El Tata Esta Viejo
Hernan Figueroa Reyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lo vi la otra noche
Armar su cigarro con dificultad
El pucho encendido temblaba
En sus labios
Como un tucu-tucu en la oscuridad
Ya no se levanta a matear temprano
Se pasa las horas junto a la tranquera
Mirando al camino pasar y pasar
Recuerdo a mi tata en sus años mozos
Fuerte como un tala
Como un ñandubay
Hoy parece un sauce 'ta to'ito encorvado
Que pena si un día me llega a faltar
Hoy parece un sauce 'ta to'ito encorvado
Que pena si un día me llega a faltar
El tata está viejo, si un día ha de irse
Que ni se de cuenta, al tranquito nomás
Diosito te pido que apagues su vida
Cual se apaga un pucho solo sin pitar
Recuerdo a mi tata en sus años mozos
Fuerte como un tala
Como un ñandubay
Hoy parece un sauce 'ta todo encorvado
Que pena si un día me llega a faltar
Hoy parece un sauce 'ta todo encorvado
Que pena si un día me llega a faltar...
The song "El tata está viejo" by Hernán Figueroa Reyes is a tribute to the singer's aging father, who is still alive but struggling with the effects of old age. In the opening verse, the singer describes seeing his father trying to light his cigarette with difficulty, his trembling lips struggling to hold the flame steady. The image is poignant and suggests that the father is struggling with the most basic of tasks.
The following verse paints a more elaborate picture of the father's physical decline. He no longer rises early to prepare mate (a traditional South American tea). He no longer rides his horse at a gallop, but moves more slowly on foot. Instead, he spends his time sitting by the fence, watching the road go by. The singer remembers his father in his prime as a strong, sturdy man, but now sees him as frail and bent over, like a weeping willow.
The chorus of the song repeats the singer's fear that he will lose his father one day, and asks that his passing be as gentle and unnoticed as possible. The repeated comparison to the willow tree reinforces the theme of aging and the fleeting nature of life.
Overall, the song is a tribute to the special bond between a father and his child, and to the inevitability of aging and death. It speaks to the universal experience of watching our loved ones grow old and reminds us to cherish the time we have with them.
Line by Line Meaning
El tata está viejo
The singer's father is old
Lo vi la otra noche
The singer saw his father the other night
Armar su cigarro con dificultad
The father has difficulty rolling his cigarette
El pucho encendido temblaba
The lit cigarette shakes on his father's lips
En sus labios
The cigarette is held on his father's lips
Como un tucu-tucu en la oscuridad
The father moves around like a small animal in the dark
Ya no se levanta a matear temprano
The father no longer wakes up early to drink mate
No pasa al galope, va al trote nomás
The father's pace has slowed down
Se pasa las horas junto a la tranquera
The father spends hours by the gate
Mirando al camino pasar y pasar
He watches the road pass by
Recuerdo a mi tata en sus años mozos
The singer remembers his father's younger years
Fuerte como un tala
The father was strong like a tala tree
Como un ñandubay
The father was also strong like a ñandubay tree
Hoy parece un sauce 'ta to'ito encorvado
The father now looks bent over like a willow tree
Que pena si un día me llega a faltar
The singer would be sad if his father were to die
El tata está viejo, si un día ha de irse
The father is old, and if he were to pass away
Que ni se de cuenta, al tranquito nomás
The artist hopes that the father passes peacefully and without pain
Diosito te pido que apagues su vida
The singer prays to God to take his father's life
Cual se apaga un pucho solo sin pitar
The singer wants his father's death to be as easy as when one smokes a cigarette until it goes out
Hoy parece un sauce 'ta todo encorvado
The father continues to look like a bent over willow tree
Que pena si un día me llega a faltar
The artist would be sad if his father were to die
Contributed by Vivian S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.