El Prisionero

I find myself imprisoned behind the bars
behind the bars of my prison
could I sing, I cannot cry
the sad complaints of the heart

If it's not the boat or the skiff
that awaits me in the wide sea
it's the dreadful San Juan de Ulúa
where I will pay for my sins

One morning I went out to swear,
Oh holy sky, what happened
the deliberate verdict
condemned me like a guilty man

The agent asked for the death penalty,
Oh holy sky, what I felt
and I confess sincerely
that I shuddered like a child

Three days ago in the cell
a little bird came to sing
it was my mother who, in the form of an angel,
came to weep for her beloved son

When I have died, and among the seas,
may my remains go to rest
A prayer for the condemned
who was a murderer of so much love