El Mayor
Silvio Rodriguez
The Major
The man was always made
Of all kinds of stuff
From fancy mansions
Or the rough side of town
Every era was a piece
Of a jigsaw puzzle
To climb the slope
Of the great animal kingdom
With one black hand
And another white as death
Mortal ingredients
Built up the major
Light of landowners
And of revolution
Skill of the swordplay
Events like a prisoner
Amalia left behind
By the bullet, the shame
Love. Or a firing squad
An old tale shaped his goodbye
Riding on
The major with his wound
And the more deadly
The cut, the more alive it is
Riding on
On a written palm
And from a distance
Of a hundred years, he rises again
Trotting on the foam
Followed by a sea
Of blacks with machetes
And without chains, he orders his horn
The call to slaughter and a century away
He sings our song and with a strong throat
He sings, scaring away the curse
Riding on
The major with his wound
And the more deadly
The cut, the more alive it is
Riding on
On a written palm
And from a distance
Of a hundred years, he rises again
