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No te asustes ni me huyas,
no he venido pa' vengarme;
si mañana, justamente,
ya me voy pa' no volver...
He venido a despedirme
y el gustazo quiero darme
de mirarte frente a frente
y en tus ojos campanearme,
silencioso, largamente,
como me miraba ayer.
He venido pa'que juntos
recordemos el pasado
como dos buenos amigos
que hace rato no se ven;
a acordarme de aquel tiempo
en que yo era un hombre honrado,
y el cariño de mi vieja
era un poncho que había echado
sobre mi alma noble y buena
contra el frío del desdén.
Una noche, la huesuda
me vistió el alma de duelo:
a mi buena madrecita
la llamó a su lado Dios;
y en mis sueños parecía
que la pobre, desde el cielo,
me decía que eras buena,
que confiara siempre en vos.
Pero me jugaste sucio
y, sediento de venganza,
mi cuchillo, en un mal rato
lo envainé en un corazón,
y más tarde, ya sereno,
muerta mi única esperanza,
unas lágrimas rebeldes
las sequé en un bodegón.
Me encerraron muchos años
en la sórdida gayola
y una tarde me largaron...
pa' mi bien o pa' mi mal...
fui vagando por las calles
y rodé como una bola,*
pa' comer un plato'e sopa
¡cuántas veces hice cola!
Las auroras me encontraron
atorrando en un umbral.
Hoy ya no me queda nada,
ni un refugio, estoy tan pobre;
solamente vine a verte
pa' dejarte mi perdón.
Te lo juro, estoy contento
que la dicha a vos te sobre.
Voy al campo a laburarla
pa' juntar algunos cobres,
pa' que no me falten flores
cuando esté dentro' el cajón. ...............
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Don’t get scared, don’t run away,
I haven’t come to avenge myself;
for tomorrow, as is only right,
I’m going away, never to return...
I’ve come to say goodbye,
to give myself the pleasure
of seeing you face to face;
and to gaze into your eyes*
silently, for a long time,
the way used to look into mine.
I’ve come so that together
we might remember the past
like two good friends
who haven’t seen each other in a while.
I recall that time
when I was an honest man
and my mother’s affection
was a poncho draped
over my good and noble soul
to shield me from the coldness of contempt.
One night the Grim Reaper*
dressed my soul in pain:
God called my dear mother
to His side;
and in my dreams it seemed
that from heaven the poor woman
was telling me that you were good,
that she would always trust you.
But you cheated on me
and, thirsty for vengeance,
my knife, in a bad moment,
plunged itself into a heart,*
and later, now calm,
my one hope shattered,
some stubborn tears
I dried in a tavern.
They locked me up for many years
in that filthy cage,*
and one afternoon they let me go...
for good or for ill.
I wandered the streets
aimlessly;*
How many times I stood on line
just to eat a plate of soup!
Daybreak found me
asleep on a doorstep.
Now I’ve got nothing left,
no place to stay, I’m so poor;
I only came to see you,
to forgive you.
I swear, I’m pleased
that you've got some happiness left.
I’ll go to work in the fields
to get together a few coins*
so I won’t be short of flowers
when I’m in my coffin.
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Ricardo Malerba was born on 24 August 1905. The song 24 de agosto ("August 24th") was composed by Pedro Laurenz with lyrics by Homero Manzi. It was recorded by Laurenz with Alberto Podestá on 16 April 1943. Ricardo Malerba recorded it with Orlando Medina on 6 October 1943 (Malerba and Medina, right; listen to the song below).
