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