Un Buen Perdedor

 Ahhh.. this song by Venezuelan (of Italian parents) superstar (and still going strong) Franco de Vita was one of the first spanish pop ballads I ever learned or heard when I was in my Mexican Identity Crisis stage during my college years in the early 90s and learning most of my spanish through listening to music and translating lyrics. (*note - the song was from the 80s, but I didn't discover it until the summer of 1990).

I even remember about 5 years ago, my previous neighbor, an African American gay man who didn't speak a lick of spanish heard me playing this song and was so moved that he let himself into my house and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh - that song is AMAZING! And I don't understand a thing! It sounds so dramatic!!" I remembering answering with a knowing smile, "And if you knew WHAT he was saying, you'd be even more impressed!"

This song is so inspiring and beautiful, with its driving no-nonsense piano chords and sweeping strings making the music sound almost cinematic. It literally urges its listener to take the higher moral ground that the lyrics encourage. Alas it garners a place on my Top 5 List of (musical and lyrical) Song PERFECTION.

Sé que piensas marcharte, ya lo sé
Y no te detendre
Haz lo que tú quieras

Sin embargo recuerda que
yo estare aquí en el mismo lugar
Y si solo tienes ganas de hablar,
con gusto escucharé

Y si el supo darte más amor
Supo llenarte más que yo...

Claro que sé perder,
Claro que sé perder

No tienes porqué disimular,
esas lágrimas están de más
Si tienes que irte,
véte ya

Sin embargo esparaba que te quedaras
Pero el agua hay que dejarla correr
Mientras yo me tragaba palabras que no pude decir

Y si el viento hoy sopla a tu favor
Yo no te guardaré rencor

No, claro que sé perder
No será la primera vez
Hoy te vas tú,
mañana me iré yo

Seré un buen perdedor
Y el mundo no cambiará
Alguien sin duda ocupara tu lugar...