Dear Everyone,
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m interested in the way music can help an author set a scene. In two scenes in “Gabriel’s Inferno,” the song Bésame mucho (recorded by Diana Krall), plays an important role. However, the meaning of the song shifts with the narrative.
You can listen to the song on my playlist. Here are the lyrics by Consuelo Velazquez, a Mexican songwriter and pianist who wrote the song at the age of sixteen, before she had been kissed:
“Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez
Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después
Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez
Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después
Quiero tenerte muy cerca
Mirarme en tus ojos
Verte junto a mi
Piensa que tal vez mañana
Yo ya estaré lejos
Muy lejos de ti
Bésame, bésame mucho
Como si fuera esta noche
La última vez
Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después
Bésame, bésame mucho
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después
Que tengo miedo a perderte
Perderte después.”
Here is the English translation:
“Kiss me a lot
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was
the last time.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you later on.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was
the last time.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you later on.
I want to have you very close
To see myself in your eyes,
To see you next to me,
Think that perhaps tomorrow
I already will be far,
very far from you.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
As if tonight was
the last time.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you later on.
Kiss me, kiss me a lot,
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you again.
Because I fear to lose you,
To lose you later on.”
Although the translation might help, it’s probably unnecessary. The music speaks for itself and that’s exactly the kind of song I was looking for in these scenes.
Thanks for reading (and listening).
All the best,
SR
PS. I mentioned author Heather Huffman and her support of WorldVision in a previous post. She has moved her books to Booktrope.com. You can read “Throwaway” for free on that site. Please consider donating to WorldVision if you read one of her books. I highlight a charity every day on my Twitter account. Today’s charity is WorldVision.
I was fortunate to be interviewed by Miss Tamie of The Book Hookup yesterday. You can read the interview here. In it, I mentioned a book club that has compiled a drinks list for each chapter of “Gabriel’s Inferno.” I’ll be sharing part of that list with you soon.
Thank you to Didimarble for more information on Consuelo!
I am honoured to have had all three of my novels appear on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller lists. I was a Semifinalist for Best Author in the 2011 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards. {
I was listening to my favorite Bandstand radio program this weekend (wow that makes me sound SO old!) Bésame mucho came on and I immediatley thought of the Professor. It was sung by one of those old swing guys like Dean Martin or Frank. Except it wasn’t them…
Anyhoo, I enjoyed my brief moment with the Professor 😉 It is a sexy song, even when you don’t know what the words are.
Nix
I feel kind of proud as lame as that sounds when I see incorporation of latin spanish songs in other’s people work. I love the lyrics of that song and when I first read it was mentioned on GI I was pleasantly surprised.
The fact that this book that is so well thought and that has so much information about all kinds of arts, has this song in it, makes me feel happy.
That’s one of the things that I enjoy the most about this book. The fact that the scenes are so well created with the music, the food, the paintings or the quotes of literature, it’s just a work of art on itself.
Love, LisbethTejada
I also heard that not only had young miss Velazquez not been kissed when she wrote this song, but had been told that kissing was a sin.
I wonder what the story is behind “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.”
Morgan
Thank you SR for this post! What a beautiful song “Besame mucho” is! I listened to it for the first time when I was 13 years old when my grandfather put it on the cd player and dedicated it to my grandmother. They were celebrating 43 years of marriage.
I think Diana Krall’s version is one of the best out there. It really makes you feel the sweetness and longing conveyed by the lyrics and the music. I love that you included this song in your story. It’s really fitting.
Thanks again for your posts!
Elena_twiarcady
Thank you for including a translation in your post. I’ve wondered what the words meant, though I think it sounds perfect sung in the original Spanish. The haunting melody and the beauty of the language convey such longing and melancholy. Yet it is also very romantic, and this combination of emotions makes it perfect for the scenes in “Gabriel’s Inferno.”
My only familiarity with “Besame Mucho” before its inclusion in your book goes back to high school, when our school band played it during half-time at our football games. I hope it goes without saying that I prefer Diana Krall’s version.
Hopefully I can post his fifth time. Or maybe I am locked out eheh Anyway, I thought it was amazing this post. I wasn’t feeling good at all last night and I finally told my son we were going out for dinner. So we just went to Burger King nothing special. It was raining here like it hasn’t in forever for my area and the music they were playing was old thirties and forties. It truly felt like we were in another time, then Besame Mucho came on. It just felt so nice I didn’t want to leave.
Thanks for the great musical choices SR.
This song always brings tears to my eyes…I prefer the Spanish version (but I’m biased). It seems to lose something (je ne sais quoi) in the translation. I kept singing and singing it afterwards. It was perfect for that particular scene SR..I could feel Gabriel’s pain, fear and yearning through this song. Well used SR.
Hello Everyone and thanks for your comments.
I’m glad you enjoyed the song, no matter what language it’s sung in.
And thanks for reading,
SR
I think the Spanish language is sexy! Since the song is written by a girl who’s never been kissed, it makes me think of Julianne.