El Tata Esta Viejo (Zamba)

The grandfather is old
I saw him the other night
Struggling to roll his cigarette
The lit cigarette trembled
On his lips
Like a firefly in the darkness

He no longer gets up early to drink mate
He doesn't gallop anymore, just trots
He spends hours by the gate
Watching the road go by

I remember my grandfather in his younger years
Strong as a tree
Like a quebracho
Today he looks like a willow all bent over
What a sorrow it would be if one day he's gone
Today he looks like a willow all bent over
What a sorrow it would be if one day he's gone

The grandfather is old, if one day he has to leave
May he not even notice, just quietly
I ask you, dear God, to turn off his life
Like a cigarette that goes out on its own

I remember my grandfather in his younger years
Strong as a tree
Like a quebracho
Today he looks like a willow all bent over
What a sorrow it would be if one day he's gone
Today he looks like a willow all bent over
What a sorrow it would be if one day he's gone