Baby Love

Listening Post 192. Accustomed to naming each of his albums after one of its standout tracks, Fonseca switched gears when he realized his newest release would coincide with his wife’s giving birth. Thus did Agustín become his eighth baby and also his third. It may be a cliché to paint a successful artist in the rosy light of his songs, but the Colombian singer-songwriter embodies his music in myriad ways, composing a portrait of dedication to family, art and society. His causes embrace Colombia’s image abroad and addressing problems at home, including sponsoring music training for former guerrillas, combatting violence against women and becoming Save the Children’s first Colombian goodwill ambassador. While Agustín bears the name of Fonseca’s newborn son, it opens with Ven (Come), a soaring, symphonic message to his eight-year-old daughter, expressing regret for the time touring takes from her (video 1, with the whole family in the studio). The album’s 16 tracks blend talents, sounds and influences, including Fonseca’s charismatic voice, accordion-rich vallenato, reggaeton, Latin pop, and collaborations with producers, writers and singers from far-flung poles—Madrid to Havana, Miami to Buenos Aires—of the Latin music universe. Simples Corazones (Just Hearts) is a rousing love song playing three times on the album (original and acoustic versions, plus a remix with Spanish artist Melendi) and millions on air and digital channels as part of Colombia’s tourism campaign (video 2). Fonseca’s sensitive lyrics toy with the love-time continuum: Sólo Contigo (Only With You) describes a night suspended between a romance that once was and that could return (video 3); and Como Enamoraban Antes (How Falling in Love Used to Be) critiques today’s idea of passion-with-expiration-date (video 4). Like Shakespeare’s Rose, Agustín—triple platinum and Latin Grammy-nominated—would have flourished with another name, but father knew best when he delivered the ultimate masterstroke. (Sony Music Latin)

Related post: Fonseca: Conexión, Listening Post 39, March 16, 2016.
https://worldlisteningpost.com/2016/03/20/fonseca-conexion/

Ven/Come
Lyrics & Music: Juan Fernando Fonseca
(from the Spanish lyrics)

Look at me, when you look I don’t need anything/And when I’m so far away, I want your kisses
But I have this hole in my chest/It’s my own sadness I see in your eyes
Please don’t miss me so much/When you miss me, I feel like I’m dying

You know that that is from another life/That we carry faults that we don’t know
But we love each other to infinity and beyond the sky

I like this story/Because it’s a story between you and me

Come, I’m going to take care of your heart, that’s why I’ve come/That here I give you this song
Come, you are my life/That all my life I will take care of you

Oh girl, come, I’m going to take care of your heart, that’s why I’ve come/That here I give you this song
Come, you are my life/That all my life I will take care of you, ah love

Just closing my eyes I feel so near/You are my strength, my weakness
How you clean the air around me, as you make me fall in love/How you bring joy to my life as you love me more and more

Simples Corazones/Just Hearts
Lyrics & Music: Juan Fernando Fonseca, Mauricio Rengifo, Andrés Torres

I want you to know that I think I’m making a mistake/I’m gonna tell you something I can no longer hide
I can’t take it anymore… I’ve already tried 

I know there’s someone else taking care of your heart/I’d like to take that role, but I’ve lost my mind
I’ll tell you…

I confess this never happened to me before/And I also confess I don’t want to hurt anyone
But I’ve long since gotten lost in your eyes

I want to dance until you fall in love/And even when we plant our dreams on top of our mistakes
I promise you, my love, that love itself will flow/Because after every winter, flowers grow.

And even if it’s too soon to make you a promise/I’m laying my cards on the table
I promise you, my love, that love itself will flow/Love like mine needs no more explanation, you know

Yes, we are just hearts
We are just hearts

And nothing was in vain, all this time I’ve been waiting for you/I’m just a heart in love
And I’ve got so much inside to give you…

I want to dance until you fall in love/And even if we plant our dreams on top of our mistakes
I promise you, my love, that love itself will flow/Because after every winter, flowers grow.

And even if it’s too soon to make you a promise/I’m laying my cards on the table
I promise you, my love, that love itself will grow/Love like mine needs no more explanation, you know.

Yes, we are just hearts
We are just hearts
We are just hearts
Yes, we are just hearts

Sólo Contigo/Only With You
Lyrics & Music: Juan Fernando Fonseca, Angel Arce, Yadam González

Once again the moment has caught us by surprise/And once again our meeting is magical
Oh, what I would give to have you forever/Well today, I’m letting you know that I get it

In this earthly world/Material things disappear
But the affection I have for you/Is the most precious thing I carry with me

I would take care of you wherever you go/Whenever fear overcomes you
You’ll know that what we lived/Was a sincere love
A true love

Only with you could I be happy again/Only in your arms could I achieve flight
Just for tonight, come and let us dance/This song that carries the love we have for each other

And this night is yours/Tonight, tonight, tonight
And this is my night/Mine, mine, only mine

If some day I meet you again/And I have trouble bringing up what we had
Please don’t misunderstand/But I’m pained by your memory

With you I get to know the infinite/The most cherished and splendid beauty
Only with you

Como Enamoraban Antes/How We Used to Fall in Love
Lyrics & Music: Juan Fernando Fonseca, Edgar Barrera

They say that nowadays love has an expiration date/Once upon a time, people struggled, conquered and there was no end
I promise you a love that endures, even as time passes/I will nurture this feeling, to keep it alive
Nothing will be easy, but I pledge my soul/I want us to spend our lives together on the same pillow

I want to wake up serenading you/And when it’s freezing you hug me in the middle of the night
Write a letter to give me when we’re old/That tells the story we have lived, with your secrets
I want it to be eternal, to fall in love the way they used to fall in love.

For years now I’ve been writing poems/To show how I love you in a thousand ways
Nothing will be easy, but I pledge my soul/I want us to spend our lives together on the same pillow

I want to wake up serenading you/And when it’s freezing you hug me in the middle of the night
Write a letter to give me when we’re old/That tells the story we have lived, with your secrets
I want it to be eternal, to fall in love the way they used to fall in love