Fueron Tres Años

One of my favorite tango songs ever! I always feel the night isn’t complete without Fueron Tres Años, Fumando Espero, and Historia de Amor. (Sometimes Adios Corazon is in that tanda too.) I was always planning to go back to Buenos Aires, and find the man I loved, and be like ‘fueron tres años, what’s up mi vida!’ but then another year passed, and I thought, who says ‘fueron cuatros años mi vida,’?

No me hablas tesoro mio
No me hablas, ni me has mirado
Fueron tres años mi vida, tres años muy lejos de tu corazon
Hablame, rompe el silencio
No ves que me estoy muriendo
y quitame este tormento,
porque tu silencio ya me dice adios

You don’t talk to me, my treasure
You don’t talk to me, nor have you looked at me
It’s been three years my love, three years far away from your heart
Speak to me, break the silence
Don’t you see that I’m dying
And take away this torment,
because your silence already tells me goodbye

Que cosas que tiene la vida
que cosas tener que llorar
Que cosas que tiene el destino
será mi camino, sufrir y penar
Pero deja que bese tus labios
un solo momento y despues me voy
Y quitame este tormento
porque tu silencio ya me dice adios

Oh, what life has to offer
And oh, how life makes me cry
Oh, what destiny brings
it will be my journey, to suffer and grieve
But allow me to kiss your lips
For just one moment, and then I’ll go
and take away this torment,
because your silence already tells me goodbye

Aun tengo fuego en los labios
del beso de despedida
Cómo pensar que mentias
si tus negros ojos lloraban por mi
Hablame rompe el silencio
no ves que me estoy muriendo
Y quitame este tormento
porque tu silencio ya me dice adios

My lips are still on fire
from our goodbye kiss
How can I think that you lied,
if your bright eyes cried for me?
Speak to me, break the silence
Don’t you see that I’m dying?
And take away this torment
Because your silence already says goodbye

***Note on translation of “tus negros ojos”. It literally means “your black eyes.” I thought about how I wanted to translate this. No one actually has black irises. But when your pupils are very dilated, maybe from in anger or passion, the effect is having these black eyes. And so this verse evokes a passionate image. Such eyes have a sort of depth to them like dark pools, and can reflect light better, thereby sparkling. That is why I said “bright eyes.”

The author could have also meant dark eyes, brown eyes. There are many references in tango songs to women’s appearances. And actually, when I went to Buenos Aires, I noticed that it was culturally acceptable to refer to someone by their appearance; “blond” “thin” “tan,” etc.

But, I wanted a translation that was universal. Because the feelings in poetry are universal, regardless of what you look like. If you have blue eyes, if you have brown eyes, if you have green eyes, we all feel passion. Whatever size you are, whatever color. That’s the “vision” I have, and the one I want to share.