Fabrice Knecht Tango DJ
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These Tangos, Valses, and Milongas were recorded around the same time. Take a look to discover what else this orchestra—or others—may have recorded during the same week or even on the exact same day.
Tiempos viejos (Te acordas hermano) is a Tango written by Manuel Romero and composed by Francisco Canaro.
The lyrics of “Tiempos viejos (Te acordas hermano)” evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and melancholy as they reminisce about the past. The recurring theme centers around the reminiscence of the old times, contrasting the perceived authenticity and simplicity of the past with the present. The narrator communicates with a brother-like figure, perhaps an old friend or actual sibling, calling upon shared memories to lament what they perceive as lost values and virtues. This emotional journey through fond and poignant recollections reflects a common sentiment in tango lyrics, where the past is often idealized and its loss mourned.
Key phrases like “No se conocía cocó, ni morfina, Los muchachos de antes no usaban gomina” symbolize a purer, more genuine time where people were presumably untainted by drugs or superficial enhancements like hair gel. “Veinticinco abriles que no volverán” uses spring (‘abriles’) as a metaphor for youth, a time of beauty and vigor that has irrevocably passed. The questioning, “¿Dónde están los muchachos de entonces?” and “¿Dónde están las mujeres aquellas,” evokes a profound sense of loss and displacement, underlining the absence of not only time but also the people who marked those years. Mireya’s transformation from a coveted beauty to a “pobre mendiga harapienta” (poor ragged beggar) epitomizes the cruel passage of time that spares no one, highlighting the transient nature of youth and beauty.
Written and recorded in 1976, “Tiempos viejos (Te acordas hermano)” emerged during a period of significant political and social turmoil in Argentina, a time just before the infamous Proceso de Reorganización Nacional. This context might explain the yearning for “tiempos viejos” or “old times,” possibly reflecting on safer or more stable times before the country’s descent into dictatorship and civil unrest. Moreover, the reference to “los bailes de Laura” and specific locations like “lo de Hansen” indicates a nostalgia for specific, real places that once were central to the community and social life in Buenos Aires, reinforcing the theme of longing for a past era, remembered as more convivial and hearty.
Manuel Romero was a prominent Argentine lyricist and film director, known for his significant contributions to the Golden Age of Argentine Cinema.