Gypsy Ballads

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895 - 1968)

View original-language texts alone: Romancero Gitano

1. Baladilla de los tres ríos
 (Sung text)
Language: Spanish (Español) 
El río Guadalquivir
va entre naranjos y olivos.
Los dos ríos de Granada
bajan de la nieve al trigo.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!

El río Guadalquivir
tiene las barbas granates.
Los dos ríos de Granada
uno llanto y otro sangre.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue por el aire!

Para los barcos de vela,
Sevilla tiene un camino;
por el agua de Granada
sólo reman los suspiros.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!

Guadalquivir, alta torre
y viento en los naranjales.
Dauro y Genil, torrecillas
muertas sobre los estanques.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue por el aire!

¡Quién dirá que el agua lleva
un fuego fatuo de gritos!

¡Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!

Lleva azahar, lleva olivas,
Andalucía, a tus mares.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue por el aire!

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Confirmed with Federico García Lorca, Die Gedichte: Spanisch-Deutsch, ausgewählt und übertragen von Enrique Beck, Band 1, Göttingen: Wallstein Verlag, 2008, pages 66 and 68.


by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
1. Little Ballad of the Three Rivers
Language: English 
The Guadalquivir River
runs between orange and olive trees.
The two rivers of Granada
descend from the snow to the wheat.
 
Alas, love
that vanished and never returned!
 
The Guadalquivir River
has deep red whiskers.
The two rivers of Granada,
one tears and the other blood.
 
Alas, love
that vanished into the air!
 
For sailing ships
Seville has a path;
in the waters of Granada
there row only sighs.
 
Alas, love
that vanished and never returned!
 
Guadalquivir, tall tower
and wind in the orange groves.
Dauro and Genil, little towers
standing dead above the ponds.
 
Alas, love
that vanished into the air!
 
Who is to say that the water bears
a will-o'-the-wisp of cries!
 
Alas, love
that vanished and never returned!
 
Carry orange blossoms, carry olives,
Andalusia, to your seas.
 
Alas, love
that vanished into the air!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 32
Word count: 137

Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. La guitarra
 (Sung text)
Language: Spanish (Español) 
Empieza el llanto
de la guitarra.
Se rompen las copas
de la madrugada.
Empieza el llanto
de la guitarra.
Es inútil callarla.
Es imposible
callarla.
Llora monótona
como llora el agua,
como llora el viento
sobre la nevada.
Es imposible
callarla.
Llora por cosas
lejanas.
Arena del Sur caliente
que pide camelias blancas.
Llora flecha sin blanco,
la tarde sin mañana,
y el primer pájaro muerto
sobre la rama.
¡Oh, guitarra!
Corazón malherido
por cinco espadas.

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by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
2. The Guitar
Language: English 
The weeping of the guitar
begins.
The goblets of the dawn
are shattered.
The weeping of the guitar
begins.
It is useless to silence it.
It is impossible
to silence it.
Monotonous, it weeps
as the waters weep,
as the wind weeps
over the snowfall.
It is impossible
to silence it,
It weeps for things
far away.
Burning sands of the South
that long for white camellias.
It mourns the arrow without a target,
the afternoon without a morning,
and the first bird dead
on the branch.
Oh, guitar!
Heart gravely wounded
by five swords.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 26
Word count: 95

Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. Puñal
 (Sung text)
Language: Spanish (Español) 
El puñal
entra en el corazón,
como la reja del arado
en el yermo.

No.
No me lo claves.
No.

El puñal,
como un rayo de sol,
incendia las terribles
hondonadas.

No.
No me lo claves.
No.

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by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
3. Dagger
Language: English 
The dagger
enters into the heart,
like the blade of the plow
into barren soil.
 
No.
Do not stab me.
No.
 
The dagger,
like a beam of sunlight,
sets fire to the terrible
ravines.
 
No.
Do not stab me.
No.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 40

Translation © by Grant Hicks
4. Procesión
 (Sung text)
Language: Spanish (Español) 
I. Procesión
 Por la calleja vienen
 extraños unicornios.
 ¿De qué campo,
 de qué bosque mitológico?
 Más cerca,
 ya parecen astrónomos.
 Fantásticos Merlines
 y el Ecce Homo,
 Durandarte encantado.
 Orlando furioso.

II. Paso
 Virgen con miriñaque,
 virgen de la Soledad,
 abierta como un inmenso
 tulipán.
 En tu barco de luces
 vas
 por la alta marea
 de la ciudad,
 entre saetas turbias
 y estrellas de cristal.
 Virgen con miriñaque
 tú vas
 por el río de la calle,
 ¡hasta el mar!

III. Saeta
 Cristo moreno
 pasa
 de lirio de Judea
 a clavel de España.

 ¡Miradlo, por dónde viene!

 De España.
 Cielo limpio y oscuro,
 tierra tostada,
 y cauces donde corre
 muy lenta el agua.
 Cristo moreno,
 con las guedejas quemadas,
 los pómulos salientes
 y las pupilas blancas.

 ¡Miradlo, por dónde va!

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by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
4. Procession
Language: English 
I. Procession
Along the alleyway come
strange unicorns.
From what field,
From what mythical forest?
Closer now,
they appear to be astronomers.
Fantastical Merlins
and the Ecce Homo,
enchanted Durendal,
Orlando Furioso.
 
II. Passage
Virgin in crinoline,
virgin of Solitude,
open like an immense
tulip.
In your ship of lights
you travel
on the high tide
of the city,
among turbulent saetas
and crystalline stars.
Virgin in crinoline
you travel
on the river of the street,
down to the sea!
 
III. Saeta
Swarthy Christ
passes
from the lily of Judea
to the carnation of Spain.
 
Look where he comes from!
 
From Spain.
Clear and dark sky,
seared earth,
and channels where the water
runs very slowly.
Swarthy Christ,
With burnt locks,
prominent cheekbones
and white pupils.
 
Look where he is going!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Note for stanza 1, line 9: Ecce Homo is Latin for "Behold the Man," and refers to the scourged Christ presented to the crowd by Pilate.
Note for stanza 1, line 10: Durendal was the name of the sword wielded by the medieval epic hero Roland.
Note for stanza 1, line 11: Orlando Furioso is a 16th-century epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto on the subject of Roland.
Note for stanza 2, line 10, and the title of stanza 3: A saeta is a sacred song in flamenco style.


This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 42
Word count: 133

Translation © by Grant Hicks
5. Memento
 (Sung text)
Language: Spanish (Español) 
Cuando yo me muera,
enterradme con mi guitarra
bajo la arena.

Cuando yo me muera,
entre los naranjos
y la hierbabuena.

Cuando yo me muera,
enterradme si queréis
en una veleta.

¡Cuando yo me muera!

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by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
5. Memento
Language: English 
When I die,
bury me with my guitar
beneath the sand.
 
When I die,
between the orange trees
and the mint.
 
When I die,
bury me if you wish
in a weather vane.
 
When I die!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 10
Word count: 36

Translation © by Grant Hicks
6. Baile
 (Sung text)
Language: Spanish (Español) 
La Carmen está bailando
por las calles de Sevilla.
Tiene blancos los cabellos
y brillantes las pupilas.

¡Niñas, corred las cortinas!

En su cabeza se enrosca
una serpiente amarilla,
y va soñando en el baile
con galanes de otros días.

¡Niñas, corred las cortinas!

Las calles están desiertas
y en los fondos se adivinan,
corazones andaluces
buscando viejas espinas.

¡Niñas, corred las cortinas!

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by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
6. Dance
Language: English 
Carmen is dancing
through the streets of Seville.
She has fair hair
and shining pupils.
 
Girls, draw the curtains!
 
On her head is coiled
a yellow snake,
and in her dreams she dances
with suitors from former days.
 
Girls, draw the curtains!
 
The streets are deserted
and in their depths can be glimpsed
Andalusian hearts
seeking out old thorns.
 
Girls, draw the curtains!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 15
Word count: 63

Translation © by Grant Hicks
7. Crótalo
 (Sung text)
Language: Spanish (Español) 
Crótalo.
Crótalo.
Crótalo.
Escarabajo sonoro.

En la araña
de la mano
rizas el aire
cálido,
y te ahogas en tu trino
de palo.

Crótalo.
Crótalo.
Crótalo.
Escarabajo sonoro.

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by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
7. Castanet
Language: English 
Castanet.
Castanet.
Castanet.
Resonant beetle.
 
In the spider
of the hand
you crimp the
hot air,
and drown in your
wooden trill.
 
Castanet.
Castanet.
Castanet.
Resonant beetle.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 27

Translation © by Grant Hicks