Las Tres Tumbas

The Three Graves

Las Tres Tumbas

They left in the early morningSalieron de madrugada
The roosters' crow could be heardSe oía el canto de los gallos
They were going to travel two daysIban a hacer dos jornadas
On the backs of their horsesAl lomo de sus caballos
The party was being heldLa fiesta se celebraba
At the pitayo ranchEn el rancho del pitayo

Their father gave them adviceSu padre les dio un consejo
As they were getting ready to leaveCuando a partir se aprestaban
Take good care of yourselvesCuiden muy bien el pellejo
Because life endsPor qué la vida se acaba
In the old man's wordsEn las palabras del viejo
The three brothers thoughtLos tres hermanos pensaban

Pedro tells FabiánPedro le dice a Fabián
Give José Luis a drinkDale un trago a José luis
Let him drink that mezcalQue beba de ese mezcal
So he feels happyPa' que se sienta feliz
As soon as we arriveQue ahorita nomás llegar
We're going to have funNos vamos a divertir

When they arrived at the danceCuando arribaron al baile
They headed to danceA bailar se dirigieron
Death was in the airLa muerte andaba en el aire
They didn't sense itEllos no la presintieron
As their father had told themComo les dijo su padre
When they left the ranchCuando del rancho salieron

There were many rivalsEran muchos los rivales
Old grudges aroseViejos rencores surgieron
Lurking behind the hutsRondando tras los jacales
They all opened fireAbrieron todos el fuego
That's how cowards killAsí matan los cobardes
When fear overwhelms themCuando los acosa el miedo

An old lonely manUn viejito solitario
Without any hopeSin esperanza ninguna
Takes care of the ranch and three horsesCuida el rancho y tres caballos
As his entire fortuneComo toda su fortuna
He goes to the cemetery from time to timeVa al panteón de vez en cuando
To visit the three gravesA visitar las tres tumbas