Ojala

In Spanish class today, we received two puzzles for two teams to assemble the same song.

If we understood the vocabulary and the subjunctive, we had a good chance of success. The internal rhyme of the song and the way the approximately thirty-five separate pieces were cut could also help.

So, we assembled the three stanzas as best as we could (fortunately, they were divided by color). Then, we listened to the song to shift the order of things as needed. We listened again, shifted some more.

By the time the lesson was over, we: had some new vocabulary, had a better understanding of the subjunctive, had the words in front of us — so we could sing together. Yes, it was not pretty, but it felt pretty good to be singing something that we had assembled.

“Ojala” by Silvio Rodriguez

Ojala que las hojas no te toquen el cuerpo cuando caigan
para que no las puedas convertir en cristal
ojala que la lluvia deje de ser el milagro que baja por tu cuerpo
ojala que la luna pueda salir sin ti
ojala que la tierra no te bese los pasos.

(coro)
ojala se te acabe la mirada constante
la palara precisa, la sonrisa perfecta
ojala pase algo que te borre de pronto
una luz cegadora, un disparo de nieve
ojala por lo menos que me lleve la muerte
para no verte tanto, para no verte siempre
en todos los segundos, en todas las visiones
ojala que no pueda tocarte ni en canciones

Ojala que la aurora no de gritos que caigan en mi espalda
ojala que tu nombre se le olvide esa voz
ojala las paredes no retengan tu ruido de camino cansado
ojala que el deseo se valla tras de ti
a tu viejo gobierno de difuntos y flores

(coro)

ojala se te acabe la mirada constante
la palara precisa, la sonrisa perfecta
ojala pase algo que te borre de pronto
una luz cegadora, un disparo de nieve
ojala por lo menos que me lleve la muerte
para no verte tanto, para no verte siempre
en todos los segundos, en todas las visiones
ojala que no pueda tocarte ni en canciones

Following is the best translation I could find online:

I Hope

I hope the leaves won’t touch your body when they fall
So that you won’t be able to turn them into crystal
I hope the rain stops being a miracle that runs down your body
I hope the moon could come out without you
I hope the soil won’t kiss your every step

(Chorus)
I hope you’ll stop having that constant gaze
The precise word, the perfect smile
I hope something that will erase you suddenly, happens
A blinding light, a snow shot
I hope that at least death will take me with it
So I won’t have to see you so much
So I won’t have to see you all the time
Every second, in every vision
I hope I won’t be able to touch you, not even in songs

I hope the dawn won’t utter screams that fall on my back
I hope your name will be forgotten by that voice
I hope the walls won’t keep in the noise of your weary walking
I hope this desire will be gone with you
Towards your old reign made of dead people and flowers

(Chorus)

I hope something that will erase you suddenly, happens
A blinding light, a snow shot
I hope that at least death will take me with it
So I won’t have to see you so much
So I won’t have to see you all the time
Every second, in every vision
I hope I won’t be able to touch you, not even in songs

There is a lot of discussion online about whether this is about a woman, Castro and Cuba, even cocaine. As I looked at it in class, I only thought of a man and a woman in a tortured relationship.