Acuarelita De Arrabal

Watercolor of the Suburb

Acuarelita De Arrabal

There was an old cobbler who lived in a doorwayEra un viejo zapatero que vivía en un portal
And there was a blonde neighbor, very prettyY era una rubia vecinita, muy bonita
And very flirtatious, who passed by without lookingY muy coqueta, que pasaba sin mirar
The blonde, in the mornings, went on her way to her workshopLa rubia, por las mañanas, iba camino a su taller y
In front of the old cobbler's hovelFrente al cuchitril del viejo remendón
It was like a prime ray of sunEra como un prime rayo de sol

The poor old man, behind the shop windowEl pobre viejo, tras de la vidriera
Living some distant illusionViviendo alguna lejana ilusión
Dreamed, seeing her pass by the sidewalkSoñaba, al verla pasar por la acera
Who knows what crazy love chimeraQuién sabe qué loca quimera de amor

The blonde, one day, entered the atticLa rubia, un día, se entró a la buhardilla
And the poor thing trembled with emotionY el pobrecito tembló de emoción
When, under the pretext of fastening a buckleCuando a pretexto de atarle una hebilla
Her shapely leg his hand touchedLa pierna torneada su mano palpó
And with surprise, that day, in front of his hovelY con sorpresa, ese día, frente a su chiribitil
People, full of emotion, stoppedLa gente, llena de emoción, se detenía
To listen to the melody of a violinPara escuchar la melodía de un violín
It was that the cobbler, with religious devotionEra que aquel zapatero, con religiosa devoción
His sad loneliness cried to the tender sound of a familiar sentimental songSu triste soledad lloraba al tierno sonde familiar canción sentimental

Since that afternoon, his singing seemsDesde esa tarde, su canto parece
With its tireless shrill motiveCon su incansable motivo chillón
The monotonous sonata of a cricketLa monocorde sonata de un grillo
On the staff of that alleyEn el pentagrama de aquel callejón
And, they say, thinking of the blondeY, según dice, pensando en la rubia
The poor old man, behind the doorwayEl pobre viejo, detrás del portal
Like a leg, trembling, caressesComo una pierna, temblando, acaricia
The box of the rough fraternal violinLa caja del tosco violín fraternal