Tributo a Zé Marcolino

Tribute to Zé Marcolino

Tributo a Zé Marcolino

His craft was the art of singingSeu ofício era a arte de cantar
A master in the lessons of natureCatedrático nas aulas da natura
With a waist like a bee was the waistCinturinha de abelha era a cintura
Of the dark-haired girls on moonlit nightsDas morenas nas noites de luar
He sharpened himself on the whetstoneAfiou-se na pedra de amolar
But the stone of death is sharpMas a pedra da morte é afiada
Left the beaten clay from the canFicou o barro batido da latada
Without the marks of the dancer's feetSem as marcas dos pés do dançarino
A cow killed Zé MarcolinoUma vaca matou Zé Marcolino
And I wouldn't bet José in a cattle driveE eu não dava José numa boiada

Bira and Fátima can't stop moaningBira e Fátima não param de gemer
The saw is sharp and it's on trialO serrote é agudo e está de prova
With time, the new well dried upCom o tempo secou cacimba nova
His owner will never fill it againNunca mais o seu dono vai encher
Who put Severina to grindQuem botou Severina pra moer
Was ground in the last walkFoi moído na última caminhada
And the cleaned-up room plasteredE a limpeza da sala rebocada
Is the face of the Northeastern peopleÉ a cara do povo nordestino
A cow killed Zé MarcolinoUma vaca matou Zé Marcolino
And I wouldn't bet José in a cattle driveE eu não dava José numa boiada

He was a partner of Lua and recorded an albumFoi parceiro de Lua e gravou disco
His songs wander aroundSuas músicas passeiam por aí
Sad bird of CaririTriste pássaro carão do Cariri
That flew searching for São FranciscoQue voou procurando o São Francisco
A come-and-go fluttering so skittishUm vem-vem voejando tão arisco
When it found Pernambuco, made a homeQuando achou Pernambuco, fez morada
Another myth stepped on Serra TalhadaOutro mito pisou Serra Talhada
And turned to dust alongside Virgulino's dustE fez-se pó junto ao pó de Virgulino
A cow killed Zé MarcolinoUma vaca matou Zé Marcolino
And I wouldn't bet José in a cattle driveE eu não dava José numa boiada

It was the cow that caused this cryFoi a vaca o motivo desse choro
Unintentionally made us so nostalgicSem querer nos causou tanta saudade
A poet is more usefulUm poeta tem mais utilidade
Than beef, milk, and leatherDo que carne de vaca, leite e couro
He was the son of Sumé and was worth goldEra filho de Sumé e valeu ouro
A telluric and inspired creatureCriatura telúrica e inspirada
Wrote a poem for the roadEscreveu um poema pra estrada
And succumbed on the roads of fateE sucumbiu nas estradas do destino
A cow killed Zé MarcolinoUma vaca matou Zé Marcolino
And I wouldn't bet José in a cattle driveE eu não dava José numa boiada