The Captive of Til-Til

El Cautivo de Til-til

For a pair of bright eyesPor unas pupilas claras
That shone among many swordsQue entre muchos sables
I saw them gleamViera relucir
And that laughter she hidY esa risa que escondía
I don’t know what secretsNo sé qué secretos
And if it was for meY si era para mí
When he left in a hurryCuando altiro se marchó
Amid shouts of the sheriffEntre gritos de alguacil
A feeling clouded my mindMe nublo un presentimiento
Seeing him departAl verlo partir

They say it’s Manuel RodríguezDicen que es Manuel Rodríguez
And they’re taking himY que se lo llevan
On the way to Til-TilCamino a til-til
That the governor doesn’t wantQue el gobernador no quiere
To see through the ravineVer por la cañada
His gentle demeanorSu porte gentil
They say in the war he wasDicen que en la guerra fue
The best, and in the cityEl mejor y en la ciudad
They call him the guerrillaLo llaman el guerrillero
Of freedomDe la libertad

All I know is he’s going awaySolo sé que ausente va
That the soldiers are taking himQue lo llevan los soldados
Tied to the saddleQue amarrado a la montura
The troops are pulling him away from his generalLa tropa lo aleja de su general
All I know is the wind isSolo sé que el viento va
Playing with his hairJugueteando en sus cabellos
And that the sun shines in his eyesY que el Sol brilla en sus ojos
As they lead himCuando le conducen
On the way to Til-TilCamino a til-til

They say he was like a lightning boltDicen que era como un rayo
When he gallopedCuando galopaba
On his steedSobre su corcel
And that at the rider’s paceY que al paso del jinete
Everyone whisperedTodos murmuraban
His name, ManuelSu nombre Manuel

I don’t know if I’ll returnYo no sé si volveré
To see him free and kindA verlo libre y gentil
All I know is he smiledSolo sé que sonreía
On the way to Til-TilCamino a til-til