‘Lamento Borincano’
Canario
y Su Grupo
1930
3:04
I could not do better than Mario C. Cancel-Bigay’s explanatory essay on this selection. To read it at the National Recording Registry, go here.
For the sake of completeness, however, I will do my best to summarize. “Borincano” derives from the native slang for Puerto Rico. The song is a lament from the person of a peasant bringing his wares to town, only to find it deserted. The song becomes larger in scope, as the singer contemplates the sorry state of his homeland, before pledging his loyalty to it.
“The entire morning goes by
Without anyone
wanting
To buy his load,
oh to buy his load
Everything,
everything is deserted
And the town is
full of need
Oh, of need
The mourning is
heard everywhere
In my unhappy
Bonrinquen, yeah
And sad, the peasant
goes
Thinking, saying
Crying like this
on the way:
‘What will
happen to Bonriquen, my dear God
What will happen
to my children and mt home?’ Oh!
Bonriquen, the
land of Eden
The one that
when sung by the great Gautier
He called out
the pearl of the Seas
‘Now that you
lay dying from your sorrows
Let me sing to
you also
Bonriquen of my
love’, and no one will take that away
I’m a child of Bonriquen and no one will change that
I’m a child of
Bonriquen and no one will change that
And on the day
that I die, I want to rest in you
I love you,
Puerto Rico, and no one will take that away,
Yeah!”
The song was an immense hit, and made the careers of its writer, Rafael Hernandez; of its original bandleader, “Canario”, and its singer “Davilita.” It has since been recorded innumerable times, serving as an informal anthem.
The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next up: Sitting on Top of the World.
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