Era Assim Naquele Tempo
César Oliveira e Rogério Melo
It Was Like That in Those Times
It was like that in those times... of the old ranch dances
Approaching with a swagger, wearing the dawn of a gaucho
The commotion was seen in the face of the countryman
And the .38 revolver choked with caramel.
It was like that in those times... in the universe of the Three Sales
If one cowboy turned into income, another one changed homeland
If by chance they caught a 'guaxa' of a 'cristiano' in Uruguay
'A son without a father' was left behind, mourned with bagpipe music.
Beyond Upamaroty, long before Vacaiquá
Between Santana and Rivera, leaning against Dom Pedrito
Who played with fate from Villa Indarte to here
Asked to 'meet' a one-way cattle drive.
When an insult blew in the night's commotion
A machete whipped, flashing in the rush
A poncho on the left arm, supporting the 'puaço'
Set the pace of the dance that was performed in the dark.
And life was lost like that, for nothing or very little
A disagreement in the 'troco', a retort over an ace
Some bunch of horses, 'of course' wrongly judged
Or a dishonored sister... and then it was 'too much'.
Some went for 'calaveras', others went for cowards
And sometimes, with great fanfare, the deceased was a brave one
It was like that in those times... and the justice that prevailed
Was honor and word, the highest law of those people.
The crosses that wind through the spaces between the lines
Are longings that agonize in the sharp edge of the wind
They remained there marking the history that is noted
When destiny veils... memory, reason, and time.
