Adiós

Gustavo Cerati and his son Benito Cerati co-wrote Adiós, a song that not only sounds like a farewell but whose lyrics seem to foreshadow a moment no one could have imagined. The melody kicks in without preamble, with that clean guitar that later fills with subtle layers, as if each note were a step back in a relationship with no way back. It’s not a conventional ballad: it has an air of acoustic rock, yet with a melancholic touch that makes the listener feel the weight of the words even before fully grasping them.

The lyrics, written in the first person, speak of growing from a breakup, but without cheap dramatics. The video, directed by Joaquín Cambre, reinforces this idea with everyday images ranging from the clutter of an office to the controlled chaos of an empty classroom, ending with a couple kissing among the rubble. Curiously, the song’s final line —*"Saying goodbye is growing"*— was used in 2014 on Benito Cerati’s Twitter account to announce his father’s death, turning the song into an unintended symbol. Adiós was released in 2007 as the third single from Ahí vamos, the album Cerati recorded in 2006 with a rawer sound, far from the synthesizers of his earlier work. It lasted 3:54, but live performances stretched the song, as if the artist needed more time to say goodbye.