''¡Ay, ay, ay!'', subtitled ''Reminiscencias cuyanas'', is a song composed in 1913 by the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an-born composer, pianist, singer and publisher Osmán Pérez Freire."Ay-Ay-Ay ...Osman Perez Freire", in J.J. Fuld, ''The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk'', 5th, Revised and Enlarged Edition (Dover Publications, Inc., New York 2000)
at p. 121
(Google). Freire (born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

in 1880), who emigrated to

Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza (, ), officially the City of Mendoza ( es, Ciudad de Mendoza) is the capital of the province of Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern si ...

in c.1886-1890, was a figure of some note in the evolution of

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

. This song, however, known worldwide, is his most famous composition, and has never fallen out of fashion. It is equally suited to intimate performance with guitar or piano accompaniment, or to large-scale concert delivery with orchestral accompaniment, and has been sung by almost everyone, and especially favoured by some of the most famous tenors, since it was first written (see below). "Ay, ay, ay" is a Hispanic expression signifying dismay at a bad situation or state of affairs, rather more immediate and acute than the English "alas". Purely instrumental versions include arrangements for dance orchestras, jazz combinations and salon musicians. The autograph manuscript of the song is at PAU. This song should not be confused with the Mexican ''

Cielito Lindo "Cielito Lindo" is a popular Mexican song '' copla'', popularized in 1882 by Mexican author Quirino Mendoza y Cortés (c. 1862–1957). It is roughly translated as "Lovely Sweet One". Although the word ''cielo'' means "sky" or "heaven", it is a ...

'', the chorus of which begins, "Ay, ay, ay, ay." In what may be the earliest publication (by Breyer Hermanos, 414 Florida), the song is subtitled "Reminiscencias Cuyanas". Although often mistakenly called a "Chilean" song, perhaps because of the place of birth of the composer, the style is in fact that of a traditional ''canción cuyana'' of the Cuyo region of north-west Argentina. In publication it acquired subtitles as "Canción

Criolla Criolla is a genre of Cuban music which is closely related to the music of the Cuban Coros de Clave and a genre of Cuban popular music called Clave. The Clave became a very popular genre in the Cuban vernacular theater and was created by compose ...

" or "Argentine Song", and (in Schott's edition) "Kreolisches Wiegenlied" or "Argentine Lullaby". The spelling ''Ay-Ay-Ay'', though incorrect, occurs commonly in English sources.

Lyrics

''Si alguna vez en tu pecho,
'' :''¡ay ay ay!'' ''mi cariño no lo abrigas,
'' ''engáñalo como un niño,
'' :''¡ay ay ay!'' ''pero nunca se lo digas...''

Recordings (examples)

* Enrico Caruso for HMV *

Miguel Fleta Miguel Burro Fleta (28 December 1897, in Albalate de Cinca, Province of Huesca, Aragon – 29 May 1938, in A Coruña) was a Spanish operatic tenor. Despite his short stage career, lasting from 1919 to 1935, Fleta has been described as one of the ...

for HMV (1930) * José Mardones for Columbia-Rena (1920) *

Tito Schipa Tito Schipa (; born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa; 2 January 1889 in Lecce16 December 1965) was an Italian lyric tenor, considered the greatest tenore di grazia and one of the most popular tenors of the century. Biography Schipa was born as ...

for HMV (1922 and 1926) *

Umberto Urbano Umberto Urbano (16 October 1885 in Livorno – 16 June 1969), was an Italian baritone opera singer. He made his debut in 1907 in Trieste. His career really picked up momentum in 1920, beginning as the Herald in '' Lohengrin'' at La Scala. H ...

Conchita Supervia Conchita is originally a diminutive for the Spanish feminine given name Concepción. Conxita is the Catalan equivalent. ''Conchita'' is also the diminutive of ''concha'' ( seashell). Conchita may refer to: People * Conchita Cabrera de Armida (1 ...

for Parlophone * Dmitri Smirnoff for Parlophone (1929) *

Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891 – 8 January 1948) was an Austrian tenor and film actor. Early life Richard Tauber was born in Linz, Austria, to Elisabeth Seifferth (née Denemy), a widow and an actress who played soubrette roles at the local theat ...

for

Odeon Records Odeon Records is a record label founded in 1903 by Max Straus and Heinrich Zuntz of the International Talking Machine Company in Berlin, Germany. The label's name and logo come from the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe in Paris. History Straus a ...

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

Giuseppe di Stefano Giuseppe Di Stefano (24 July 19213 March 2008) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the mid-1940s until the early 1990s. Called Pippo by both fans and friends, he was known as the "Golden voice" or "The most beautiful voic ...

(1952) *

Mario Lanza Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...

Alfredo Kraus Alfredo Kraus Trujillo (; 24 November 192710 September 1999) was a distinguished Spanish tenor from the Canary islands (known professionally as Alfredo Kraus), particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles. He wa ...

The Three Tenors The Three Tenors were an operatic singing trio, active during the 1990s and early 2000s, and termed as a supergroup (a title normally reserved for rock and pop groups) consisting of Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo and ...

*In 1956,

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica a ...

, included a version on his "Caribbean Moonlight" LP.

References

{{authority control Spanish-language songs 1913 songs Argentine songs