Numerology
Cançó del lladre
What a beautiful piece this is—another one, if I recall correctly, that I heard over the radio and decided to give a try (and indeed, it turned out to be eminently playable). I have something of a soft spot for drop-D tuning pieces like this one, and I also have a soft spot for these beautiful, traditional Catalan songs. This one means “song of the thief.” It’s actually rather difficult to think of a title for this piece that is less thematically appropriate than “song of the thief.” Wouldn’t a thief song be in a minor key, fleeting and fast? This piece sounds like a lullaby. But it isn’t: the words are the sad lament of a thief at the end of his life, about to be executed.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Quan jo n'era petitet
festejava i presumia,
espardenya blanca al peu
i mocador a la falsia.
Adéu, clavell morenet!
Adéu, estrella del dia!
I ara, que ne sóc grandet,
m'he posat a mala vida.
Me só posat a robar,
ofici de cada dia.
Adéu, clavell morenet!
Adéu, estrella del dia!
Vaig robar un traginer
que venia de la fira,
li prenguí tots els diners
i la mostra que duia.
Adéu, clavell morenet!
Adéu, estrella del dia!
Quan he tingut prou diners,
he robat també una nina,
l'he robada amb falsedat,
dient que m'hi casaria.
Adéu, clavell morenet!
Adéu, estrella del dia!
La justícia m'ha pres
i en presó fosca en duia.
La justícia m'ha pres
i em farà pagar amb la vida.
When I was young
I partied and boasted,
white sandals on my feet,
handkerchief at my waist.
Farewell, dusky carnation!
Farewell, star of the day!
And now that I’m grown,
I’ve turned to the wicked life.
I’ve turned to stealing,
my daily job.
Farewell, dusky carnation!
Farewell, star of the day!
I robbed a merchant
who came to the fair,
took all his money
and the samples he carried.
Farewell, dusky carnation!
Farewell, star of the day!
When I had enough money,
I robbed a girl, too,
I robbed her with falsehood,
saying that I’d marry her.
Farewell, dusky carnation!
Farewell, star of the day!
The law has taken me
and carried me to a dark prison.
The law has taken me
and will make me pay with my life.
