Francisco Canaro and his orchestra performed not only live public performances, but also in film and for theatrical plays. Canaro produced many of these films and plays himself.

Here we have an example of a “Tango Humoristico” called “Si yo fuera millonario.”  In English: “If I Could Be A Millionaire.”  Francisco Canaro wrote music and lyrics himself. In this poster, signed by Francisco Canaro, the fine print indicates that it was for a play at the Teatro Monumental.

The lyrics are about a broke guy daydreaming of being a millionaire. He ponders how many women he would bed, how the whole world would be his friend — asking him for a handout, how all the high class girls would think he is a great guy, and how everyone would be hitting one him. He would hire an Oriental assistant to plan his agenda, his fancy silk clothes would have embroidered monograms, and he would travel frequently. It is ironic that this was written by a when Canaro was already a millionaire! Can we assume this is how Canaro lived his life?

Note: in this audio recording, Ernesto Fama is an “estribillista” (singing only the refrain instead of the entire song). So we get only the cleaned up refrain of the song. Performance of the entire lyric probably only happened in the theater.

Note: The word pato (English: duck) in this song’s lyrics is lunfardo slang for “poor,” “loser,” or “someone who is broke.” This is very different from the slang usage of pato in other Spanish speaking countries where it is a derogatory term for a gay man. Curiously, the sheet-music for this song has a sub-title of “Divagaciones De Un Pato” or in English, “Ramblings of a Broke Guy.” This does not seem to be listed on any recordings. Here are the lyrics from the sheet-music…