El Arriero Va
The Horseman Rides
sung and played by Patricia L. Cummings
Rugosa Rose photo by James Cummings
This is a song from Argentina that I learned in Spain from a friend at the University of Navarra, in 1972-73.
El Arriero Va
por Héctor Roberto Chavero
nicknamed "don Atahualpa
Yupanqui"
En las arenas bailan los remolinos
y el sol juega en el brillo
del pedregal
y prendido a la magia de los caminos
el arriero
va, el arriero va.
Es bandera de niebla su poncho al viento
le saludan las flautas
del pajonal
y guapeando en la senda por esos cerros
el arriero
va, el arriero va.
***********
ESTRIBILLO
Las penas y las vaquitas se van por la misma senda
Las penas y
las vaquitas, se van por la misma senda.
Las penas son de
nosotros, las vaquitas son ajenas.
Las penas son de nosotros, las
vaquitas son ajenas.
***********
Un destello de soles muestra la tarde.
Se apagaron las luces
del pedregal
y animando a la tropa, dale que dale,*
el arriero
va, el arriero va.
Y ojalá que la noche traiga recuerdos
que haga menos
pesada mi soledad
como sombra la sombra por esos cerros
el
arriero va, el arriero va.
ESTRIBILLO
The Horseman Rides
as translated by Patricia Cummings
In the sands are dancing the whirlwinds
and the sun is playing
in the sparkle of the ground strewn with rocks.
And caught by the
magic of the roads (paths)
the horseman goes (rides), the horseman
goes.
His poncho to the wind is like a banner
He is saluted
by the field of tall, coarse grass that are like flutes
and
looking handsome on the path through the hills
the horseman goes,
the horseman goes.
Chorus:
The sorrows and the little cows
travel on the same path,
repeat
The sorrows belong to us, the
little cows are outside of us.
repeat
A flash of sunlight shows that the afternoon has come
The
lights of the stones have been shut off
and, animating the herd of
cattle, he goes and goes (he keeps on going),
the horseman goes,
the horseman goes.
And I hope that the night brings
memories
that make less weighty my solitude.
As shadow, the
shadow (of the horseman) through the hills,
The horseman goes, the
horseman goes.
Note: *"Dale que dale," is an idiomatic expression that
is difficult to translate to English. It provides the sense of
repetitive motion or movement, a continuation of some action in
progress. The word "dale" has nothing to do with the verb
"dar."
Note: An interesting page in Spanish, about
this poem, states that Chavero was born in 1908 and died in 1992. He
was from Argentina. One interpretation of the poem is that it was
politically motivated. He was a contemporary of Jorge Luis Borges.
To read more about Chavero, in Spanish, please visit: http://www.diariomardeajo.com.ar/atahualpayupanqui.htm
Also, on that web page, the two last verses are slightly different from those provided here, (that I learned in Spain).
http://www.diariomardeajo.com.ar/atahualpayupanqui.htm
I particularly like the chorus:
Las penas y las vaquitas se van por la misma senda,
Las penas son de nosotros, las vaquitas son ajenas.