Poem Review : Romance Sonámbulo by Federico Garcia Lorca

Romance sonámbulo.
A Gloria Giner y Fernando de los Ríos

Original                                    Translation                               Metaphors Explanation  

Verde que te quiero verde.        Green, I desire you green.       Green = olive green skin of the gypsies
Verde viento. Verdes ramas.     Green wind. Green vines. 
El barco sobre la mar               The ship is at the sea                 The world is in order. 
y el caballo en la montaña.       and the horse in the mountain.    Horse = manliness mountain= female
Con la sombra en la cintura     With the shadow at her waist       or dawn  
ella sueña en su baranda          she dreams by the railing
verde carne, pelo verde,          green skin, green hair,
con ojos de fría plata.              with eyes like cold silver.
Verde que te quiero verde.      Green, I desire you green.
Bajo la luna gitana,                  Beneath the gypsy moon,
las cosas la están mirando       the things are watching her
y ella no puede mirarlas.          but she does not see them.     

Verde que te quiero verde.       Green, I desire you green.
Grandes estrellas de escarcha,  Gaint Icy stars march,
vienen con el pez de sombra    they come with the fish's shadow       fish= the constellation of Pisces
que abre el camino del alba.     opening the way for dawn. 
La higuera frota su viento         The tree float beneath the wind
con la lija de sus ramas,          with fruits beneath its vines,
y el monte, gato garduño,        by the mount, screeched a cat,             some one approaching spooked a cat
eriza sus pitas agrias.               he sharpen's his claws.
¿Pero quién vendrá? ¿Y por dónde...?  Who comes? And from where?
Ella sigue en su baranda,          She still remains by the balcony,
verde carne, pelo verde,          green skin, green hair,
soñando en la mar amarga.      her dreams as bitter as the sea.

Compadre, quiero cambiar     Friend, I wish to trade                     the lover has arrived
mi caballo por su casa,           my horse for my house                      he wishes to settle down
mi montura por su espejo,     my seat for a mirror,
mi cuchillo por su manta.       my knife for a bed sheet,
Compadre, vengo sangrando  Friend, I am bleeding
desde los puertos de Cabra.    as far as port Cabra.                    he's been traveling wounded for a while   

Si yo pudiera, mocito,            If I could young man,
este trato se cerraba.              I would close the deal.
Pero yo ya no soy yo,           However, I am not myself,
ni mi casa es ya mi casa.        My house is no longer my home.     his hands are tied, he cannot help him.

Compadre, quiero morir      Friend, I wish to die
decentemente en mi cama.    In a decent bed.
De acero, si puede ser,        Of steel ,at least,                            he desires to rest
con las sábanas de holanda. with rough bed sheet.                    he does not care about the quality of the bed
¿ No veis la herida que tengo  Can't you see the wound
desde el pecho a la garganta?  that goes from my chest to my neck?

Trescientas rosas morenas     300 brown roses
lleva tu pechera blanca.         cover your white shirt.
Tu sangre rezuma y huele       Your blood surges and smells
alrededor de tu faja.               around his waistband.
Pero yo ya no soy yo.           But I am no longer myself.
Ni mi casa es ya mi casa.      My home is no longer my home.

Dejadme subir al menos       At least let me climb
hasta las altas barandas,       a top of the balcony,
¡Dejadme subir!, dejadme    Let me Climb! Let me
hasta las altas barandas.        climb the high balcony.
Barandales de la luna            The balcony of the moon                moon= death , water = life
por donde retumba el agua.  were the water flows.              finding death in the waters of his lover

Ya suben los dos compadres   The friends rise
hacia las altas barandas.         up the high balcony.
Dejando un rastro de sangre.   they leave behind a trail of blood,
Dejando un rastro de lágrimas. a trail of tears.
Temblaban en los tejados          the roof trembles, 
farolillos de hojalata.                loosening the tiles.
Mil panderos de cristal,          1000 crystal tiles, 
herían la madrugada.               wound the dawn. 

Verde que te quiero verde,      Qreen, I want you green.
verde viento, verdes ramas.     green wind, green vines.
Los dos compadres subieron.  The two friends arrived.
El largo viento dejaba              The surging wind
en la boca un raro gusto           carried a strange taste
de hiel, de menta y de albahaca. of gun power, steel and iron.    this alludes to the approaching armed men

¡Compadre! ¿Dónde está, dime?  Friend, where is she?
¿Dónde está tu niña amarga?        where is your sad daughter?

¡Cuántas veces te esperó!            How long has she waited!
¡Cuántas veces te esperara,         and she still waits for you,
cara fresca, negro pelo,               fresh face, black hair,
en esta verde baranda!               on this green balcony!

Sobre el rostro del aljibe,         On top of this green face,
se mecía la gitana.                     mused the gypsy.
Verde carne, pelo verde,          Green Hair, green hair,
con ojos de fría plata.              with cold silver eyes.
Un carámbano de luna          A basin holds the moon
la sostiene sobre el agua.       above the water.
La noche se puso íntima        night became intimate        the lovers have met
como una pequeña plaza.     on this small plaza.
Guardias civiles borrachos   Drunken civil guards
en la puerta golpeaban.        are knocking on the door.

Verde que te quiero verde.     Green, I want you green.
Verde viento. Verdes ramas.  Green wind, green vines.
El barco sobre la mar.            The ship is at sea.
Y el caballo en la montaña.    And the horse on the mountain.

Poem Review : Romance Sonámbulo by Federico Garcia Lorca

This is a love poem by Federico Garcia Lorca. I am going to translate this poem. I will explain complicated metaphors as they show up. I will try to keep the explanation parallel to the translation. Thus, we will have 3 fancy columns. This poem is about a gypsy women who is waiting for her lover. Her lover has arrived and he is dying. He is escaping from the law and wishes to die in her arms. He is begging her father to let him see her. He tells him that he has no where else to go. The father is sadden by this. He told the lover how she waited for him. When he dies she will still keep waiting to meet him in death. However, he cannot let him stay at the house. The lover convinces him to at least let him climb the balcony to see her.  That is the strong love she feels for her. The guards or police are knocking on the door. He climbs up to her window and dies while making to love with her. This is really a beautiful, tragic love poem. Its repetitions bears the semblance of a gypsy song. Lorca was already familiar with the song style of the gypsies. Thus, this poem is part of his numerous gypsy poems. In any case, this poem deserves 5 star rating.