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Author: John Chivers via YouTube
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My version of a track originally recorded by Chilean band Inti-Illimani, but more familiar to me through the version recorded by the UK band Incantation. In the mid to late 1980s, I used to play the Incantation album "Music from the Andes" on fairly heavy rotation and this was one of the tracks I enjoyed most of all on that album.
My version borrows a little from both the original Inti-Illimani and the Incantation versions, but of course with different instrumentation. I do, of course, retain the Andean sound of the pan pipe and charango (a small string instrument, with 5 pairs of strings, sounding a bit like a mandolin). Well, it would be rude not to!
I don’t speak Spanish, but I am a linguist by academic background, so quite interested in trying to make efforts to pronounce things properly. However, please forgive any accidental or comical pronunciations, especially I accidentally sang "my hovercraft is full of eels", or similar.
Recorded in the hot summer July of 2016, when I would just appreciate an Andean breeze. Recorded in Cubase Pro 14 using a combination of virtual instruments, including a virtual charango and the usual range of keyboards and Kontakt’s Sunburst nylon guitar, along with the excellent Superior Drummer 3, triggered using the Alesis Crimson 2 electric drum kit.
No armadillos were harmed in the recording of my version of this song.
Cover is a Grok-adapted photo of me to put me in an appropriate place in appropriate clothing to match the song.
Spanish lyrics
Papel de plata quisiera
Plumita de oro tuviera
Para escribir una carta
A mi negra más querida
Ay, palomita
Ay, corazoncito
¿Hasta cuándo estaré yo sufriendo?
Ay, palomita
Ay, corazoncito
¿Hasta cuándo estaré yo sufriendo?
English translation
I wish I had silver paper
I wish I had a golden pen
To write a letter
To my dearest dark-skinned woman
Oh, little dove
Oh, little heart
How long will I be suffering?
Oh, little dove
Oh, little heart
How long will I be suffering?
Apparently, in songs from the Andean region, Argentina, and Colombia, "negra" (or "negrito/a") is used as a universal term of endearment for a romantic partner, wife, or sweetheart, completely independent of their racial background or skin tone. It translates closest to "darling," "sweetheart," or "baby" in English. It carries a tone of warmth, intimacy, and deep tenderness.
Palomita, literally translating to "little dove" is widely used in Andean folk music to represent a loved one, usually a woman. The dove represents gentleness, fidelity, and vulnerability. And since doves can fly away, the metaphor is frequently used in songs about unrequited love, abandonment, or a lover who has departed. Calling someone "palomita" often highlights the fragile nature of the romance.