Yaco, El Herrero
"Más amigo del vino que del agua;
miserable de pobre, el pobre Yaco.
No era obrero del yunque y de la fragua,
era peón, que costaba más barato.
Aseguran los viejos que la guerra
le robó la mitad de la cordura;
Yugoslavia quizás fuera su tierra,
pienso yo, por su acento y su figura.
Yaco, el herrero, Yaco,
Yaco, el herrero.
Sin vecinos, ni amigos, ni parientes,
se trajo la trinchera a su destierro.
Personaje de la acera de enfrente
que ni siquiera cruzó para su entierro.
Vagabundo a la fuerza, su camino
se detuvo en mi tierra, grande y rica,
que como él no encuentra su destino
y de tan grande se va haciendo chica.
Yaco, el herrero, Yaco,
Yaco, el herrero.
Fue mal negocio su vida,
como lo fue su partida
para el sepulturero,
que se quedó sin propina.
Yaco, el herrero, Yaco,
Yaco, el herrero.
Quiero sacar su expediente,
para tenerlo presente
al ordenar los recuerdos
de mi pueblo y de mi gente.
¡Pobre infeliz!
No pretenden mis versos
pedir cuentas a Dios
sobre su suerte.
Solamente que sea mi recuerdo
el ausente responso
por su muerte."
Yaco, The Blacksmith
More friend of wine than of water;
miserable from being poor, poor Yaco.
He wasn't a worker of the anvil and forge,
he was a laborer, cheaper to hire.
The old folks claim
that war stole half of his sanity;
Yugoslavia might have been his land,
I think, judging by his accent and figure.
Yaco, the blacksmith, Yaco,
Yaco, the blacksmith.
Without neighbors, friends, or relatives,
he brought the trench to his exile.
A character from the opposite sidewalk
who didn't even cross for his burial.
A forced wanderer, his path
stopped in my land, big and rich,
which like him can't find its destiny
and becomes smaller from being so big.
Yaco, the blacksmith, Yaco,
Yaco, the blacksmith.
His life was a bad deal,
just like his departure
for the gravedigger,
who was left without a tip.
Yaco, the blacksmith, Yaco,
Yaco, the blacksmith.
I want to retrieve his file,
to keep him in mind
when organizing the memories
of my town and my people.
Poor wretch!
My verses don't aim
to demand answers from God
about his fate.
Just that my memory
be the absent requiem
for his death.