Canción Del Jangadero

Song of the Riverboatman

Down the river I go carrying the raft
Down the river along the upper Paraná
It's the weight of the collapsed shadow
That seeking the horizon will descend

Down the river, down the river, down the river
At water level I bleed this song
In the dream of life and work
The heart becomes water hyacinth to me

Riverboatman, riverboatman
My destiny on the river is to drift
From the depths of the lumber mill
With the longing of the water that goes away

Father river, your scales of living gold
Are the fever that takes me further
I go after your elusive horizon
And the blood with the water goes away

Shore, shore; sun and moon, sky and water
Mirage that never quite passes
Mud skin, fabulous water snake
The passion to sail devours me

Riverboatman, riverboatman
My destiny on the river is to drift
From the depths of the lumber mill
With the longing of the water that goes away