"Por una Cabeza" is a tango song written in 1935 with music by Carlos Gardel and lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera.[1]
"Por una Cabeza" | |
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Song | |
Written | 1935 |
Genre | Tango |
Length | 2:34 |
Label | RCA Victor |
Composer(s) | Carlos Gardel |
Lyricist(s) | Alfredo Le Pera |
Audio sample | |
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The name (pronounced [ˈpoɾ ˈuna kaˈβesa]) is a Spanish horse-racing phrase meaning "by a head", which refers to a horse winning a race narrowly – by just the length of its head. The lyrics speak of a compulsive horse-track gambler who compares his addiction for horses with his attraction to women.
Alfredo Le Pera was born in Brazil, son of Italian immigrants. Le Pera and Gardel died in an aeroplane crash in Medellín, on Monday, June 24, 1935.[2]
The song was originally composed in A major.[3] It was thereafter adapted to the violin and the piano sometimes in A major,[4][5] sometimes in G major.[6][7]
"Por Una Cabeza" is featured in a famous tango scene in Martin Brest's film Scent of a Woman (1992), in the opening scene of Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993) and in James Cameron's True Lies (1994).[8][9][10][11]
An arrangement, without vocals, is performed by Nicola Benedetti on her 2012 album The Silver Violin.[12][13]
Por una cabeza |
Por una cabeza, |
Cuántos desengaños, |
![]() Wikisource has sheet music and full lyrics in Spanish and English:
Por una cabeza, |
...an instrumental recording of Por una Cabeza used in the films Scent of a Woman and True Lies. The original version of the song, a hit from the 1930s by Carlos Gardel and Alfredo La Pera...
Hong, a violinist, will perform one of the most famous of tango melodies: “Por una Cabeza” by Carlos Gardel. The tango has been used in several films, most memorably in “Scent of a Woman” and “True Lies.”
Finally, in Steven Spielburg's Schindler's List (1993), Liam Neeson dances, once again, to "Por una cabeza."
Easy Virtue...beautifully edited to Carlos Gardel’s “Por una Cabeza.”
This new release from Nicola Benedetti offers a programme inspired by film music...The bonne bouche of the shorter pieces is Carlos Gardel’s tango Por una cabeza
Nicola Benedetti believes that film music is the primary contemporary conduit for classical or orchestral music...But the most interesting pieces are Gardel's playful tango from Scent of a Woman, "Por Una Cabeza"
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