A Don Ata

To Don Ata

A Don Ata

On the Indian's pathPor el camino del indio
And the spirit of Don AtaY el ánima de Don Ata
Riding on his chestnut horseEn su alazán montado
The vidala saw him passLo vio pasar la vidala
The mountain breezeEl aire del cerro
The valley flowersLas flores del valle
Tangle in his soulSe le enredan en el alma
Oh, oh, oh, to Don AtaAy, ay, ay a don ata

A Tucuman moonUna Luna tucumana
That lights up stone and roadQue alumbra piedra y camino
And next to the poor girlY junto a la pobrecita
Mountains and rivers weep for himLo lloran montes y ríos
Through Tafí del VallePor Tafí del valle
Fields of AcheralCampos de acheral
Also through Banda and LulesTambién por la banda y lules
And even AmaicháIgual por amaichá

The Santiago girlLa criollita santiagueña
To warm him from the coldPara aliviarla del frío
Knits a pampa ponchoLe teje un poncho pampa
For the wandering payadorAl payador perseguido
Out there in BarrancasAllá por Barrancas
And in SalavinaY por Salavina
The humble with the vidalaLa humilde con la vidala
Seeks him a refugeLe busca guarida

There goes Don AtahualpaAhí anda don Atahualpa
On the roads of the worldPor los caminos del mundo
For a verse, for a lancePor una copla por lanza
Marking all four directionsMarcando los cuatro rumbos
May God bless himQue Dios lo bendiga
And keep him in gloryLo tenga en la gloria
For all the beautiful memoriesPor tantos recuerdos lindos
And for his memoryY por su memoria

A lonely muleteerUn arriero solitario
Passed through AltamiranoPasó por Altamirano
With a nostalgic whistleCon un silbo nostalgioso
In search of his brothersEn busca de sus hermanos
Driving his sorrowsArriando sus penas
For not finding himPor no encontrarlo
He slowly walked awaySe fue yendo despacito
From the Entre Ríos landDel pago entrerriano

The day is clearingSe viene aclarando el día
By the Colorado hillPor el cerro Colorado
And at the corners of ChurquiY en las esquinas del churqui
A lightning bolt strikes downSe estrella un rayo cortado
The yearning awakensDespierta la añera
In GulchaqueñaPor la gulchaqueña
San Francisco del ChañarSan Francisco del chañar
And also Santa ElenaY también Santa Elena

A breeze from Buenos AiresUn aire de Buenos Aires
Gave him its wind songLe dio su canto de viento
And he fell asleep in a trackY se durmió en una huella
In a timeless styleEn un estilo sin tiempo
Out there in PergaminoAllá en Pergamino
Maybe Santa RosaTal vez Santa Rosa
Weeps for him all over La PampaLo llora toda La Pampa
In a bordonaEn una bordona

There goes Don AtahualpaAhí anda don Atahualpa
On the roads of the worldPor los caminos del mundo
For a verse, for a lancePor una copla por lanza
Marking all four directionsMarcando los cuatro rumbos
May God bless himQue Dios lo bendiga
And keep him in gloryLo tenga en la gloria
For all the beautiful memoriesPor tantos recuerdos lindos
And for his memoryY por su memoria