REQUIEM FOR A BULL (REQUIEM PARA UM BOI)

—Original Portuguese lyrics by Flávio Gontijo—
(English version by Wilbur Skeels*)
(see octavo CQ2209)

Meu boi morreu. Boi vem chegando, vem vindo pra morte, Já sabe que deve morrer. Olha o boi, A! Meu boi morreu, vive para a morte. A paz que já quiz sonhar A terra te esquecera. Manhazinha vem boiadero, Vem trazendo o boi, Guarda sua vez no cercado. Vai andando pelos campos, Segue seu caminho, Terra de seu pai, onde nasceu. Meu boi morreu. Morte, vive. Paz que já quiz sonhar, Meu boi morreu.

My bull is dead. My bull approaches, he comes to his death, And already he knows he must die. See the bull! Ah! My bull is dead, living only for dying. The peace of which you dream The land will forget you there. In the morning here is the cowboy Coming with my bull, Waiting for his turn in the stockyard. There he's going through the fields, He follows his pathway, To the fatherland where he was born. My bull is dead. Dying, living: Peace of which you dream. My bull is dead.

* © Copyright, Cantus Quercus Press, 2002. All rights reserved.

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