Llorando se fue

"Llorando se fue" (Spanish pronunciation: [ʝoˈɾan.do se ˈfwe] ; English: Crying, he/she went away) is a Bolivian folk song recorded by Los Kjarkas in 1981 on the album Canto a la mujer de mi pueblo^[3] and released as a B-side of the "Wa ya yay" single in 1982.^[4] The song has been very popular in Latin America since the 1980s and has been covered several times. It was later covered by many artists, including Cuarteto Continental in 1984^[5], Brazilian singer Márcia Ferreira in 1986^[6] and the French-Brazilian pop group Kaoma in 1989^[7].^[4]

Kaoma's version was unauthorized version of the song and that led to a successful lawsuit against Kaoma's producers Olivier Lorsac, Jean Karakos and Jean-Claude Bonaventure.^[4]

Recently, the song was adapted by several artists including Ivete Sangalo, Wisin & Yandel's "Pam Pam", Don Omar's "Taboo" and Jennifer Lopez's "On the Floor"^[4].

According to Gonzalo Hermosa, Los Kjarkas had based Llorando se fue on a small, nostalgic Andean melody. Their song in Spanish was written in a sad and slow Saya rhythm, which is a type of Afro-Bolivian music.^[8]

The original recording featured an A motif of 3 bars and a B motif of 4 bars, shown here transposed to the key of A minor:

The irregular 3-bar length of the A motif is a distinctive feature that was retained in "Lambada", though some other versions have padded the motif to a more conventional 4 bars. "On the Floor" takes such an approach, and omits the B motif entirely.

By 1990, Los Kjarkas had authorized the translation of the song to 42 languages.^[9] They also performed a Spanish-Japanese bilingual version of the song (keeping the Saya rhythm) in concerts and for the music video made in 1990.^[10][11] The bilingual version was recorded on their 1996 album Sentimiento Andino, Volume 2 and on their 2001 compilation album 30 Años Sólo Se Vive Una Vez, Volume 1. Los Kjarkas also re-recorded "Llorando se fue" as an upbeat dance version for their 1991 album Tecno Kjarkas (Tecno Andino) and in 2010 with the Bolivian group Voltaje.^[12]

Source:^[13]

Label: B.M. Productions/CBS (1989)

1. "Llorando se fue" (Saya) — (G. Hermosa, U. Hermosa) — 4:03

1. "Tata Sabaya" (Huayno) — (U. Hermosa) — 2:28

Source:^[14]

Label: Polydor (1990)

1. "Llorando se fue" — (G. Hermoza, U. Hermoza)
2. "Wa ya yay" (Huayño) — (U. Hermoza)

In 1984, an upbeat version of the song introducing the accordion was released by the Peruvian group Cuarteto Continental, Cuarteto Continental adapted the song to the cumbia rhythm and Alberto Maraví introduced a new arragement for the song. This version was part of their LP Fiesta de Cumbias, which was released that year. That was the first upbeat version of the song. The version was notable for being the first to introduce the accordion.

This arrangement would be the basis of all the other covers of this song by other artists, including by Kaoma.^[15][16]

The first Portuguese version of Llorando se fue, as Chorando Se Foi, was released by Brazilian singer-songwriter Márcia Ferreira in 1986 on her self-titled third album.^[17] She was inspired to make a Portuguese version of Llorando se fue when she performed one day in Tabatinga in the Federal District, and her musicians accompanied a performance by the Peruvian band Cuarteto Continental, where they performed the song. The musicians were captivated by the melody and bought the record, giving it to Márcia, and suggesting she cover the song, which she did, following all legal procedures.^[18]

She co-wrote her version, Chorando Se Foi, with José Ari as the first legally authorized Portuguese version of the and adjusted the song to the Lambada dance rhythm popular in Brazil. Her version was certified platinum in Brazil. With the success of her cover version and musical career, she became known in Brazil as "A Rainha da Lambada" ("The Queen of Lambada").^[19]

In 1989, French band Kaoma had a chart-topping hit with their dance music single Lambada, a cover of Brazilian singer-songwriter Márcia Ferreira's 1986 dance hit Chorando Se Foi, which itself was a legally authorized Portuguese version.^[20][21]

However, Kaoma's version was unauthorized and didn't even credit the rightful composers, and Kaoma also made changes to Márcia Ferreira's lyrics. Kaoma's version was originally credited to a fictitious composer with the pseudonym of Chico de Oliveira, and the publishing rights of this composer were registered at the French Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique.^[22] Chico de Oliveira was a pseudonym for Olivier Lorsac, as revealed by French newspaper Le Monde.^[23] Then Los Kjarkas denounced the plagiarism to Spanish newspaper El País.^[24]

Both Los Kjarkas and Márcia Ferreira successfully sued Kaoma for copyright infringement, receiving financial compensation from Kaoma.^[25][26] In 1991, a French court ruled that the correct original authors should appear on all future releases.^[27] Now the song is credited to Ulises Hermosa, Gonzalo Hermosa, Alberto Maraví, Márcia Ferreira and José Ari.^[28]

Overall, several covers of Llorando se fue have been released:

• 1984 - Cuarteto Continental from the LP Fiesta de Cumbias, sung by Julio Mau Orlandini^[29]
• 1984 - Armonía 10 from the LP El Chinchorro, Vol. 2^[30][31]
• 1984 - Sexteto Internacional from the LP Mas Sexteto, sung by Julio Mejia^[32][33]
• 1984 - Tropical Pingüino^[34][35]
• 1984 - Wilkins from the album Una Historia Importante - 15 Grandes Exitos^[36]
• 1984 - Chacalón y la Nueva Crema from the EP Llorando se fue/Llorando y sufriendo^[37]
• 1984 - Grupo Trebol from the LP Tropical Andino^[38]
• 1985 - Freddy Roland from the LP Chicha Up^[39]
• 1985 - Juan "Corazón" Ramón from the album Cada Día Mejor^[40]
• 1985 - Don Medardo y sus Player from the album Lo Mejor del Año, Vol. 4^[41]
• 1985 - Vico y su Grupo Karicia from the LP Voz y sentimiento^[42][43]
• 1986 - Márcia Ferreira^[17][44]
• 1986 - Cuarteto Continente of Peru, sung by Nacho Valdez, produced by Nazareno Pro.
• 1986 - Los Graduados from the album Flor de un día^[45]
• 1986 - Pastor López from the album Cumbia Universal^[46][47]
• 1987 - Paulinho do Sax^[48]
• 1987 - Sonora Andacollo from the album Norte Tropical - Lambada^[49]
• 1987 - Terramérica from the LP Arapuê^[28]
• 1988 - Los Hermanos Rosario from the album Otra Vez^[50]
• 1988 - Ana Morena from the compilation album Baila Baila Baila, Vol. 2^[51]
• 1988 - Sonora Junior L. Palacios from the album Que Siga La Cumbia, Vol. 3^[52]
• 1988 - Tropicalismo Apache from the album Exitos Quemantes
• 1989 - Los Flamers from the album Gran Reventon Gran, Vol. 5^[53][54]
• 1990 - Appears on the Sun City Girls' album Torch of the Mystics as "The Shining Path"
• 1990 - The tune of "Sochna kya jo bhi ho ga dekha jaye ga" ("Don't overthink it, whatever happens, will be taken care of (handled)"), a Hindi song from the Indian film Ghayal was based on this song. The singers were Asha Bhonsle, Kumar Sanu and Shabbir Kumar.
• 1990 - Cantopop songstress Aling Choi, titled "Life Carnival" (Traditional Chinese: 人生嘉年華) from the album The Simple Life
• 1990 - Kid Creole and the Coconuts' "Lambada" from the album "Private Waters in the Great Divide"
• 1991 - Screechy Dan & Red Fox's "Pose Off" from Drum Song Riddim
• 2006 - Wisin & Yandel's "Pam Pam" from the album Pa'l Mundo: Deluxe Edition
• 2009 - Bob Sinclar's "Give Me Some More" featuring DJ Roland Clark, from the album Born in 69^[55]
• 2011 - Don Omar's "Taboo" from the album Meet the Orphans^[56][57]
• 2011 - Jennifer Lopez's "On the Floor" from the album Love? incorporates quite a few elements^[58][4]
• 2011 - Anahí's "Chorando se Foi" for the tour Mi Delirio World Tour

• Los Kjarkas' original version, 1981 on YouTube
• Cuarteto Continental version, 1984. on YouTube
• Márcia Ferreira's Portuguese version, 1986 on YouTube
• Kaoma's version, 1989. on YouTube