Como yo lo siento
Oscar Chavez Lyrics
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Con ojos de forastero
Porque no es como aparenta
Sino como yo lo siento.
Yo soy cardo de estos llanos
Totoral de esos esteros
Ñapindá de aquellos montes
Y no va a creer si le digo
Que hace poco lo comprendo.
Debajo de ese arbolito
Suelo amarguear en silencio
Si habré lavado cebaduras
Pa intimar y conocerlo.
No da leña ni pa un frio
No da flor ni pa remedio,
Y es un pañuelo de luto
La sombra en que me guarezco.
No tiene un pájaro amigo
Pero pa mi es compañero.
Pa que mentar mi tapera, velay
Velay, si se está cayendo,
Le han rigoreau los agostos
De una ponchada de invierno.
La vi, la vi quedarse vacia,
La vi... la vi poblarse e recuerdos,
Sólo por no abandonarme
Le hace pata ancha a los vientos
Y con gotera de luna,
Viene a estrellar mi desvelo.
Mi canto conserva cosas
Guardadas en su silencio,
Que yo gane campo afuera
Que yo perdí tiempo adentro.
No venga a tasarme el campo
Con ojos de forastero,
Porque no es como aparenta, sino,
Como yo siento.
Su cinto no tiene plata...
Ni pa pagar mis recuerdos.
The lyrics to Oscar Chavez's song "Como Yo Lo Siento" speaks to the relationship between a person and the land they call home. The singer is warning an outsider not to judge their land based on what they see with their eyes alone but rather to understand it based on how the singer feels about it. The singer describes themselves as a "cardo de estos llanos" (thistle of these plains), a "totoral de esos esteros" (reedbed of those wetlands), and a "ñapindá de aquellos montes" (thornbush of those mountains). The singer is not just describing the land as it appears to outsiders, but rather expressing their intimate connection to it. For them, the land is not just a place, but a part of their identity.
The singer also makes reference to a tree under which they often spend time contemplating life. They have even washed out cebaduras (a type of gourd used to drink mate) there, which is considered an act of intimacy with the land. The tree may not provide firewood or flowers, but it still serves as a source of comfort and shelter, even in its apparent state of disrepair. The final line, "su cinto no tiene plata, ni pa pagar mis recuerdos" (his belt has no silver to pay for my memories), suggests that even if an outsider were to try to buy their way into understanding the land, they could never truly capture the singer's connection to it.
Overall, the song "Como Yo Lo Siento" speaks to the tension between an individual's deep connection to their home and the challenges of defending that connection against outsiders who may not understand it. It is a passionate expression of love for the land and a warning against those who may treat it superficially.
Line by Line Meaning
No venga a tasarme el campo
Do not come to assess the countryside
Con ojos de forastero
With eyes of a stranger
Porque no es como aparenta
Because it is not what it seems
Sino como yo lo siento.
But how I feel it to be
Yo soy cardo de estos llanos
I am a thistle of these plains
Totoral de esos esteros
Reed of those wetlands
Ñapindá de aquellos montes
Ñapindá of those mountains
Piedra mora de mis cerros
Moorish stone of my hills
Y no va a creer si le digo
And you won't believe if I say to you
Que hace poco lo comprendo.
That recently I comprehend it
Debajo de ese arbolito
Under that little tree
Suelo amarguear en silencio
I tend to silently feel bitter
Si habré lavado cebaduras
How often have I washed the mate cups
Pa intimar y conocerlo.
To be close and know it well
No da leña ni pa un frio
It doesn't give firewood for cold weather
No da flor ni pa remedio,
It doesn't give flowers for medicine
Y es un pañuelo de luto
And it's a mourning handkerchief
La sombra en que me guarezco.
The shade where I take shelter
No tiene un pájaro amigo
It doesn't have a bird friend
Pero pa mi es compañero.
But for me it is a companion
Pa que mentar mi tapera, velay
Why even mention my old shack, behold
Velay, si se está cayendo,
Behold, if it's falling apart
Le han rigoreau los agostos
The August heat has been hard on it
De una ponchada de invierno.
From a winter's storm
La vi, la vi quedarse vacia,
I saw it, I saw it become empty
La vi... la vi poblarse e recuerdos,
I saw it... I saw it fill with memories
Sólo por no abandonarme
Just to not abandon me
Le hace pata ancha a los vientos
It withstands the gusts of wind
Y con gotera de luna,
And with moonlit leaks
Viene a estrellar mi desvelo.
It comes to crash into my insomnia
Mi canto conserva cosas
My song preserves things
Guardadas en su silencio,
Hidden in its silence
Que yo gane campo afuera
That I win outside the countryside
Que yo perdí tiempo adentro.
That I lost time inside it
Su cinto no tiene plata...
Its belt doesn't have any silver...
Ni pa pagar mis recuerdos.
Nor to pay for my memories.
Contributed by Jacob K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.