Milonga Sentimental

The speaker uses a milonga—a song or dance—as a way to remember a lost love and manage grief. Instead of weeping, he sings. He says the other person’s love ended suddenly, without explanation, and he tries to console himself by imagining betrayal. As the song develops, his hurt gives way to forgiveness, but not to indifference: he still longs for the absent person and admits that they might laugh at his devotion.

Several images make this conflict vivid. Singing “so as not to cry” presents music as a shelter from sadness. The speaker compares a deep attachment to cords tied tightly to the heart: even if betrayal can be struck back at, breaking free from love is much harder. He also imagines the absent person returning at night and leaving with the sunrise, suggesting a brief, uncertain reunion rather than a lasting return.

The repeated claim that he has forgiven the other person sounds generous, but it may also reveal how much he is still suffering. He wants to wish them well and forget the hurt, yet pictures himself lying at their feet, still vulnerable and devoted. The lyrics do not explain why the relationship ended, or whether the speaker truly expects the other person to come back. His song may be both an act of release and a way of keeping the lost love present.