The first tangos had no written lyrics. Sometimes some were improvised in the spur of the moment. Dame la lata is the first tango song with written lyrics. At the end of the poem is Dame la lata, music only.
© The Career Man And The Artist
Mimi Wolske
All Rights Reserved
At the end of the nineteenth century
He wanted to take her to Buenos Aires
She said no, Montevideo
They settled for the border
Between Argentina and Uruguay
Where they could learn to tango
To the sweet sounds of the violin,
The driving flamenco guitar, and
The strange, mournful wail
Of the bandoneon
Each night was a different, shady,
Dockside dive where they watched
The mating dance between
Barmaids and their customers,
Where the entertainment was the
Violence and illicit sex and the
Lower classes on both sides of the border
Before the clubs were raided by police
He learned every move from the barmaids
She learned to step and side-step the customers
Together they danced
Separately they returned to California
He grew a mustache, married, and
Died after forty years working in a bank
She studied painting, showed
Her work in galleries, and lives forever
Aah, but there was that time. Remarkable write!
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