Abraham Dunovits

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Lyrics from Sigh of the Times (2021)

Sigh of the Times: Lyrics and translation from Spanish

 

BONITA NOCHE/ Beautiful night

Que bonita esta la noche para tocar/ oh what a beautiful night to play!

 

Que bonita esta la noche/ what a beautiful night

Noche de luna llena/ ful moon night

Noche de las buenas/ one of those great nights

Noche para cantar/ a night to sing

 

Que bonita esta la noche para tocar/ oh what a beautiful night to play!

 

Que bonita esta la noche/ what a beautiful night

Noche sin reproches/ a night without reproach

No quiero ir en coche/ I don’t want to travel by car

Quiero ir a caminar/ I want to go for a walk

 

Que bonita esta la noche para tocar/ oh what a beautiful night to play!

 

Que bonita esta la noche/what a beautiful night

Noche sin abroche/ a never-ending night

el cielo en la noche/ the night sky

Me hace cantar/makes me sing

 

Que bonita esta la noche para tocar/ oh what a beautiful night to play!

 

Oye para tocar/ hey to play

Oye para cantar/ hey to sing

Noche de luna llena/ full moon night

Noche de las buenas/ one of those great nights

Noche para cantar/ a night to sing

 

CALLE PRINCIPES/ Princes Street 

Ay ay ay

Cuanto cuanto te amare!/ Oh how much I will love you!

 

Cuantos errores/ how many mistakes

Cuantos hare/ how many i will make

 

Ay ay ay

Cuanto cuanto te amare!/ Oh how much I will love you!

 

Dame el sol de oro/ give me the golden sun

Dame la luna de cristal/  give me the crystal moon

 

Ay ay ay

Cuanto cuanto te amare!/ Oh how much I will love you!

 

Ay yo quiero mas/ ay I want more

Mas mas y mas/ more, more and more

 

Ay ay ay

Cuanto cuanto te amare!/ Oh how much I will love you!


 

MATECOCIDO/ Mate tea brewed *

Matecocido con leche/ mate tea brewed with milk

Lo que me dio mi mama/ is what my mother gave me

Matecocido con leche/ mate tea brewed with milk

Te va a gustar/ you are going to like it

 

Siempre que yo voy a la gran ciudad/ / every time i go to the big city

Todos todos todos me quieren molestar/ everybody wants to bother me

 

Siempre que yo voy a la gran ciudad/ / every time i go to the big city

Todos los policías me quieren arrestar/ all the policemen want to arrest me

 

Todos los dias te la tienes que jugar/ every day you have to gamble

Y no me importa lo que digan/ and I don’t care what anyone says

En cualquier otro lugar/ anywhere

Porque todos los días / because every day

Tenemos que luchar/ we have to fight

Por los derechos que tenemos/ for the rights that we have 

De vivir en sociedad/ to live in a society

 

Jala, tira, empuja/ pull, pull and push

Y no dejes de guerrear/ don’t stop fighting

Con las manos arriba/ with your hands up in the air

Vamos todes por igual/ we all go in equality

Por las calles y los campos/ on the streets and the fields

Sigue la voz ancestral/ the Ancestral Voice continues

Luchando contra la impune/ fighting against the impunity

Mano de la autoridad/ of the authorities 

 

Siempre que yo voy a la gran ciudad/ / every time i go to the big city

Todos todos todos me miran muy mal / everyone gives me a dirty look 

 

¿Porque me mira mal?/ why do you give me a dirty look?

¿Porque me habla mal?/ why do you talk to me disrespectfully? 

Si yo voy en contra de la autoridad/  / i am opposing the authorities

Si yo soy parte de la sociedad/  i am part of society 

Queremos protestar sin violencia/ we want protest without violence

Si solo lo que queremos es la libertad/ we only want freedom

 

* Mate is an energetic herbal infusion popular in Argentina, which is shared among people at home or when people meet. It is drank straight or with sugar.  Poor people use it as a tea infusion with milk, which children drink for breakfast.  




 

PALOSANTO/ Sacred Stick *

El palosanto lo prendo al despertar/ I light it when i wake up

 

Para enseñar y conservar/ to teach and preserve

Todo lo bueno/ the goodness that is everything

Para sentir y compartir/ to feel and sharing 

Tierra y cielo/ earth and sky

 

El Palosanto/ the sacred stick

El campo en la ciudad/ the bush in the city 

 

Para decir y repetir/ to say and to repeat

Todo lo bueno/ the goodness that is everything 

Para vivir para sentir/ to live and to feel

Todo sin miedo/ everything without fear 

 

El palosanto/ the sacred stick

El palosanto/ the sacred stick

Para sentir/ to feel

Para vivir/ to live

Siempre sin miedo/ always without fear 

 

*Palo Santo is a type of aromatic wood used as incense but it is also used ceremonially but some indigenous groups in South America. 


 

 

BARRO Y MARFIL/ Mud and ivory *

Soy de barro/ I am made of mud

Y soy de marfil/  and I made of ivory

Tengo la voz clara/  I have a clear voice

Y la mente de perfil/ and my mind is sideways

Llamo a los dioses/ I call out to the gods

Que me guien/ to guide me

Y que me digan/ and to tell me

Como tengo que seguir/  how do I go on? 

 

La luna me dio un beso/  The moon kissed me

Me dejo borracho en Abril/ she left me drunk in April

Salte la verja de tu casa/ I jumped the fence in your house

Y pase por el árbol de Marti/ and I strolled by Marti’s tree **

Si el cielo no me cree/ if the sky does not believe me

¿En quién creeré sino en mi?/ Who am I going to believe in if not me?

Soy un sueño con espejos/ I am dream with mirrors

Que reflejan mi sentir/ that reflect my feelings

 

Soy mi propio sueño/ I am my own dream

Un regalo a repartir/ a gift to share 


 

* Soy mi propio sueño is a phrase I found in one of my father’s note books when I emptied his house, prior to his cancer operation in 2020 and which inspired me to reflect and write about him poetically, which then I put music to.

 

** Marti’s tree refers to a quote by Jose Marti, a Cuban poet,  philosopher and national hero from the end of the 1800’s who once said “there are three things that everyone should do in their lives: plant a tree, have a child and write a book" 


 

TODES UNIDES/ All Together (non-gender specific language)

Hay que amar/ one has to love

Hay que cantar/ one has to sing

Hay que gritar/ one has to shout

Con las manos arriba/ with your hands up

Por la libertad/ for freedom

 

Hay que bailar/ one has to dance

Hay que saltar/ one has to jump up

Hay que pelear/ one has to fight

Con las manos arriba/ with your hands up

Por la libertad/ for freedom

 

Grita y no calles/ shout and don’t stop

Sal a la calle/ go out on the street

Todes unides en la oscuridad/ all together in the darkness

 

Grita en las calles/ shout on the streets

Grita y no calles/ shout and don’t stop

Todes unides en la oscuridad/ all together in the darkness

 

Hay que llorar/ one has to cry

Hay que sanar/ one has to heal

Hay que cantar/ one has to sing

Con las manos arriba/ with your hands up

Por la libertad/ for freedom

 

Hay que bailar/ one has to dance

Hay que saltar/ one has to jump up

Hay que pelear/ one has to fight

Con las manos arriba/ with your hands up

Por la libertad/ for freedom