Gallo del Cielo
Brian Burns Lyrics
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No money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in gold.
He rode into El Sueco, stole a rooster called El Gallo Del Cielo,
And he swam the Rio Grande with that fighter nestled deep beneath his arm.
El Gallo Del Cielo was a warrior born in Heaven, so the legends say,
His wings, they had been broken, he had one eye rollin' crazy in his head,
And he fought a hundred fights, but the legends say that one night near El
They fought Gallo seven times, and seven times he left brave roosters dead.
Hola, my there'sa, I am thinking of you now in San Antonio.
I have twenty-seven dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in
Gold.
Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo,
And I'll return to buy the land that Pancho Villa stole from Father long
Ago.
Outside of San Diego in the onion fields of Paco Monteverde,
The pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silk,
And they laughed when Zaragosa pulled the one-eyed Del Cielo from beneath
His coat,
But they cried when Zaragosa walked away with a thousand dollar bill.
Hola, my there'sa, I am thinking of you now in Santa Barbara.
I have fifteen-hundred dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in
Gold.
Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo,
And I'll return to buy the land that Pancho Villa stole from Father long
Ago.
Now the moon has gone to hiding, the lantern light spills shadows on the
Fighting sand
Where a wicked black named Zorro faces Gallo Del Cielo in the night.
But Carlos Zaragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his rooster's
Beak,
And he fears that he has lost the fifty-thousand dollars riding on the
Fight.
Hola, my there'sa, I am thinking of you now in Santa Clara.
Yes, the money is on the tabel and I'm holding to your good luck framed in
Gold,
And everything we've dreamed of is riding on the spurs of Del Cielo.
I pray that I'll return to buy the land Villa stole from Father long ago.
Then the signal, it was given, and the the roosters rose together high
Above the sand.
El Gallo Del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro's shiny breast.
They were separated quickly, but they rose and fought each other
Thirty-seven times,
And the legends say that everyone agreed that Del Cielo fought the best.
Then the screams of Zaragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa
Clara
As the beak of Del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his hand,
And they say that Zaragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho Villa
When Zorro rose up one last time and drove del Cielo to the sand.
Hola, my there'sa, I am thinking of you now in San Antonio.
I have no money in my pocket, I no longer have your picture framed in gold.
I buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del Cielo,
And I'll not return to buy the land Villa stole from Father long ago.
Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?
Does the scar upon my brother's face turn red when he hears mention of my
Name?
Do the people of El Sueco curse the death of Gallo Del Cielo?
Well, tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.
The song "Gallo Del Cielo" by Brian Burns tells the tale of Carlos Zaragosa, a man who left his home in Casas Grandes in search of a better life. On his journey, he stole a rooster called El Gallo Del Cielo, reputed to be a warrior from Heaven, and trained him for cockfighting. Zaragosa becomes obsessed with Gallo Del Cielo, betting all his money and even his locket of his sister's image framed in gold on the bird's victories. In the end, Zaragosa sacrifices everything for El Gallo Del Cielo, even burying his beloved pet's bones.
The lyrics of the song depict a man on a never-ending quest for wealth and status, willing to sacrifice everything for the chance of achieving his dream. Zaragosa sees Gallo Del Cielo as a symbol of his own potential success and the land his father was robbed of by Pancho Villa as the prize. However, Zaragosa's obsession with the rooster leads to his downfall, and he loses everything in his quest to make the bird a champion.
Line by Line Meaning
Carlos Zaragosa left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was full,
Carlos Zaragosa left his hometown Casas Grandes during the full moon without any money but carrying a locket with a picture of his sister made of gold.
He rode into El Sueco, stole a rooster called El Gallo Del Cielo,
He went to El Sueco and robbed a rooster named El Gallo Del Cielo.
And he swam the Rio Grande with that fighter nestled deep beneath his arm.
He swam across the Rio Grande holding the rooster fighter El Gallo Del Cielo securely in his arm.
El Gallo Del Cielo was a warrior born in Heaven, so the legends say,
According to legends, El Gallo Del Cielo was a warrior who was born in heaven.
His wings, they had been broken, he had one eye rollin' crazy in his head,
El Gallo Del Cielo's wings were already broken and he had one wild-looking eye.
And he fought a hundred fights, but the legends say that one night near El Sueco,
Despite fighting a hundred fights, the legend holds that one night, close to El Sueco,
They fought Gallo seven times, and seven times he left brave roosters dead.
They had El Gallo Del Cielo fight seven different roosters, each time defeating them and leaving them dead.
I have twenty-seven dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in Gold.
The artist only has 27 dollars but he has the picture of his beloved, along with the good luck charm of the gold-framed picture.
Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo,
The artist bets all his money on El Gallo Del Cielo for his fight tonight.
Outside of San Diego in the onion fields of Paco Monteverde,
In the onion fields of Paco Monteverde beyond San Diego,
The pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silk,
The best roosters from San Diego slept on luxuriant silk beds.
But they cried when Zaragosa walked away with a thousand dollar bill.
Everyone was in tears when Zaragosa left with a thousand dollars after winning the fight.
I have fifteen-hundred dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in gold.
The singer now has $1500 and still carries the good luck charm of his beloved's gold-framed picture.
And everything we've dreamed of is riding on the spurs of Del Cielo.
All the dreams and hopes are now riding on El Gallo Del Cielo's fighting ability.
Carlos Zaragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his rooster's beak,
Zaragosa is afraid of his rooster's broken beak.
And he fears that he has lost the fifty-thousand dollars riding on the fight.
He is afraid that he has lost the $50,000 he had bet on the fight.
Then the screams of Zaragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa Clara
Zaragosa screams outside Santa Clara when he sees El Gallo del Cielo's beak broken.
And they say that Zaragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho Villa
Zaragosa curses the bones of Pancho Villa when he sees El Gallo del Cielo's broken beak.
I buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del Cielo,
The singer buried the picture with the bones of his beloved rooster El Gallo del Cielo.
And I'll not return to buy the land Villa stole from Father long ago.
The artist has decided not to return to purchase the land that Villa had taken from his father.
Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?
The artist wonders if the rivers in his beloved hometown of Casas Grandes still run muddy.
Does the scar upon my brother's face turn red when he hears mention of my name?
The artist wonders if his brother still turns red at the mention of his name.
Do the people of El Sueco curse the death of Gallo Del Cielo?
The singer wonders if people from El Sueco still curse the death of El Gallo Del Cielo.
Well, tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.
The artist assures his family that they do not have to worry as he will not return to cause them any trouble or shame.
Contributed by Brooklyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.