué secreto fatal, tendrás!
Que no quise saber...
Que no quise saber...
That wicked woman is associated with secrets, betrayal:
Te traiciona al mentir, tu voz,
...while the poor chap is condemned, with no chance of salvation:
Condenado por tu amor, sin salvación...!
In the famous Caló - Berón version of La abandoné y no sabía, he leaves her because he doesn't realise he loved her. So does he berate himself for his stupidity, try to do something to fix things? Nope. Instead, in a paralysis of inaction he contemplates suicide to escape his 'torment' (another common theme in tango lyrics):
He acunado entre los sones
de bandoneones
nació este tango.
Nació por verme sufrir
en este horrible vivir
donde agoniza mi suerte.
He is the victim - his heart tricked him: "el corazón me engañaba". Passively, he suffers an ecstasy of anguish "sufro la angustia fatal".
Personally, I like the Laurenz instrumental (Abandono) more - no pleading man in that one.
And what of her? Not a squeak! I wonder if anyone asked her about this "abandonment" of the man, what might she call it?
Escape?
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