El Barquillero

The Little Horseman

El Barquillero

Not even for the tough stuff, a friend shouted jokinglyNi pa' la machaca sirve, burlesco gritó un amigo
And even though he had good blood, they didn’t want the coltY aunque tenía buena sangre, no quisieron al potrillo
They wanted to put him down because he was born wrongY querían sacrificarlo porque mal había nacido
They called him Little Horseman, son of GenerosoBarquillero, le pusieron, de que Generoso es hijo

They said: There’s no way to get any good out of himDijeron: No habría manera de sacarle buen provecho
And they almost gave him away like a useless animalY casi lo regalaron como animal de desecho
The beauty he had, he carried deep in his chestLo bonito que traía, lo traía dentro del pecho
They underestimated the colt who turned out to be a damn good oneSubestimaron al potro que salió un cabrón bien hecho

The band played loud, it was the town's festivalLa banda tocaba recio, eran las fiestas del pueblo
And the horse, feeling hot, jumped into the ring to fightY el cuaco, estando caliente, se tiró a matar pa'l ruedo
As soon as they saw him dance, the ranchers got fired upNomás lo vieron bailar, se picaron los rancheros
They had toy horses next to Little HorsemanTraían cuacos de juguete al lado de Barquillero

Even the hunter can become prey, and even the wise can be wrongTambién el que caza es presa y hasta el sabio se equivoca
If it’s your turn, no matter how you dodge, if it’s not, no matter how you trySi te toca, aunque te quites, si no toca, aunque te pongas
It’s not good to talk if you don’t know, look how things areNo es bueno hablar si no sabes, miren cómo son las cosas
Little Horseman came and shut a couple of people upBarquillero a dos, tres gentes vino y les tapó la boca

From being worthless to being the most sought afterDe no servir para nada, a ser el más codiciado
Five fine colts, the kind that are born dancingCinco potrillitos finos, de esos que nacen bailando
A few bucks for the little ones and some Sardinian cattleUnas paquitas de a dólar y algo de ganado sardo
They paid for Little Horseman, because the good stuff costs a lotDieron por el Barquillero, pues lo bueno sale caro

To those who didn’t want him, it served as a lessonA los que no lo quisieron, bien les sirvió de experiencia
And the one who was once worthless, now isn’t for saleY el que un día no valía nada, ahora ya no está a la venta
In a ranch in Jalisco, a landlord commentsEn un rancho de Jalisco, un arrendador comenta
"They hardly bring any stallions at the El Cincuenta breeding ground"" Casi no traen semental en la Yeguada El Cincuenta