by
Rafael Obligado (1851 - 1920)
La muerte del payador
See originalLanguage: Spanish (Español)
...
“Adiós, luz del alma mía,
adiós, flor de mis llanuras,
manantial de las dulzuras
que mi espíritu bebía;
Adiós, mi única alegría,
dulce afán de mi existir;
Santos Vega se va a hundir
en lo immenso de esos llanos...
¡Lo han vencido! ¡Llegó hermanos,
el momento de morir!”
...
Ni aún cenizas en el suelo
de Santos Vega quedaron,
y los años dispersaron
los testigos de aquel duelo.
Pero un viejo y noble abuelo,
así el cuento terminó:
“Y si cantando murió
aquel que vivió cantando,
fue, decía suspirando,
porque el diablo lo venció».
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 16, 18 of the original text.
Note: Santos Vega: a mythically invincible, singing gaucho. Origin: Argentina. The popular legend describes how he was defeated only by the devil, disguised as Juan sin Ropa.
Composition:
Text Authorship:
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Dr Malinda Haslett) , "The Death of the Gaucho", copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Dr Malinda Haslett
This text was added to the website: 2024-06-25
Line count: 180
Word count: 809
Language: English after the Spanish (Español)
...
“Goodbye, light of my soul,
Goodbye, flower from my garden,
spring of sweetness,
from which my spirit drank:
Goodbye, my only happiness,
Sweet desire of my existence;
Saint Vega is to be buried
In those immense plains...
He is defeated! It has arrived, Brothers,
the moment of death!
...
Not even the ashes of Saint Vega
remain on the ground,
and the years have dispersed
as have the witnesses of the duel.
But an old and sage man,
finished the story thusly:
“And if he died singing,
he who lived singing,
it was,” he said sighing,
“because the devil was the victor.”
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 16, 18 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2025 by Dr Malinda Haslett, (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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Based on:
- a text in Spanish (Español) by Rafael Obligado (1851 - 1920), "La Muerte del Payador"
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2025-09-11
Line count: 180
Word count: 102
