Monday, July 15, 2024

NRR Project: 'Lamento Borincano'


‘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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