O Vello e o Sapo

Pucho Boedo's song 'O Vello e o Sapo' is a poignant narrative that delves into themes of loneliness, despair, and the harsh realities of life. The song is set in a rural landscape, where the imagery of a setting sun, returning sheep, and a weary old man paints a vivid picture of solitude and hardship. The old man, leaning on a stick, traverses the mountain, only to sit on a stone to catch his breath. His lament, '¡Ai! -dixo-, ¡qué triste!, ¡qué triste eu estóu!' (Oh! -he said-, how sad, how sad I am!), is met with the croaking of a frog, symbolizing a shared sense of sorrow and isolation.

The old man's story is one of profound loss and misfortune. He recounts a night when his house burned down, his wife died, and his livestock perished. The seeds he planted were lost, forcing him to sell his vineyards and gardens and wander the world as a beggar. His plea to the frog, 'Canta, sapo, canta; tí I eu ¡somos dous!' (Sing, frog, sing; you and I are two!), underscores his feeling of kinship with the frog, both being outcasts in their own ways. The frog's response, '¡Cro, cro!' (Croak, croak!), serves as a melancholic chorus to the old man's woes.

The song's final verses highlight the old man's existential struggle. He contrasts his fate with that of the frog, who finds a home in the mountains and sings its song, while he, born among men, sleeps among beasts and cannot find peace even in death. The closing imagery of the old man raising his fist to the heavens and the frog continuing its mournful croak encapsulates the song's themes of unending suffering and the search for meaning in a cruel world. Boedo's use of rural and natural elements, combined with the dialogue between the man and the frog, creates a powerful metaphor for human suffering and the indifferent universe.