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Usted Abusó

Celia Cruz & Willie Colón · 1977 · written by Antônio Carlos & Jocáfi, from the album Only They Could Have Made This Album

A Brazilian samba turned into salsa, and Celia Cruz tells a man exactly how he took advantage of her love: formally, politely and without mercy.

The story

  1. 1.Excuse me

    She apologizes for coming back to the same subject: she doesn't know how to write a poem or a song that isn't about love. And every word she writes reminds her of the moment she gave him her love.

  2. 2.You abused it

    And he took advantage. He used her affection, made the most of her, and never believed in her. Losing that love destroyed her; he put her through his school of pain.

  3. 3.Curse or blessing

    She can't tell anymore whether her heart curses him or blesses him. He laughed at her and left.

  4. 4.The lesson

    So she won't love again. In the last part she even offers some comfort, to herself and to anyone who's been there: in love, she says, it's all lies.

Key phrases

  • “Usted abusó”You took advantageAbusar is to take advantage, to abuse someone's trust. And usted is the formal “you”, the one for strangers and bosses: talking to a lover like that puts him at arm's length. It's cold, and it's a little sarcastic.
  • “De mi cariño usted abusó”You took advantage of my affectionCariño is affection, tenderness: the thing she gave freely.
  • “Su gran escuela del dolor”Your great school of painHe taught her something, all right.
  • “no sé si lo maldice o lo bendice”I don't know if my heart curses you or blesses youShe's hurt, and still not over him. The line catches both at once.

Context

The song started in Brazil: “Você Abusou” is a samba by the duo Antônio Carlos & Jocáfi. Its Spanish version became one of Celia Cruz's biggest international hits.

It's on Only They Could Have Made This Album (1977), the first of Celia's albums with Willie Colón, the queen of salsa and the bad boy of the Bronx together.

It's Celia telling off a man, and she sounds hurt and in charge at the same time.

On the dance floor

A mid-tempo, sweet-and-sour groove: you can hear the samba melody under the salsa. It's an easy one for beginners.

The coro answers with “usted abusó” over and over, and Celia improvises around it with more and more attitude. Enjoy the sass.

This is our own retelling of the song, not its lyrics or a translation of them: the few short phrases quoted are there to explain what they mean. The song belongs to its writer, Antônio Carlos & Jocáfi.