ANOTHER RAINY NIGHT...

Don't slam the door on your way out
Don't leave without saying... goodbye.
Another long distance night alone,
You leave me wanting,
Always leave me wanting more.
Last word today... can I please stay?
Wouldn't that be nice for a while?

But now my take-out food is growing cold,
and the candle's burned a hole in the floor.
And I'm still waiting for the ring of the phone.

I'm all alone
It's just another rainy night, without you.
Guess I'll leave a light on for you.
It's just another rainy night, without you.

Listen, there's a foghorn blowing
From the coast tonight
Remember making love in the rain?
Strange how laughter looks like crying with no sound
Raindrops taste like tears without the pain.
I'm not much without you,
Can't leave if I wanted to.
Maybe that's why you stay around

But tonight I'll sit here tending the fire
And pace the floor one hundred times in an hour.
And check the voice-mail for a message you've called.

I'm all alone
It's just another rainy night without you.
Waiting by the phone. Alone.
It's just another rainy night without you.
Guess I'll leave a light on for you...

MY QUEST

A few years ago, somebody played for me a song he had recorded straight off a radio broadcast. It was a most unusual song in Spanish. First, it was almost 15 minutes long. Then, it was an emotional narration of the miserable lonely life and death of an old woman who lived in a Colombian slum and sold papaya on the streets of Bogota set to the tune of an old cumbia. I don't particularly care for cumbia, but this moving narration, performed by an Argentinian, simply broke my heart and the contrastingly happy cumbia beat represented quite an irony to one of the saddest stories I had ever heard on a recording of this kind.

Doing a little research, I learned that the song was by Leonardo Favio, an Argentinian pop singer who hit the charts in the 70's with romantic songs, such as "Quizas Simplemente Te Regale una Rosa" and "Foto de Carnet". I downloaded every single song by him that I could find... but there were all sappy and poppy and nothing even resembled this masterpiece. Then, I talked to the guy once more and he told me he had recorded it from a Radio Monumental tribute to Parmenio Medina, who has just been murdered.

So I called the radio station...

I talked to a DJ who had been a friend of Parmenio's... he told me that Parmenio had brought that song from Colombia and that no one knew where he had gotten it... in fact, they only had one cassette tape recording of it... the original cassette tape Parmenio had brought from Colombia...

He invited me to go down to the radio station and listen to it... and so I did... and after a few hours talking about music and radio, he ended up giving it to me... Parmenio would have wanted it that way... he told me...

I took it home and began digitalizing the extremely worn out tape... but I was not satisfied with the results... so.. I keep on searching for that one song that got away... once I was able to download an MP3 made from a LP recording... it was kinda clear but was full of clicks and pops... and so I tried merging the two versions - the cassette tape and the LP version... but the difference is very noticeable...

Last sunday... I stumbled onto a CD by Leonardo Favio that had a version of it... I almost fainted... I bought it immediately and played it... but it was a 3:11 minute version of just the cumbia parts... without any of the narration... SHIT!!!!

I you ever come across a recording of "VIDA, PASION Y VUELO DE LA ABUELITA ZENAIDA"... please... call me at once... and I shall be forever grateful...