"Porque te vas" (; Spanish for "Because You Are Leaving") is a song by English-born Spanish singer Jeanette, written by José Luis Perales and produced by Rafael Trabucchelli for record label Hispavox in 1974.
Background and recording
Jeanette made her solo debut in 1971 with the release of the Manuel Alejandro-penned single "Soy rebelde" on label Hispavox, which marked her return to music and established her as a melodic singer, veering away from the folk-pop of Pic-Nic, her previous group of the 1960s. A commercial success, the hit single topped the charts in Spain and charted in the Top 10 of Latin American countries such as Argentina, Colombia and Peru; becoming a popular "teen anthem" in the Spanish-speaking world. Inspired by Jeanette's success, José Luis Perales decided to write a song for her, since he was still at the beginning of his career and "practically nobody well-known had recorded his songs". Perales has stated that he wrote "Porque te vas" in three hours during a rainy afternoon in his cottage, which possessed no water or light. That day, he also wrote the song "Escucha"; both tracks were composed with Jeanette's singular voice in mind, with Perales imitating her high-pitched vocals in the demo recording.
The song was produced by Rafael Trabuchelli, considered a pioneer of music production in Spain and "one of the most influential figures in Spanish music between 1965 and 1975." While working for Hispavox, he had developed the "characteristic lush sound" of 1970s Spanish ballads, which "[resulted] from sophisticated orchestral arrangements and studio wizardy." He is now described as the "Spanish Phil Spector", and his production style was known as the "Torrelaguna Sound", named after the Torrelaguna Street in Madrid, where Hispavox Studios was based. Perales had met Trabuchelli through musician friends, and showed him the demo of "Porque te vas", which he received with enthusiasm. Juan Márquez was in charge of the track's conducting and arrangement. According to Perales, Jeanette initially refused to record the song, as she wanted to keep working with well-known composers like Manuel Alejandro, and eventually gave in after her surroundings pushed her to do it. The singer has denied such claims, saying that she "[loved] it" from the beginning.
Composition
"Porque te vas" is a romantic ballad that incorporates elements of funk, disco and pop music, featuring a predominant use of the saxophone. Critic Julián Molero of Lafonoteca described the track's instrumentation as "full of self-confidence with almost mocking interventions of the brasses and the crash of the drums releasing unexpected blows". Writing for the Spanish edition of Rolling Stone, Miguel Ángel Bargueño wrote that the song possessed "an unruly rhythm and distinctly pop sound". In the book Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed, authors Kim Cooper and David Smay described the song as: "delicate breezy pop with one of those super-suave catchy tunes". The organizers of Festival Europa Sur stated in 2014 that with tracks like "Porque te vas", Jeanette "demonstrated that a canción melódica song can be approached from a pop optic". Her vocals have been described as "innocent", "mischievous", "sweet", "sultry" and "angelic". Julián Molero felt that Jeanette's voice, "this time moves a bit away from the usual sweetness to become a childish and playful air."
A love song, "Porque te vas" deals with "the pain of parting." Its lyrics "speak of a loss, of an abandonment", and have been described as conveying a "sense of longing". Jeanette begins singing: "Hoy en mi ventana brilla el sol y el corazón se pone triste contemplando la ciudad, porque te vas" ("Today the sun shines in my window and the heart gets sad contemplating the city, because you're leaving"). The refrain features the lyrics: "Todas las promesas de mi amor se irán contigo/Me olvidarás/Me olvidarás/Junto a la estación yo lloraré igual que un niño/Porque te vas" ("All of my love's promises will go with you/You will forget me/You will forget me/Beside the station I will cry like a child/Because you are leaving"). She is often but mistakenly thought to be singing "¿Por qué te vas?" or "Porqué te vas" ("Why are you leaving?"). Regarding the confusion, La Voz de Galicia stated in 2016: "that causal conjunction does not contain a question, but an assumption. Come on, she, the abandoned, has assumed it, so the small stripe of the diacritic would be a step back in history. And no! With all the work that comes from heartbreak."