Malena Lyrics in English by Juan Carlos Baglietto, Lito Vitale

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Malena by Juan Carlos Baglietto from Spanish to English.

These lyrics have verified word for word translations. Click any lyric word to see the translation and hear the pronunciation!

Malena Baglietto

Malena

how amazing, she sings tango and you

too. Yes, in each verse she puts that, we

chose it because it's a great tango, my old lady

sang it, your old lady sang it and

sang it very well. I have great

memories of great singers, or at least

of a great singer singing Malena

who was Roberto

I arrived in Buenos Aires and well, it was

kind of half inhospitable, alien, what

do I know, and I don't know why I ended up at Caño 14

best place impossible, tremendous, and

seeing, seeing Goyeneche with

some musicians

Exactly, this

The bandoneon player from Rosario

Well, now we're going to sing Malena, she's going to

sing Malena and I'm going to play the piano

Because if there's one thing that's clear, it's that

he plays and I sing, ready

like no other

and in each verse she puts

her heart

to the rawness of sweat

her voice, perfume

Malena has sorrow

of a bandoneon. Perhaps there in childhood

her lark's voice took on that dark tone

of the alley. Or perhaps that romance that

she only names when she gets sad with the

alcohol

Malena sings tango

with a voice of shadow

Malena has sorrows

of a bandoneon

your song

has the cold of the last encounter

your song

becomes bitter in the salt of memory, I

don't know

it's the flower of a sorrow, I only know, and the

rumor of your tangos, Malena, I feel you're more

good, better than me

your eyes are dark

like oblivion, your lips tight like

resentment, your hands two doves that

feel cold, your veins have bandoneon blood

your tangos are abandoned

creatures that cross over the mud

of the alley when all the doors

are closed and the ghosts of the

song bark

Malena sings tango with a broken voice

Malena has sorrow

of a bandoneon

Did you like this lyrics translation?

bandoneón — bandoneon

Bandoneón refers to a type of accordion like instrument, essential to tango music and deeply associated with Argentina and Uruguay. It's a unique word that instantly conjures the soulful, melancholic sound of the genre.

In the song, the line "El bandoneónista rosarino" ("The bandoneón player from Rosario") ties the instrument directly to a specific place, grounding Malena's story in the smoky, nostalgic world of tango halls where the bandoneón sets the emotional tone.

This classic tango paints a vivid picture of a mysterious and captivating singer named Malena. The lyrics describe her unique and emotional way of singing. She doesn't just sing the words; she pours her entire heart into every verse, with a voice that is described as a "voice of shadow" and full of the "sorrow of a bandoneón," the signature melancholic instrument of tango.

The narrator wonders about the source of her deep sadness. Was it a difficult childhood in the alleyways? Or perhaps a lost love she only remembers when she drinks? Her songs are filled with powerful imagery: the "coldness of the last encounter" and the "bitter salt of memory." Ultimately, Malena is a figure of profound feeling, whose sorrowful tangos make the narrator feel that she is a better person than he is.

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Juan Carlos Baglietto Malena Lyrics