El Cuento Carlos Ramón Fernandez (English Translation) Lyrics

The kitchen was filled
With the smell of homemade bread
Three plates on the table
Inviting to lunch
And two diligent hands
Whitened with flour
Working diligently
In the heart of the home

The man arrived from the countryside
With half a day’s work on his back
He greeted his partner
Enchanted by her gesture
And as he looked for the forehead he loved
Of the son he cherished so much
The kiss he offered
Was left unfulfilled

Because the ten-year-old boy
Who was a song of joy
Like a bedtime flower
With his white apron
With a veil of sadness
Clouding his eye
Turned and averted his head
When he tried to kiss him

The man was surprised
By the unexpected event
And seeking an answer
With a paternal gesture
Forgetting his weariness
He sat the boy on his lap
And gently asked him
The cause of his sorrow

Then the good boy
Who was always his hope
His concern, his burden
The Sun of his awakening
Answered with a trembling voice
Almost on the brink of tears
They told me at school
That you are not my dad

A round of silence
Turned around the table
A father searches for words
Difficult to find
And a mother in the kitchen
Stokes the green firewood
As if blaming the smoke
For making her cry

After a deep silence
In front of the sorrowful child
The moved man said
But with a firm tone
I’m going to tell you a story
That I never told you in your cradle
Because this story, my son
Is a true story

More than ten years ago
When spring arrived
Love made you a seed
In your mother’s womb
Who loved a poor young man
The best of my friends
But honest in his poverty
And as good as they come

Awaiting your arrival
They quickly became a couple
Under the shelter of a little ranch
Like a dove’s nest
Even though work was scarce
Through odd jobs and kisses
They faced life
With the faith they had

Time went on
And the moons passed
You were, you know, new to life
When the humble home
That sheltered their dreams
Was surrounded by misery
With its sad reality

Your poor mother had
Not a piece of hard bread
To nourish her nipples
When you wanted to suckle
A rickety old item
Would serve as your crib
And a tattered poncho
Would be your dreamed trousseau

Then the good lad
As a last hope
Went out to demand from the world
Justice and equality
A job that would honor him
As a father and as a man
So he could raise his son
With pride and dignity

He knocked on the doors without response
Of the richest estates
He asked the lords
Who minted a fortune
For work
And at the government’s doors
He knocked with a shiny cedar staff
Without finding anyone to listen
In his weary struggle

Then, desperate
On an unfortunate afternoon
He ambushed the paymaster of an estate
And stole their salaries
And as the traveler resisted
The misfortune’s dagger
Made him a criminal

With his silenced crime
He arrived at the house that night
With suitcases full
Of unused clothing
And in the hollow of his hands
Like a sacred treasure
For your mother’s hunger
The providence of bread

For this act, justice
Got involved in the case
And just before dawn
When the world saw you arrive
Like a cornered tiger
Defending its lair
The police killed him
For not wanting to surrender

I held him in my arms
Almost in his dying moments
And in his final breath
He asked me in his muttering
To marry your mother
To save your honor
And to raise you as a son
Without telling you the truth

With your unhappy mother
We fulfilled the promise
And since then this ranch
Is the home of the three
Where you are growing strong
Under my protection
And my name and my surname
Is my greatest asset

The boy raised his head
After listening to the story
And hugging him tightly
As his ten years allow
He shouted with joy
Don’t cry anymore, mommy
They didn’t know at school
That I had two dads