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Songs of Water
Translations © by Grant Hicks
Song Cycle by Dante Andreo (b. 1949)
View original-language texts alone: Cantos del Agua
1. Agua ¿dónde vas?
Language: Spanish (Español)
Agua, ¿dónde vas? Riyendo voy por el río a las orillas del mar. Mar, ¿adónde vas? Río arriba voy buscando fuente para descansar. Chopo, y tú, ¿qué harás? No quiero decirte nada. Yo... ¡temblar! ¿Qué deseo, qué no deseo, por el río y por el mar? (Cuatro pájaros sin rumbo en el alto chopo están.)
by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
1.
Language: English
Water, where do you go? I go down the river laughing to the shores of the sea. Sea, where do you go? I go up the river seeking a spring to rest in. And you, poplar, what will you do? I don't want to tell you anything. I... tremble! What do I want, what don't I want, on the river and on the sea? (Four aimless birds are in the tall poplar.)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2026 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936), no title
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2026-09-15
Line count: 13
Word count: 72
Translation © by Grant Hicks
2. Cortaron tres árboles [sung text not yet checked]
Language: Spanish (Español)
Eran tres. (Vino el día con sus hachas.) Eran dos. (Alas rastreras de plata.) Era uno. Era ninguno. (Se quedó desnuda el agua.)
Text Authorship:
- by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936), "Cortaron tres árboles"
Go to the general single-text view
Confirmed with Federico García Lorca, Poet in Spain, New York: Alfred A. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2017, page 16.
by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
2. They cut down three trees
Language: English
There were three. (Day came with its axes.) There were two. (Low-flying wings of silver.) There was one. There was none. (The water was left naked.)
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2026 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936), "Cortaron tres árboles"
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2026-09-18
Line count: 7
Word count: 26
Translation © by Grant Hicks
3. Balada de los tres ríos
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.
Darro y Genil, torrecillas
muertas sobre los estanques.
...
¡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!
Text Authorship:
- by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936), "Baladilla de los tres ríos", appears in Poema del Cante Jondo, first published 1921
See other settings of this text.
by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936)
3. 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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Federico García Lorca (1898 - 1936), "Baladilla de los tres ríos", appears in Poema del Cante Jondo, first published 1921
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 32
Word count: 137
Translation © by Grant Hicks