Songs

Part of a series or song cycle:

Nicolás Guillén

Chévere del navajazo,

se vuelve él mismo navaja:

pica tajadas de luna,

mas la luna se le acaba;

pica tajadas de sombra,

mas la sombra se le acaba;

pica tajadas de canto,

mas el canto se le acaba;

y entonces pica que pica

carne de su negra mala.

English Translation © Richard Stokes

The dandy of the knife thrust

himself becomes a knife:

he cuts slices of the moon,

but the moon is fading on him;

he cuts slices of shadow,

but the shadow is fading on him,

he cuts slices of song,

but the song is fading on him;

and then he cuts up, cuts up

the flesh of his evil black woman.

Translations by Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes published in the The Spanish Song Companion (Gollancz, 1992)

Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish composer and music critic.

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