Ritual de Tropa Larga

Wrapped in my poncho tight
And a wide brim for the weather
If I need to get ready.
I settle in and head out again
Driving cattle for the folks,
I'll be there in eight or ten days.

The foreman of this crew
Told me it’s top-notch
And I can take a wild one.
A cattle driver earns little,
Old "ildo" and crazy "vandico"
Help me gallop along.

Already on the first break
If I get the herd together
It’s easy to sort it out.
I stop by Ignacio's store,
Trade my blanket and backbone
So I won’t run out of my vices.

I got baptized on a round-up
In stormy nights,
With the wind as my godfather
Shaking the brush,
And a chattering bell
Decorated beautiful nights
Like a bell in a cathedral.

Only those raised on the road
Herding these long drives
Know the depths of a corridor.
With the whole herd ahead
Two steers stand firm
To make a good guarantor.

Ritual of long drives
Partners of the early mornings
A cattleman’s fate to roam.
I feel like a king in the saddle
And the back of my horse
Is the holiest altar to me.