“I kept my promise
Don’t keep your distance”
Taken from the album Evita: Original Soundtrack
UK #3, US #8, AUS #9
By far the most famous song from Evita, it must have been daunting for Madonna to take on such a huge role and do her own version of such a well-known, respected piece of music. ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ is one of the emotional cornerstones of the film, a very important moment… there was no way she could afford to fuck it up. Luckily, she doesn’t even come close to fucking it up, and gives one of the best vocal performances of her career.
Familiarity sometimes makes me forget what a great song ’Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ is, how powerful it is in the film and how unexpectedly good Madonna was. Evita isn’t my favourite Madonna film but it is up there, through sheer effort and the strength of the music (and also the costumes). I like the way it ties into Madonna’s own career, as well. “They are illusions” she sings of fame and money, “they’re not the solutions they promise to be”. She’d continue this theme in her next album, but she finished here with ”I love you and hope you love me” – she knows fame isn’t everything, but that doesn’t mean she’s stopped wanting it.
Because it is a very slow and traditional song, ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ was accompanied by the excellent Miami Mix, recorded with new vocals and taking all sorts of Spanish and South American musical influences straight to the dance floor. Adaptable but never far from a club or the radio, Madonna knew her audience, and even when she is off being the big movie star, she put an effort in to make it a worthwhile part of her music career, too.
July 26, 2010 at 5:44 pm |
Don’t Cry for Me Argentina is another brilliant Madonna ballad that is one of the true masterpieces of popular music. For one thing, the sad song gives Pop Vocal Standards a good name. Miss Peron-Ciccone’s version is the only version that matters because Lady Madonna Cries beautiful tears in this one. Madonna certainly had come a long way since the days of Burning Up and Material Girl so think of Don’t Cry for me Argentina as a bridge between the early Boy Toy hits and later and even sadder ballads like Mer Girl, Gone and Nothing Fails. There is a rough gravitas in the character of the tune and it gives the song a certain sadness in Madonna’s. Because of this Quality, Madonna sings beautifully in Don’t Cry for Me Argentina as in the end, Madonna disowns Fame and trades it for Love-”It won’t be easy/You’ll think it’s strange/When I try to explain how I feel…” As Madge/Evita trails off, she begins to cry Sad tears for America, Argentina and Britain.
Miss Ciccone/Senora Peron is the woman of the people, the Lady of them all. She does not invite fortune or Fame in after all because she denounces and indicts them as illusions and finds Love after all.
And then, in a moment of calm and Surrender, Madonna/Evita cries
-”Have I said too much/There’s nothing more I can think of to say to you/But all you have to do/Is look at me to know/That every word is True.” Madonna savors the moment and she wins a Golden Globe for her work in Evita. Her life is changed forever because Madonna Ciccone indeed “kept her promise,” and this time she gained new fans because of Evita and it has informed her subsequent music thereafter.
Don’t Cry for Me Argentina then is a beautiful ballad because Madonna gave it the kiss of life.