Pueblo Blanco

White Village

Pueblo Blanco

Hanging from a ravineColgado de un barranco
My white village sleepsDuerme mi pueblo blanco
Under a sky that by dintBajo un cielo que a fuerza
Of never seeing the seaDe no ver nunca el mar
Forgot to crySe olvidó de llorar

Through its alleys of dust and stonePor sus callejas de polvo y piedra
Because the war didn't happen and didn't happenPor no pasar ni pasó la guerra
Only oblivion walks slowlySólo el olvido camina lento
Bordering the glenBordeando la cañada
Where no flower growsDonde no crece una flor
Nor a shepherd roamsNi trashuma un pastor

The sacristan has seenEl sacristán ha visto
The priest grow oldHacerse viejo al cura
The priest has seen the corporalEl cura ha visto al cabo
And the corporal the sextonY el cabo al sacristán
And my people afterwardsY mi pueblo después
Saw all three dieVio morir a los tres
And I wonder why people will be bornY me pregunto ¿porqué nacerá gente
If to be born or to die is indifferent?Si nacer o morir es indiferente?

From harvesting to sowingDe la siega a la siembra
Life is lived in the tavernSe vive en la taberna
The wives murmurLas comadres murmuran
Their history at the thresholdSu historia en el umbral
Of their lime housesDe sus casas de cal
And the girls make bobbin laceY las muchachas hacen bolillo
Hiding behind the curtainsBuscando ocultas tras los visillos
That young man who night by nightA ese hombre joven que noche a noche
Forged in his mindForjaron en su mente
Strong to be their lordFuerte pa’ ser su señor
And tender for loveY tierno para el amor

They dream of him and he dreams of going far away from their villageEllas sueñan con él y él con irse muy lejos
From their villageDe su pueblo
And the old men dream of dying in peaceY los viejos sueñan morirse en paz
And dying for dying's sake they want to die in the SunY morir por morir quieren morirse al sol
Their mouths open to the heat like lizardsLa boca abierta al calor como lagartos
Half hidden behind an esparto hatMedio ocultos tras un sombrero de esparto

Escape tender people that this land is sickEscapad gente tierna que esta tierra está enferma
And don't expect tomorrow what it didn't give you yesterdayY no esperes mañana lo que no te dio ayer
That there's nothing to doQue no hay nada que hacer
Take your mule, your mule and your herdsmanToma tu mula, tu hembra y tu arreo
And follow the path of the Hebrew peopleY sigue el camino de pueblo hebreo
And look for another MoonY busca otra luna
Maybe tomorrow fortune will smileTal vez mañana sonría la fortuna
And if it's your turn to cry it's better in front of the seaY si te toca llorar es mejor frente al mar

If only I could join a flight of dovesSi yo pudiera unirme a un vuelo de palomas
And across the hills leave my village behindY atravesando lomas dejar mi pueblo atrás
I swear by what I was I'd leave hereJuro por lo que fui que me iría de aquí
But the dead are in captivityPero los muertos están en cautiverio
And they won't let us leave the cemeteryY no nos dejan salir del cementerio