The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1
Before the gods that made the gods
Antes de que los dioses que hicieron a los dioses
Had seen their sunrise pass,
Hubieran visto pasar su amanecer,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
El Caballo Blanco del Valle del Caballo Blanco
Was cut out of the grass.
Fue tallado en la hierba.
Before the gods that made the gods
Antes de que los dioses que hicieron a los dioses
Had drunk at dawn their fill,
Hubieran bebido a su saciedad al alba,
The White Horse of the White Horse Vale
El Caballo Blanco del Valle del Caballo Blanco
Was hoary on the hill.
Era canoso sobre la colina.
Age beyond age on British land,
Era tras era en tierra británica,
Aeons on aeons gone,
Eones sobre eones transcurridos,
Was peace and war in western hills,
Hubo paz y guerra en las colinas del oeste,
And the White Horse looked on.
Y el Caballo Blanco contemplaba.
For the White Horse knew England
Pues el Caballo Blanco conoció Inglaterra
When there was none to know;
Cuando no había nadie que la conociera;
He saw the first oar break or bend,
Vio el primer remo romperse o doblarse,
He saw heaven fall and the world end,
Vio caer el cielo y acabar el mundo,
O God, how long ago.
Oh Dios, hace cuánto tiempo.
For the end of the world was long ago,
Pues el fin del mundo fue hace mucho tiempo,
And all we dwell to-day
Y todos los que habitamos hoy
As children of some second birth,
Como hijos de un segundo nacimiento,
Like a strange people left on earth
Como un pueblo extraño dejado sobre la tierra
After a judgment day.
Tras un día del juicio.
For the end of the world was long ago,
Pues el fin del mundo fue hace mucho tiempo,
When the ends of the world waxed free,
Cuando los confines del mundo se volvieron libres,
When Rome was sunk in a waste of slaves,
Cuando Roma se hundió en un mar de esclavos,
And the sun drowned in the sea.
Y el sol se ahogó en el mar.
When Caesar's sun fell out of the sky
Cuando el sol de César cayó del cielo
And whoso hearkened right
Y quien bien escuchara
Could only hear the plunging
Solo podía oír el hundirse
Of the nations in the night.
De las naciones en la noche.
When the ends of the earth came marching in
Cuando los confines de la tierra llegaron marchando
To torch and cresset gleam.
Al resplandor de antorchas y lampadarios.
And the roads of the world that lead to Rome
Y los caminos del mundo que llevan a Roma
Were filled with faces that moved like foam,
Estaban llenos de rostros que se movían como espuma,
Like faces in a dream.
Como rostros en un sueño.
Vocabulary
- Antes
- Before; indicating something preceding in time
- de
- Of, from; common preposition linking nouns
- que
- That, which, than; very common conjunction
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article
- dioses
- Gods; divine beings worshipped in religion
- hicieron
- They made/did; third person plural preterite of hacer
- a
- To, at; preposition indicating direction or object
- Hubieran
- They would have; past subjunctive of haber
- visto
- Seen; past participle of ver
- pasar
- To pass, happen; common verb of movement or occurrence
- su
- His, her, its, their; third person possessive adjective
- amanecer
- Dawn, sunrise; the moment day begins
- El
- The; masculine singular definite article
- Caballo
- Horse; large domesticated animal used for riding
- Blanco
- White; color at the lightest end of the spectrum
- del
- Of the; contraction of de and el
- Valle
- Valley; low land between hills or mountains
- Fue
- Was/went; third person singular preterite of ser/ir
- tallado
- Carved, cut; shaped by cutting into a surface
- en
- In, on, at; preposition of location or time
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- hierba
- Grass, herb; low green plant covering ground
- bebido
- Drunk, consumed; past participle of beber
- al
- To the; contraction of a and el
- alba
- Dawn, first light; very early morning light
- Era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of ser
- sobre
- On, over, about; preposition indicating position or topic
- colina
- Hill; small elevated landform rising above surroundings
- tras
- After, behind; preposition indicating sequence or position
- era
- Era, age; long distinct period of historical time
- tierra
- Earth, land, soil; ground or territory
- tierra
- Earth, land, soil; ground or territory
- británica
- British; relating to Britain or its people
- Hubo
- There was/were; preterite of haber indicating existence
- paz
- Peace; state of quiet, harmony, and no conflict
- y
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- guerra
- War; armed conflict between groups or nations
- las
- The; feminine plural definite article
- colinas
- Hills; plural of colina, small elevated landforms
- oeste
- West; cardinal direction opposite to east
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article
- contemplaba
- Was contemplating, gazing; observed thoughtfully over time
- Pues
- Well, for, since; conjunction or filler word
- conoció
- He knew, met; preterite of conocer
- Inglaterra
- England; country in southern part of Great Britain
- Cuando
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- no
- No, not; basic negation word
- había
- There was/were; imperfect of haber
- nadie
- Nobody, no one; negative indefinite pronoun
- conociera
- Might know; imperfect subjunctive of conocer
- Vio
- He saw; third person singular preterite of ver
- primer
- First; ordinal adjective indicating the earliest one
- romperse
- To break, shatter; reflexive verb of breaking apart
- o
- Or; basic disjunctive conjunction
- doblarse
- To bend, fold; reflexive form of doblar
- caer
- To fall; move downward under gravity
- cielo
- Sky, heaven; atmosphere above or divine realm
- acabar
- To finish, end; to bring something to completion
- mundo
- World; the earth and all its inhabitants
- Oh
- Oh; exclamation expressing surprise or emotion
- Dios
- God; supreme divine being in monotheistic religion
- hace
- Makes, does, ago; third person of hacer
- cuánto
- How much, how long; interrogative of quantity
- tiempo
- Time, weather; duration or atmospheric conditions
- fin
- End, finish; conclusion or final point
- mucho
- Much, a lot; large quantity or degree
- todos
- All, everyone; totality of people or things
- habitamos
- We inhabit, live in; first person plural of habitar
- hoy
- Today; the present day
- Como
- As, like, how; comparison or manner conjunction
- hijos
- Sons, children; male offspring or descendants
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- segundo
- Second; ordinal number following the first
- nacimiento
- Birth; the event of being born or origin
- pueblo
- People, town, village; community or small settlement
- extraño
- Strange, foreign; unusual or from another place
- dejado
- Left, abandoned; past participle of dejar
- Tras
- After, behind; following in time or position
- día
- Day; twenty-four hour period of time
- juicio
- Judgment, trial; evaluation or legal proceedings
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; indicates action done to oneself
- volvieron
- They returned, became; preterite of volver
- libres
- Free; not under control or constraint
- Roma
- Rome; ancient city and capital of the Roman Empire
- hundió
- Sank, sunk; preterite of hundir
- mar
- Sea; large body of salt water
- esclavos
- Slaves; people held in bondage without freedom
- sol
- Sun; the star at the center of our solar system
- ahogó
- Drowned, suffocated; preterite of ahogar
- cayó
- Fell; third person singular preterite of caer
- quien
- Who, whoever; relative or interrogative pronoun
- bien
- Well, good; adverb indicating quality or correctness
- escuchara
- Might listen; imperfect subjunctive of escuchar
- Solo
- Only, alone; just one, without others
- podía
- Could, was able to; imperfect of poder
- oír
- To hear; perceive sounds with the ears
- hundirse
- To sink, collapse; reflexive form of hundir
- De
- Of, from; preposition of origin or belonging
- naciones
- Nations; sovereign countries or peoples with shared identity
- noche
- Night; period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
- llegaron
- They arrived; preterite of llegar
- marchando
- Marching; moving forward in a military or steady manner
- Al
- To the; contraction of a and el
- caminos
- Roads, paths; routes used for travel
- llevan
- They lead, carry; third person plural of llevar
- Estaban
- They were; imperfect of estar
- llenos
- Full, filled; completely occupied or packed
- rostros
- Faces; fronts of human heads with features
- movían
- They moved; imperfect of mover
- como
- Like, as; comparison or similarity conjunction
- sueño
- Dream, sleep; images during sleep or drowsiness
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