Chau viejo Juan

Acaso no lloré por él
pensando que jamás se fue
yo siempre escucharé su canto
susurro que me vio crecer.
La vida le negó, tal vez,
un fin, como al nogal, de pie,
queriendo proteger sus frutos
para no dejar de ser.

Chau, viejo Juan,
que ya no estás en mis mañanas
dele fumar,
junto a las rosas más tempranas.
Chau, viejo Juan,
compañero, padre, amigo.
Queda para siempre tu bondad.
Chau, viejo Juan,
chau, viejo Juan,
chau, mi querido Juan.

El tiempo no le dio vejez
y a todo le tenía fe
porque era un flaco corajudo
que nunca le temió al perder.
La muerte lo quitó, ya sé,
su intensa forma de querer
y su mirada confidente
que jamás olvidaré.

English translation

Did I not weep for him
thinking that he never left
I will always listen to his song
whisper that saw me grow up.
Life denied him, perhaps,
an end, like the walnut tree, standing,
wanting to protect its fruits
so as not to cease to be.

Goodbye, old Juan,
you are no longer in my mornings
give him a smoke,
next to the earliest roses.
Goodbye, old Juan,
companion, father, friend.
Your kindness remains forever.
Goodbye, old Juan,
farewell, old Juan,
goodbye, my dear Juan.

Time did not give him old age
and he had faith in everything
because he was a brave skinny man
who was never afraid of losing.
Death took him away, I know,
his intense way of loving
and his confident gaze
that I will never forget.