Among the waltzes beloved by dancers, “Soñar y nada más” stands at the very top of the list. With its winding melody that seems to delve ever further into a romantic mood, the song adds an enchanting atmosphere to its infectious rhythm. And it doesn’t hurt that there are three classic versions popular on the dance floor (by the orchestras of Canaro, Troilo, and De Angelis), all featuring some of the best duo singing in the genre.
The waltz was originally featured in the play “Buenos Aires de ayer y de hoy” (Buenos Aires of yesterday and today), one of several collaborations penned by playwright Ivo Pelay with music by Francisco Canaro. The show premiered in Montevideo in 1943 starring Tita Merello, whose signature tune “Se dice de mi” comes from the same show. When the production moved to Buenos Aires later that season, it enjoyed a run of more than 600 performances.
To Dream and Only Dream
(Tr. Jake Spatz)
YouTube: Carlos Roldán & Eduardo Adrián (orq. Canaro)
Don’t wake up if you’re dreaming of lovers,
Pretty girl, for to love is to dream…
To wake up is to break your illusions,
Meeting shadows and truth’s bitter scene.
Don’t wake up if you live your life dreaming
And if sunbeams cascade in your mind;
If in dreams you go soothed and surrounded
By a warm luminescence of sighs.
To dream and only dream,
Of worlds made of hope…
To dream and only dream,
Of an enchanting heart and soul…
To dream he is your own,
And that he lives for you!…
To dream and ever dream,
For as they say when you’re in love
To wake is sad indeed.
To dream and only dream,
With nights of quietness,
Mysterious as they pass
And as they sing of love and bliss.
To fly up to the stars
Where they shine on divinely,
And in that eternity
To live an ideal out…
To dream and only dream!
Don’t wake up if you dream of desires,
For there’s no doubt, to dream is to live…
While your soul has some glimpses of fondness,
Pretty girl, you’ll see life’s happiness.
To wake up is to kill what you long for,
And to look the cruel world in the eye…
And that’s what I want you to dream for,
For never in dreams will you cry.
Soñar y nada más (1943)
Music: Francisco Canaro
Lyrics: Ivo Pelay
No despiertes si sueñas amores,
niña hermosa, que amar es soñar…
Despertar es quebrar ilusiones
y hallar, entre sombras, la amarga verdad.
No despiertes si vives soñando
y en tu mente hay torrentes de sol;
si en tus sueños se encienden suspiros
que te cercan y acallan tu voz.
Soñar y nada más,
con mundos de ilusión…
Soñar y nada más,
con un querer arrobador…
¡Soñar que tuyo es él
y vive para ti!…
Soñar, siempre soñar
que dicen que, en amor,
es triste despertar.
Soñar y nada más,
con noches de quietud,
que, misteriosas, van,
cantando amor y beatitud.
Volar a las estrellas
de divinos resplandores
y, en esa eternidad,
vivir un ideal…
¡Soñar y nada más!…
No despiertes si sueñas quereres,
que sin duda soñar es vivir…
Mientras tu alma vislumbre ternuras,
verás, niña hermosa, que el mundo es feliz.
Despertar es matar esperanzas
y enfrentar a la cruel realidad…
Es por eso que quiero que sueñes,
que soñando jamás llorarás.