Justo El 31

The song 'Justo El 31' by Julio Sosa, a renowned Uruguayan tango singer, tells a humorous and somewhat tragic story of a man's brief and regrettable romantic entanglement. The lyrics are delivered in a narrative style, recounting events that lead to an unexpected turn of events for the protagonist.

The song begins with the protagonist expressing his joy and constant activity, likening it to a carousel. He reveals that he managed to leave his partner just before the first of the month, which is when she intended to 'tie him down' or commit him to the relationship. The use of the phrase 'Justo el treinta y uno' (just on the thirty-first) indicates that he narrowly escaped this commitment. The story takes a darkly comedic turn when he mentions that his partner, in her distress, used the clothesline rope he forgot to take with him in an attempt to hang herself.

The second part of the song delves into how he met this woman, describing her as unattractive and comparing her to a 'crazy monkey' that threw a coconut at him. He admits to being short-sighted, which led him to mistakenly take her home. Upon seeing her in the light, he was so shocked by her appearance that he fainted. The protagonist endured ridicule from his peers for months, being mocked as a circus act with a chimpanzee. Fortunately for him, a friend helped him by watering the fern, a metaphor for intervening, and he was able to end the relationship on the thirty-first, the day she intended to secure their relationship. The song uses humor and exaggeration to depict a man's desperate escape from an unwanted relationship and the social mockery that follows.