Hay un suave murmullo – There is a gentle whisper
En el silencio de una noche azul – In the silence of a blue night
Son dos enamorados – There are two lovers
Que, encantados, gozan del amor – Who enchanted, enjoy love
Y ríe la vida y que dice así – And life laughs and says: Ahh, ahh, ahh…
Y ríe la luna y que dice así – And the moon laughs and says: Uhmm, uhmm , ummm…
The above Spanish lyrics of the song Murmullo meaning “whispers” or “gentle murmurs” are the only words you are going to find in this soothing and blissful romantic song. It paints a vivid picture of a serene night, where two lovers bask in the beauty of their relationship, surrounded by the gentle whispers of love.
Murmullo is part of the traditional music of Cuba called ‘Bolero‘ which possesses a romantic cadence and lyrics dealing with love. Bolero music was born as a form of romantic folk poetry cultivated by a new breed of troubadour from Santiago de Cuba, the trovadores. Pepe Sánchez is considered the father of this movement and the author of the first bolero, Tristezas (sadnesses), written in 1883.
All this heritage music which celebrates Cuba’s “musical golden age” between the 1930s and 1950s was renewed by Director Wim Wenders and guitarist Ry Cooder who teamed up again after their ‘indie’ movie masterpiece Paris, Texas. Murmullo comes from their music documentary Buena Vista Social Club named after a group formed in 1996 dedicated to the the members’ club of the same name in the Buenavista quarter of Havana; a popular music venue in the 1940s. They recruited a dozen veteran musicians, some of whom had been retired for many years to showcase the popular styles of the time.
Murmullo was born from the compositor Electo Rosell (see image inset). He was a Cuban composer, violinist, and conductor (1907-1984) and Murmullo is one of his notable compositions. On the Buena Vista soundtrack it was sung by Ibrahim Ferrer (image at the top of this post), who used to be the lead vocalist in Rosell’s ensemble Orquesta Chepín-Chovén.
References:
1. Buena Vista Social Club (album) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Amazing music! While I saw “Paris, Texas” many moons ago, unfortunately, I never watched the documentary “Buena Vista Social Club.”
That’s great someone liked it Haha. I hope you get to see “Buena Vista Social Club.” There is good reason it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.