Besame Mucho

From Wikipedia:

“Bésame Mucho” (Kiss me a lot) is a song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez. It is one of the most famous boleros, and was recognized in 1999 as the most sung and recorded Mexican song in the world.

Inspiration

According to Velázquez herself, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin.

She was inspired by the piano piece “Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruiseñor” from the 1911 suite Goyescas by Spanish composer Enrique Granados, which he later also included as Aria of the Nightingale in his 1916 opera of the same name.

Comments on lyrics

There are slight differences in the wording at the end of the chorus, regarding the words perderte después meaning “to lose you afterwards“. Considering that Velázquez may have been fifteen years old when she wrote the song, this sentence reflects inexperience and innocence. Indeed, a video from “TV Mexicana” shows Consuelo Velázquez playing the piano while the singer sings perderte después. Many interpretations use perderte otra vez (“lose you once again“) instead of the original perderte después (“lose you afterwards“).

The line “Besame mucho, que tengo miedo a perderte después” means “Kiss me a lot, as I am afraid of losing you afterwards.” The word “mucho” may suggest a desire for the kiss to linger, as it may be the couple’s last time being together.

An English-language version of the song was written by Sunny Skylar. The lyrics are different from the direct English translation of the original, but retain the Spanish Bésame mucho.

“Bésame Mucho” is also known by translated names such as “Kiss Me Much,” “Kiss Me a Lot,” “Kiss Me Again and Again,” “Embrasse-moi fort,” “Stale Ma Bozkavaj,” “Suutele minua“, “Szeretlek én” and “Mara beboos“.

Recording and performances

[…] Covered by the Beatles both on stage and in the studio, they included the song in their setlist during the band’s audition for Decca Records, their first EMI recording session and the Get Back sessions. A performance from the Get Back sessions was included in the documentary film Let It Be, while one from the EMI audition appeared on the Anthology 1 compilation. They sang their rendition of the song with English lyrics that do not correspond to the original Spanish lyrics. […]

Paul McCartney in "Many Years From Now", by Barry Miles:

I had this very diverse little record collection from which I was culling material. I remember I had the Coasters’ Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart, which was on the b-side of Yakety Yak. I can look back on these records and see what it was I liked. With Besame Mucho by the Coasters, it’s a minor song and it changes to a major, and where it changes to a major is such a big moment musically. That major change attracted me so much.

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

• [a] mono 6 Jun 1962. edited Jul 1984 at AIR Studios, Montserrat.
  CD: Apple CDP 8 34445 2 Anthology 1 1995.

A copy of this otherwise lost recording was found on a private reel in late 1983 or early 1984, probably in a mono mix made in 1962. It was not used for the Abbey Road Studios show in July 1983, but was in the lineup for the Sessions LP in August 1984. The last line going into the fade seems to be a repeat of the previous line, edited in, probably done for Sessions.

Lyrics

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

Live performances

“Besame Mucho” has been played in 3 concerts and 1 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where “Besame Mucho” has been played

Going further

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.