Lyrics and translation Inti Illimani - El Lazo

El Lazo

Cuando el sol se inclinaba,
Lo encontré,
En un rancho sombrío,
De Lonquén,
En un rancho de pobres,
Lo encontré,
Cuando el sol se inclinaba,
En Lonquén.
Sus manos siendo tan viejas
Eran fuertes pa' trenzar,
Eran rudas y eran tiernas
Con el cuero 'el animal.
El lazo como serpiente
Se enroscaba en el nogal
Y en cada lazo la huella
De su vida y de su pan.
Cuánto tiempo hay en sus manos
Y en su apagado mirar.
Y nadie ha dicho: está bueno,
Ya no debes trabajar.
Las sombras vienen laceando
La ultima luz del día,
El viejo trenza unos versos
Pa' maniatar la alegría.
Sus lazos han recorrido
Sur y norte, cerro y mar,
Pero el viejo la distancia
Nunca la supo explicar.
Su vida deja en los lazos
Aferrados al nogal,
Después llegará la muerte
Y también lo laceará.
Qué importa si el lazo es firme
Y dura la eternidad,
Laceando por algún campo
El viejo descansará.
Cuando el sol se inclinaba,
Lo encontré,
En un rancho sombrío
De Lonquén,
En un rancho de pobres
Lo encontré,
Cuando el sol se inclinaba
En Lonquén.

The Lasso

As the sun was setting,
I found him,
In a gloomy little ranch,
In Lonquén,
In a poor little ranch,
I found him,
As the sun was setting,
In Lonquén.
His hands, being so old
Were strong enough to braid,
They were rough and they were tender
With the animal's leather.
The lasso like a serpent
Coiled around the walnut tree
And in each lasso the trace
Of his life and his bread.
How much time there is in his hands
And in his dimming gaze.
And no one has said: That's enough,
You no longer have to work.
The shadows come lacing
The last light of the day,
The old man braids some verses
To bind the joy.
His lassos have traveled
South and north, through mountains and sea,
But the old man never knew
How to explain the distance.
He leaves his life in the lassos
Clinging to the walnut tree,
Afterwards death will come
And it will also lasso him.
What does it matter if the lasso is firm
And lasts for eternity,
Lassoing through some field
The old man will rest.
As the sun was setting,
I found him,
In a gloomy little ranch
In Lonquén,
In a poor little ranch
I found him,
As the sun was setting
In Lonquén.