Venganza by Ruben Blades

 

Sufriendo eternamente tu venganza
la vida cruzaré buscando tu querer
Perdóname si alguna vez sin quererlo te engañé
pues no hay nadie como tu, vida de mi alma
apiádate de mi sufrir, no me guardes más rencor
la maldad y el desamor fueron tu venganza
Inútil es llorar si ya no tengo llanto
lo he gastado por el dolor de mi pena
Perdóname si alguna vez sin quererlo te engañé
pues no hay nadie como tu, vida de mi alma
Inútil es llorar si ya no tengo llanto
lo he gastado por el dolor de mi pena
Perdóname si alguna vez sin quererlo te engañé
pues no hay nadie como tu, vida de mi alma

https://chordu.com/chords-tabs-willie-colon-ruben-blades-venganza-id__D7The5jUbQ

This song haunts me. I heard it first in my '80s cult days, when my Panamanian roommate Ronaldo would play it. I never would have thought I'd become a fan of Afro-cuban salsa music, but I give credit where credit is due. This guy has very clear, understandable enunciation when he sings. And the music is a lot more subtle than the banda stuff, with the boom-boom polka beat, that these kids today are infatuated with.

I don't actually understand or speak Spanish in real-time, but on some level I do. It isn't like my brain can translate it fast enough to keep up, but I can hear it and get it. I can be in a room with a bunch of people speaking Spanish really fast, and most of it will be unintelligible to me, like birds singing. If I tune in real intensely I can catch about one fifth of it.

But in cases like this song, I feel it before I even need to translate it. It's like it goes directly into my heart, bypassing the intellect. I look up the words later and go, "Yeah, that's what I was feeling." But words aren't adequate conveyors of emotion. They are helpful, and are sometimes necessary to make sure the meaning doesn't get lost. But in some cases feelings can come through so purely that words are completely unnecessary.

I found a nifty site that will analyze any song on YouTube and show you the chords, karaoke style, while it plays. I'm trying to use it in Guitar Hero fashion, to improve my playing. This lovely little song is kicking my ass, though. Tempo and chord changes are not straightforward. Well, maybe they are, but I'm just not as familiar with them. I feel as awkward as when Sharon was trying to teach me to waltz. Or two-step. Or mambo...