The same letra, different words.
I love this about flamenco.
I don't mean completely different words, though there's that as well.
I'm talking about one letra and how each singer may vary the words slightly, sometimes changing the sentido, the meaning, sometimes not.
Like today's letra, a bulería.
I guess I've got bulerías on my mind as I prepare for the tour to Jerez this month.
Cristo sang it like this
Ando vendiendo flores
las tuyas son amarillas
y las mías de míl colores
Of course, he repeated lines and added in some ques and stuff...
Then I've heard others sing the letra this way:
Yo vengo vendiendo flores
las tuyas son amarillas
y las mías son de colores
Or, here Enrique Morente sings it like this
Tú vienes vendiendo flores
las mías son amarillas
las tuyas de tos colores
One letra. Passed along by oral tradition. Interpreted differently.
In style.
In choice of words.
Even in the palo.
It's sung por bulerías. Or a soleá por bulerías. Or tangos…
Here’s a translation. (Just one translation.)
I come selling flowers
yours are yellow
mine are of a thousand colors
There you go.
I would love to know what you think. Perhaps you'd like to share another way you've heard this letra done. Leave a comment below.
EDIT: Cover photo by Hugo Kruip on Unsplash