Overview
Introduction
"Por una Cabeza" is a tango song written in 1935 with music by Carlos Gardel and lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera.
Composition and lyrics
The name is a Spanish horse-racing phrase meaning "by a head", which refers to a horse winning a race narrowly - by just the length of its head. The lyrics speak of a compulsive horse-track gambler who compares his addiction for horses with his attraction to women.
Alfredo Le Pera was an Argentine, born in Brazil, son of Italian immigrants. Le Pera and Gardel died in an airplane crash in Medellín, on Monday, June 24, 1935.
The starting phrase in the B section may be inspired by Mozart's Rondo for violin and orchestra in C major, K. 373.[3][4]
The song was originally composed in A major. It was thereafter adapted to the violin and the piano sometimes in A major, sometimes in G major.
Notable uses
"Por Una Cabeza" is featured in a famous tango scene in Martin Brest's film Scent of a Woman (1992), in the opening scene of Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993) and in James Cameron's True Lies (1994).
An arrangement, without vocals, is performed by Nicola Benedetti on her 2012 album The Silver Violin.
Lyrics
歌词如下:
POR UNA CABEZA
Por una cabeza de un noble potrillo
que justo en la raya afloja al llegar
y que al regresar parece decir:
no olvides, hermano,
vos sabes, no hay que jugar...
Por una cabeza, metejon de un dia,
de aquella coqueta y risueña mujer
que al jurar sonriendo,
el amor que esta mintiendo
quema en una hoguera todo mi querer.
Por una cabeza
todas las locuras
su boca que besa
borra la tristeza,
calma la amargura.
Por una cabeza
si ella me olvida
que importa perderme,
mil veces la vida
para que vivir...
Cuantos desengaños, por una cabeza,
yo jure mil veces no vuelvo a insistir
pero si un mirar me hiere al pasar,
su boca de fuego, otra vez, quiero besar.
Basta de carreras, se acabo la timba,
un final reñido yo no vuelvo a ver,
pero si algun pingo llega a ser fija el domingo,
yo me juego entero, que le voy a hacer.
"一步之遥"
缓慢地拉开我们之间的距离
以一步之差赢得比赛的高贵赛马
在它回过头来时仿佛还听见它对我说：
‘兄弟，你别忘了，你知道你不该赌的’
就这么一步之差
从那充满情挑、欢愉的女人身上瞬间爆发的爱
她的身上仿佛除了微笑与爱之外，一丝不挂
让我所有的爱都猛烈地燃烧起来
就这么一步之遥
充满了狂热，她那亲吻的唇
扫除了所有的悲伤
抚慰了所有的痛苦
就这么一步之差
假如她忘了我，我不惜死去一千次
假如她忘了我，我又为什么要活呢
诡计啊诡计，就这么一步之差
我千百次发誓、告诉自己不要再陷下去了
但是只要她在经过我身边时对我一瞥轻笑
就让我好想再亲吻她那如烈火般热情的唇
如果爱情就像是一场赛马，那也够了吧
我不要再赌了，不想再等待那帧离别照
但是如果下次有一匹马儿的获胜就像星期天到来的那般确定
我还能怎么做呢？
我一定还是会赌上一切的
