Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina

Writing that post about Javier Milei’s talk got me into the mood to listen to a couple of songs from the 1978 musical Evita. The lyrics are by Tim Rice and music is by the incomparable Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The movie Evita was released in 1996. Here’s Madonna as Eva Perón singing “Don’t cry for me, Argentina.” She’s awesome in this song. Here are some of the words:

It won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange
When I try to explain how I feel
That I still need your love after all that I’ve done

You won’t believe me
All you will see is a girl you once knew
Although she’s dressed up to the nines
At sixes and sevens with you
 . . .

And as for fortune, and as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seemed to the world
They were all I desired

They are illusions
They are not the solutions they promised to be
The answer was here all the time
I love you and hope you love me

Eva died on 26th July, 1952. She was 33 years old.

Here’s another song from the musical. In the movie it was sung by Antonio Banderas in the role of Ché. This is a reprise at the Royal Albert Hall.

O what a circus! O what a show
Argentina has gone to town
Over the death of an actress called Eva Peron
We′ve all gone crazy
Mourning all day and mourning all night
Falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right

O what an exit! That’s how to go!
When they′re ringing your curtain down
Demand to be buried like Eva Peron
It’s quite a sunset
And good for the country in a roundabout way
We’ve made the front pages of all the world′s papers today

But who is this Santa Evita?
Why all this howling hysterical sorrow?
What kind of goddess
Has lived among us?
How will we ever
Get by without her?

She had her moments,
She had some style
The best show in town was the crowd
Outside the Casa Rosada crying ′Eva Peron’
But that′s all gone now
As soon as the smoke from the funeral clears
We’re all going to see, and how!
She did nothing for years!

Salve regina mater misericordiae
Vita dulcedo et spes nostra
Salve salve regina
Ad te clamamus exules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus gementes et flentes
O clemens o pia

You let down your people Evita
You were supposed to have been immortal
That′s all they wanted
Not much to ask for
But in the end you
Could not deliver

At time 3:20, the look on Antonio’s face is puzzled. Why are they praying to Evita? Then —

Don’t cry for me Argentina
For I am ordinary, unimportant
And undeserving
Of such attention
Unless we all are
I think we all are

Ride on my train O my people
And when it′s your turn to die you’ll remember
They fired those cannons
Sang lamentations
Not just for Eva,
For Argentina
Not just for Eva,
For everybody
So share my glory,
So share my coffin
So share my glory,
So share my coffin

That’s it for now. Be well, do good work and keep in touch.