De Cudillero

Por esa cuesta abajo que hay saliendo de la casa,

Down that slope coming out of the house,

sintió el frío en los huesos de la limpia madrugada,

he felt the cold in his bones of the clean dawn,

rondaba en su cabeza en la primera luz del alba,

it hovered in his mind in the first light of dawn,

qué haría si mañana no saliera al mar su barca.

what would he do if his boat didn't go out to sea tomorrow.

Peleando veinte años para al fin llegar a nada,

Fighting for twenty years to finally achieve nothing,

el faro y las mareas reconocen sus pisadas,

the lighthouse and the tides recognize his footsteps,

apenas le nacieron como un juego se embarcaba,

barely born, he embarked as if it were a game,

criándose entre redes de la mar nada extrañaba.

growing up among the sea's nets, he found nothing strange.

Marinero arría la vela

Sailor, lower the sail,

que está la noche tranquila y serena.

the night is calm and serene.

Presiente a quien le debe la moneda en que le pagan,

He senses who owes him the coin they pay him with,

nada esperaba de ellos porque no regalan nada,

he expected nothing from them because they don't give anything,

hay gente que negocia con torpeza tan extraña,

there are people who negotiate with such strange clumsiness,

como si no supieran o escondieran otras cartas.

as if they didn't know or were hiding other cards.

Y al cabo nada debo si no hay pesca prendo fuego,

And in the end, I owe nothing if there's no catch, I set fire,

me salgo al mar y quemo hasta el último aparejo,

I go out to sea and burn up to the last rigging,

que carguen a su espalda y su conciencia un hombre menos,

let them carry on their backs and their conscience one less man,

hoy siete de febrero, sello y firmo en Cudillero.

today, the seventh of February, I stamp and sign in Cudillero.