Canto al Rio Uruguay
Atahualpa Yupanqui
Song to the Uruguay River
This river that passes as if it didn't pass
As if it were a game of stay and go
That hides among the ceibos its malón of tacuaras
While releasing in the foam its goodbye message
This river that seeks the deep cliffs
To cry alone for everything it lost
That looks with gentle eyes at the old barges
The child looks for nests and the singing boatman
This river at one time was death in bloom
With a cry and spear of the Chaná empire
When even the wind risked its life
To observe the bee on the mburucuyá
And then in the journey of many springs
It was romantically like a prism of light
And troubadour vihuelas were born
Where they tuned verses of the old Yamandú
I come to be the shadow of a distant summit
The seed of a dream, perhaps a song
And I feel that this river has an indigenous voice
That goes down the mountain but never leaves
