The romantic tango “Esta noche de luna” was among the biggest hits of 1943, overwhelming the charts with its infectious operatic melody and its pure expression of desire. The song’s melody, with a contribution from bandleader José García who would soon debut the tune, was composed by Graciano Gómez—who would rejoin lyricist Héctor Marcó the following year to collaborate on another romantic tango, “Tu íntimo secreto.”
The central metaphor here (a star shining above the sea) is simple yet effective—and saved from Arcadian cliché by Marcó’s moving suggestion that the star is lost, a kind of fallen angel, for the sake of its desire. (On an astronomical note, the stars most visible on a night with a full moon are the brightest, since the Moon’s light washes out the dimmer ones.)
The text below follows the arrangement and punctuation of the original sheet music.
This Night of the Moon
(Tr. Jake Spatz)
YouTube: Roberto Rufino (orq. Carlos Di Sarli)
Come closer to me:
You’ll hear my heart knock:
Contented to tick like a magical clock…
The whole night is blue;
It invites one to dream…
And the heavens have kindled their lantern supreme.
If I give you a kiss…
A kiss were no sin…
It’s just this desirous night that we’re in…
I’m tempted by love!
Draw closer to me…
By the creed of a dream shall we both be redeemed…
Hurry, hurry, little vessel,* down my wishes’ river run:
From the song of lapping waters shall my heart’s confession come…
I… am just a star upon the sea!
That has left where it should be
To sink down in your eyes now…
And in the spell cast
By your lips and their crimson,
To arrive at your soul:
I would give up my fate!…
I… am just a star upon the sea!
That goes adrift randomly
With no love, with no fortune!
And in the far deeps
Of this “Night of the Moon,”
I want my life to go by:
At your feet, on my knees,
Just to love you and die!
Come closer to me:
You’ll hear my heart knock,
Contented to tick like a magical clock.
I’ll voice in your ear
Sweet words of desire
Whose warmth in your breast shall enkindle a fire…
The song of the sea
Keeps murmuring of
The night of the moon!
The night full of love…
How blessed are those
Who are able to say:
What sweetness to live, with my love here to stay!…
Hurry, hurry, little vessel, for the moon is now concealed.
A love is filling all the night, and that love is what I feel!
* {A barcarola is a folk song of a Venetian gondolier, usually in 6/8 time; the form became a popular feature in operas of the 19th Century. Marcó’s lyric here uses barcarola metaphorically to mean “small boat.”]
Esta noche de luna (1943)
Music: Graciano Gómez & José García
Lyrics: Héctor Marcó
Acércate a mi:
Y oirás mi corazón:
Contento latir como un brujo reloj…
La noche es azul;
Convida a soñar…
Ya el cielo ha encendido su faro mejor.
Si un beso te doy…
Pecado no ha de ser…
Culpable es la noche que incita a querer…
Me tienta el amor!
Acércate ya…
Que el credo de un sueño nos redimirá…
Corre corre barcarola por mi río de ilusión:
Que en el canto de las olas surgirá mi confesión…
Soy… una estrella en el mar!
Que hoy detiene su andar
Para hundirse en tus ojos…
Y en el embrujo
De tus labios muy rojos
Por llegar a tu alma:
Mi destino daré!…
Soy… una estrella en el mar!
Que hoy se pierde al azar
Sin amor ni fortuna!
Y en los abismos
De esta “Noche de Luna”
Sólo quiero vivir:
De rodilla a tus pies,
Para amarte y morir!
Acércate a mi:
Y oirás mi corazón
Contento latir como un brujo reloj.
Mi voz te dirá
Palabras de miel
Que harán de tu pecho su fuego encender…
El canto del mar
Repite en su rumor
Qué Noche de Luna!
Qué noche de amor…
Dichoso de aquel
Que pueda decir:
Yo tengo un cariño, qué dulce es vivir!…
Corre corre barcarola que la luna se escondió.
Un amor llena la noche y ese amor lo siento yo!