"Historia de un Amor"

Ya no estás mas a mi lado, corazón,

en el alma sólo tengo soledad

y si yo no puedo verte,

porque Dios me hizo quererte

para hacerme sufrir más

Siempre fuiste la razón de mi existir,

adorarte para mí fue religión.

Y en tus besos yo encontraba

el calor que me brindaba,

el amor y la pasión.

Es la historia de un amor,

como no hay otro igual.

Que me hizo comprender,

todo el bien todo el mal,

que le dio luz a mi vida,

apagandola después.

¡Ay, qué vida tan oscura, corazón,

sin tu amor no viviré!

Siempre fuiste la razón de mi existir,

adorarte para mí fue religión.

Y en tus besos yo encontraba

el calor que me brindaba,

el amor y la pasión.

Es la historia de un amor,

como no hay otro igual.

Que me hizo comprender,

todo el bien todo el mal,

que le dio luz a mi vida,

apagandola después.

¡Ay, qué vida tan oscura, corazón,

sin tu amor no viviré!

Notes

On Wednesday I danced with a visiting Tanguera from Poland. "Historia de Amor" came on. She said that it was her favourite song. And that it was her mother's favourite song.

"Wow" I said. "I've never heard it at a milonga before."

She replied: "Not this version but the Luz Casal version."

The song is one of the most interpreted and sold musical pieces in history. I first heard Historia del Amor via Los Panchos with Eydie Gorme. It is usually played as a Bolero.

"Historia del Amor" is a love song about a man's old love written by Panamanian songwriter Carlos Eleta Almarán. It was written after the death of his brother's wife. It is also the title track of the 1956 Mexican film starring Libertad Lamarque. The song tells of a man's suffering after his love has disappeared.

In terms of Tango as at October 1962 "Historia del Amor" by Varela was cumulatively the fourth most sold Tango record. So it is a surprise that such a globally well-known and loved song is not played more often at milongas.

According to Florentino Diez:

The year 1955 was coming to an end and Libertad [Lamarque] was at that time in Buenos Aires to record the song "Historia de un amor" but with tango arrangements, since it had achieved a resounding success in America with the bolero version, reaching in only that year more than four million copies sold.

The conductor Héctor Varela suggested to his singer Rodolfo Lesica that he go to see Liber and ask for the piece, since such a score could not be obtained in Argentina.

Generously Libertad as she always was told him that she had no problem, but that before recording it they should wait for her to do it, since she wanted to re-register the song but in tango time.

Lesica took the bolero to Varela without warning him of the requirement of Libertad. They rehearsed and recorded it immediately, and the song was a total success in Buenos Aires in tango rhythm.

From that moment Lesica tried to avoid Libertad, but over the years one day at the Plaza Hotel, where he was to perform with the Varela orchestra, was "[South] America's Darling" Libertad Lamarque. Rodolfo Lesica tried to sneak away, but she came across to him to say:

"I forgive you for your naughtiness, because you have made the piece a true creation". In 1973, with the orchestral arrangement of Pocho Pérez, in Mexico, and together with Pedro Vargas, Libertad Lamarque returned to record "Historia de un amor".