"La camisa negra" | ||||
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Single by Juanes | ||||
from the album Mi Sangre | ||||
Released | August 26, 2004 | |||
Format | CD single, Maxi single | |||
Recorded | 2004 | |||
Genre |
Cumbia Alternative rock Latin pop |
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Length | 3:36 | |||
Label | Universal | |||
Writer(s) | Juanes/Octavio Mesa | |||
Producer(s) | Juanes, Gustavo Santaolalla | |||
Juanes singles chronology | ||||
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"La Camisa Negra" (English: "The Black Shirt") is a Spanish rock song written by Colombian singer-songwriter Octavio Mesa and recorded by Juanes for his third studio album Mi Sangre. In Latin America, the track was released in 2005 as the third single from Mi Sangre, and in Europe, it was released in 2006 as the album's lead single.
The song received mixed reviews from critics and generated controversy when it was used to support neo-fascism in Italy. The single was very successful in Latin America, topping most record charts.
"La Camisa Negra" is written in common time in the key of F-sharp minor. The song is carried by a heavy bass guitar and an acoustic guitar strum at a moderate 100 beats per minute, with an accompanying melody on the electric guitar. The lyrics are organized in the common verse-chorus form, and Juanes' range spans around an octave and a half, from C#4 to F#5.
The lyrics explain that the bitter singer is wearing La Camisa Negra, the black shirt, as a way of mourning a failed love affair or even his own death, presumably singing to the object of his love. Some of the lyrics have double meanings or are structured to suggest more off-color phrases. Several sentences seem ready to end with an obscenity, before gliding into a new sentence that begins with a similar but non-obscene word. The sad lyrics are dissonant with the cheerful melody.