Songs Written With a Machete #12: Tobacco and Rum, My Queen!

A machete covered in dried blood was hanging over the bar, the barmaid with the shoulders of a mover blew cigarette smoke in my face and asked me what I wanted. Well, it was pouring down rain outside, the bus had broken down halfway there, so I had walked the remaining eight kilometres of the mountain road, which I later learnt was surrounded by a dangerous gang of robbers.

I replied, "Ron, mi reina!" In Colombia, it's common to address a woman as queen. It's part of the local etiquette and a foreigner is then not seen as a gringo, which makes life easier. "Rum, my queen!" A shot of cane liquid landed on the old table, and in the smoky room full of cowboys, Fernando Villalona's legendary song started bouncing off the walls. While the hit "Tabaco y ron" played in the background, the chief of police, a five-foot-tall mestizo who projected natural authority as if he were seven feet tall, sat down next to me. The man had definitely killed somebody at some point in his life.

"De donde vienes, mi hijo?" He asked me with an irresistible smile and began the informal interrogation so typical of the land of magical realism, which may determine your future fate. After learning that I was just a harmless fool from former Czechoslovakia who loved the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez's novels, el comandante left me alone. I had just started living in the village of Concepcion, which became my home for a year and a half.

Tabaco y ron

I am bringing the contra
The contra, pure contraband
For my beloved
Tobacco and rum

Tobacco, tobacco, tobacco
Tobacco and rum

Because whoever rules
Is the boss
In the world, there will always be
Good people, bad people
The denier, the believer
Wise, foolish, indifferent

Let go of that bad temper, mate
That bitterness will kill you
That bitterness, that bitterness

Carry your cross, mate
And don't give it to anyone

Cause we all carry a cross!
Because whoever's in charge
Is the boss
In the world, there will always be
Good people, bad people
Those who deny, those who lie
Wise, foolish, indifferent

Tobacco and rum
Tobacco and rum

The popular song of Colombian smugglers of all kinds has become, not surprisingly, part of the soundtrack of the popular TV series Narcos. The punchy lyrics, lively melody and captivating atmosphere make this song rightfully one of the gems of salsa.