Remember me, though I have to travel far
Some days ago, I saw this post about how Remember Me deserved the Oscar for Best Song (with which I totally agree). And today, I was also thinking about how this single verse adds another (and very important) layer of complexity to this song which deserves to be considered.
The English version of Remember Me just says: Remember me, though I have to travel far. Ok, daddy, you're travelling far away, I get it. This verse just talks about two musicians touring around their country in their search of… fame? Appreciation? Inspiration, in Héctor's case? It's a quite simple and innocent verse, you can interpret it as you please.
But Spanish version of Recuérdame says: Recuérdame, aunque tengo que emigrar (Remember me, though I have to EMIGRATE). Yeah, now we're talking. This verse talks about two young men who leave their home trying to find a way to make a living of their work, their talent, their music. They could be emigrants, dreaming of a better life (again in Héctor's case: not just for himself, but also for his family). And how many families get torn apart because of this? How many fathers have to "travel far", away from spouses, children, friends, everything they know and love, for the sake of the family? How many of them spend all day remembering their love ones, while those love ones spend their days remembering them?
Because the movie's main theme is death, we also tend to associate Remember Me just with death and the final loss of the people we love. But don't miss these little details, because we also need to understand that death is not the only kind of separation people have to suffer along their lives. And most of those people don't leave their home because they want to, but because they have no choice.
One last thing…
Look at Imelda's face.
Imelda didn't get mad at Héctor for leaving home, but for leaving her alone with their child by not coming back and disappearing without a word. I don't think "emigration" was a foreign concept for neither of them.
PS: Listen this song in Spanish, please. Listen and try to understand.
