Norman Gimbel

American lyricist, 1927-2018 · English lyric “Sway”, 1954

Gimbel wrote an entirely new English lyric in 1954 under the title “Sway”. It is not a translation: the Spanish text is a wistful one about wondering whether love will come again, and Gimbel replaced it with a dancefloor address to a partner. Same tune, different song — and a different title, which is most of the reason English-speaking listeners never traced it back.

Who recorded it

Songs written by Norman Gimbel

Sway

Written by them — first recorded by La Sonora Matancera with Nelson Pinedo

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