Music Review: Toni Braxton "Spanish Guitar"

Spanish Guitar
Album: The Heat
Year: 2000

Toni Braxton hangs out at an intimate cafe to watch a good-looking man play music in the swooning "Spanish Guitar."

A romantic guitar opens the single, setting an enraptured tone. She drinks her champagne and listens to the man strum his guitar and sing latin songs. As couples dance slowly around her and people chat quietly, she imagines herself curled up in his arms. But to him, she's just another person in the cafe, enjoying the atmosphere.

"A smoky room, a small cafe/They come to hear you play/And drink and dance the night away/I sit out in the crowd/And close my eyes/Dream you're mine/But you don't know/You don't even know that I am there."

In the chorus, she says that she hopes to be held as closely to him as the guitar. She envisions him kissing and loving her all night. She would be his muse.

"I wish that I was in your arms/Like that spanish guitar/And you would play me through the night/'Till the dawn/I wish you'd hold me in your arms/Like that spanish guitar/All night long, all night long/I'd be your song, I'd be your song."

The timbre in his voice is sensual and delights her. She stares at him all night for a brief glance for him. She fantasizes that he will notice her and when he's finished with the set, buy her a drink. She wants to be the love of his life. However, it's one-sided. She's only an audience member.

"Steal my heart with every note you play/I pray you'll look my way/And hold me to your heart someday/I long to be the one that you caress with tenderness/And you don't know/You don't even know that I exist."

After the chorus, the man whispers in Spanish. According to the Altavista translator, he says to her "You feel between people/You close your eyes/And you hear that I'm yours/But I not the least.../...between my arms love."

"Te sientas entre la gente/Cierras tu ojos/Y suenas que soy tuyo/Pero yo no siquiera se que estas ahi/Me gustaria tenerte entre mis brazos amor."

A part of the first verse is sung again.

"I sit out in the crowd...and you don't know/
You don't even know that I exist."

The chorus is sung once.

Braxton and the background singers sing "I'll be your song, your song, your song." for about 30 seconds to close the single.

The single, unlike other unrequited love songs, is able to balance the wanting and the fantasizing with maturity. Braxton knows she does not have a chance with him. It's not the only city he plays. He's likely to have lovers throughout the state. But she would like for it to happen. She's there every night he plays. She's an admirer, not a stalker. Braxton's soaring vocals are honest and optimistic. She's not begging for his love nor is she forcing anything. She will be pleased whether or not he speaks to her.

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