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On September 4, reading the headlines of La Nación, a Costa Rican newspaper, I happened upon this headline:

El mundo llora la muerte de Gustavo Cerati

"The world mourns the death of Gustavo Cerati."

Anywhere in Latin America, and among musicians generally, this would not be a surprising headline. Gustavo Cerati was absolutely and overpoweringly influential in Latin America, to the point that no Latin musician of the last three decades could claim to be unaffected by his work, and everyone claimed him as a musical influence. Think David Byrne (Talking Heads), Bono (U2), Johnny Cash, James Brown, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix—all those musicians whom everybody knows, whom everyone has heard, and who changed music forever. He was that big. If you were Latin American, you would have heard of him. If you are living in the English-speaking world, however, you might not have. If not, it is never too late to learn something new.

"Crimen" ("Murder")* is, according to iTunes, the most popular song by Gustavo Cerati. For the record (no pun), the similarly ranked song by The Beatles is "Here Comes the Sun." As is true of The Beatles' catalog, Cerati's songs cover a very wide range of styles and moods. Just as "Here Comes the Sun" is hardly representative of everything Beatles, "Crimen" hardly tells you everything you need to know about Cerati's work. It is worth exploring his other songs, too: http://letras.mus.br/gustavo-cerati/

A video for "Crimen" is above (featuring karaoke-style lyrics—easiest for singing along). Below you will find the original lyrics, a word-for-word English translation, and a natural English translation. The http://letras.mus.br/gustavo-cerati/ site is a great place to go to hear more of Gustavo Cerati's music, or to explore the videos and lyrics of most other artists, as well. Enjoy:

Original lyrics: La espera me agotó. No sé nada de vos. Dejaste tanto en mí. En llamas me acosté Y en un lento degradé Supe que te perdí. ¿Qué otra cosa puedo hacer? Si no olvido, moriré, Y otro crimen quedará, Otro crimen quedará, Sin resolver. Una rápida traición Y salimos del amor. Tal vez me lo busqué. Mi ego va a estallar Ahí donde no estás. Oh, los celos otra vez. ¿Qué otra cosa puedo hacer? Si no olvido, moriré, Y otro crimen quedará, Otro crimen quedará, Sin resolver. No lo sé. Cuánto falta, no lo sé. Si es muy tarde, no lo sé. Si no olvido, moriré. ¿Qué otra cosa puedo hacer? ¿Qué otra cosa puedo hacer? Ahora sé lo que es perder. Otro crimen quedará, Otro crimen quedará, Sin resolver.

Literal (word-for-word) translation: The wait me it-wore-out. Not I-know nothing from you. You-left so-much in me. In flames me I-lay-down And in a slow fading-of-color I-found-out that you I-had-lost. What other thing I-can do? If not I-forget, I-will-die, And another murder it-will-remain, Another murder it-will-remain, Without resolution. A quick betrayal And we-went-out of-the love. Perhaps me it I-looked-for. My ego it-is-going to explode There where not you-are. Oh, the jealousy another time. What other thing I-can do? If not I-forget, I-will-die, And another murder it-will-remain, Another murder it-will-remain, Without resolution. Not it I-know. How-much it-is-left, not it I-know. If it-is very late, not it I-know. If not I-forget, I-will-die. What other thing I-can do? What other thing I-can do? Now I-know that which it-is to-lose. Another murder it-will-remain, Another murder it-will-remain, Without resolution.

English translation: The wait wore me out. I have not heard from you at all. You left so much in me. I lay down in flames And in a slow fading of color I found out that I had lost you. What else can I do? If I don't forget, I will die, And another murder will remain, Another murder will remain, Unsolved. A quick betrayal And we went out of love. Maybe I asked for it. My ego is going to explode There where you are not. Oh, jealousy again. What else can I do? If I do not forget, I will die, And another murder will remain, Another murder will remain, Unsolved. I don't know. How much is left, I don't know. If it is too late, I don't know. If I don't forget, I will die. What else can I do? What else can I do? Now I know what it's like to lose. Another murder will remain, Another murder will remain, Unsolved.

*"Crimen" does not usually mean "crime" in Spanish (except in "el crimen organizado" or "[the] organized crime"). In most other uses of "crimen," it means "murder." Really.

"Vos" is used in Argentina, and other countries, instead of "tú"; both mean "you" (singular). ("Vosotros" is something else entirely, is only used in Spain, and means, essentially, "y'all.")

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