Youkali, by Kurt Weill (Countertenor / Drag Queen Sings)

FEATURING: Dusty Pörn
From The 3 C*NTRALTOS, with Sara Couden & Carly Ozard!
Nov. 23, ‘25 at The Academy SF, Castro District
It is a Tango Habanera, from 1935, with text by Roger Fernay (see translation below). • In my intro to the song (still a work in progress for me), I likened it to our current beloved San Francisco…faltering, struggling, but still a DIAMOND, and beacon to many disenfranchised. A mysterious place of desire, hope, deliverance and love. And, although we find at the end of the song it’s not “real”...it is VERY MUCH real for those of us who uphold its magic, which aids us in transcending the tedium and challenges of life. I hope you also deeply feel this magic of Youkali...
🎹 Piano: Barry Lloyd
🎬 Producer, Co-Host / Fellow C*ntralto: ‪@CarlyOzard‬
🙏 Video Thanks: Rich Hutchison Cowie
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TRANSLATION:
"It was almost to the end of the world
That my wandering boat
Straying at the will of the waves
Led me one day
The isle is very small
But the kind fairy that lives there
Invites us
To take a look around
Youkali
Is the land of our desires
Youkali
Is happiness, pleasure
Youkali
Is the land where we forget all our worries
It is in our night, like a bright rift
The star we follow
It is Youkali
Youkali
Is the respect of all vows exchanged
Youkali
Is the land of love returned
It is the hope
That is in every human heart
The deliverance
We await for tomorrow
Youkali
Is the land of our desires
Youkali
Is happiness, pleasure
But it is a dream, a folly
There is no Youkali
And life carries us along
Tediously, day by day
But the poor human soul
Seeking forgetfulness everywhere
Has, in order to escape the world
Managed to find the mystery
In which our dreams burrow themselves
In some Youkali"
#dragqueen #Youkali #KurtWeill