The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 1
Up across windy wastes and up
Por encima de yermos ventosos y más arriba
Went Alfred over the shaws,
Fue Alfredo por los matorrales,
Shaken of the joy of giants,
Sacudido por la alegría de los gigantes,
The joy without a cause.
La alegría sin motivo.
In the slopes away to the western bays,
En las laderas que se alejan hacia las bahías del oeste,
Where blows not ever a tree,
Donde no sopla nunca un árbol,
He washed his soul in the west wind
Lavó su alma en el viento del oeste
And his body in the sea.
Y su cuerpo en el mar.
And he set to rhyme his ale-measures,
Y puso en rima sus medidas de cerveza,
And he sang aloud his laws,
Y cantó en voz alta sus leyes,
Because of the joy of the giants,
A causa de la alegría de los gigantes,
The joy without a cause.
La alegría sin motivo.
The King went gathering Wessex men,
El Rey fue congregando hombres de Wessex,
As grain out of the chaff
Como el grano separado de la paja
The few that were alive to die,
Los pocos que estaban vivos para morir,
Laughing, as littered skulls that lie
Riendo, como calaveras dispersas que yacen
After lost battles turn to the sky
Tras batallas perdidas vueltas hacia el cielo
An everlasting laugh.
Una risa eterna.
The King went gathering Christian men,
El Rey fue congregando hombres cristianos,
As wheat out of the husk;
Como el trigo separado de la cáscara;
Eldred, the Franklin by the sea,
Eldred, el Franco junto al mar,
And Mark, the man from Italy,
Y Mark, el hombre de Italia,
And Colan of the Sacred Tree,
Y Colan del Árbol Sagrado,
From the old tribe on Usk.
De la antigua tribu del Usk.
The rook croaked homeward heavily,
El grajo graznó pesadamente camino a casa,
The west was clear and warm,
El oeste estaba despejado y cálido,
The smoke of evening food and ease
El humo de la comida y el sosiego vespertino
Rose like a blue tree in the trees
Se alzó como un árbol azul entre los árboles
When he came to Eldred's farm.
Cuando llegó a la granja de Eldred.
But Eldred's farm was fallen awry,
Pero la granja de Eldred había caído en ruina,
Like an old cripple's bones,
Como los huesos de un viejo tullido,
And Eldred's tools were red with rust,
Y las herramientas de Eldred estaban rojas de óxido,
And on his well was a green crust,
Y sobre su pozo había una costra verde,
And purple thistles upward thrust,
Y cardos púrpura empujaban hacia arriba,
Between the kitchen stones.
Entre las piedras de la cocina.
But smoke of some good feasting
Pero el humo de algún buen festín
Went upwards evermore,
Subía sin cesar,
And Eldred's doors stood wide apart
Y las puertas de Eldred permanecían bien abiertas
For loitering foot or labouring cart,
Para el pie errante o el carro laborioso,
And Eldred's great and foolish heart
Y el gran y simple corazón de Eldred
Stood open like his door.
Permanecía abierto como su puerta.
Vocabulary
- Por
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'by', or 'through'.
- encima
- Adverb meaning 'above' or 'on top of'.
- de
- Preposition indicating possession, origin, or composition.
- yermos
- Adjective meaning 'barren', 'desolate', or 'uninhabited places'.
- ventosos
- Adjective meaning 'windy' or 'characterized by wind'.
- más
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'greater in quantity'.
- arriba
- Adverb meaning 'above', 'up', or 'upward'.
- Fue
- Past tense of 'ser' meaning 'was' or 'went'.
- los
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine plural).
- matorrales
- Noun meaning 'bushes', 'shrubs', or 'scrubland'.
- Sacudido
- Past participle of 'sacudir' meaning 'shaken' or 'shook'.
- la
- Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine singular).
- alegría
- Noun meaning 'joy', 'happiness', or 'cheerfulness'.
- gigantes
- Noun meaning 'giants' or 'very large powerful beings'.
- La
- Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine singular).
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without' or 'lacking'.
- motivo
- Noun meaning 'reason', 'motive', or 'cause'.
- En
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'at'.
- las
- Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine plural).
- laderas
- Noun meaning 'slopes', 'hillsides', or 'mountain sides'.
- que
- Relative pronoun meaning 'that', 'which', or 'who'.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'themselves'.
- alejan
- Verb meaning 'move away', 'distance', or 'recede'.
- hacia
- Preposition meaning 'toward', 'to', or 'in direction of'.
- bahías
- Noun meaning 'bays' or 'coastal water inlets'.
- del
- Contraction of 'de' and 'el' meaning 'of the'.
- oeste
- Noun meaning 'west' or 'western direction'.
- Donde
- Adverb meaning 'where' or 'in which'.
- no
- Adverb meaning 'no', 'not', or 'negation'.
- sopla
- Verb meaning 'blows' or 'wind blows'.
- nunca
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'not ever'.
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
- árbol
- Noun meaning 'tree' or 'woody perennial plant'.
- Lavó
- Past tense of 'lavar' meaning 'washed' or 'cleansed'.
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', 'its', or 'their'.
- alma
- Noun meaning 'soul', 'spirit', or 'essence'.
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'at location'.
- el
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular).
- viento
- Noun meaning 'wind' or 'air current'.
- cuerpo
- Noun meaning 'body' or 'physical form'.
- mar
- Noun meaning 'sea' or 'large body of salt water'.
- puso
- Past tense of 'poner' meaning 'put' or 'placed'.
- rima
- Noun meaning 'rhyme' or 'poetic correspondence of sounds'.
- sus
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', 'its', or 'their'.
- medidas
- Noun meaning 'measures', 'dimensions', or 'actions'.
- cerveza
- Noun meaning 'beer' or 'alcoholic beverage'.
- cantó
- Past tense of 'cantar' meaning 'sang' or 'chanted'.
- voz
- Noun meaning 'voice' or 'sound produced vocally'.
- alta
- Adjective meaning 'high', 'tall', or 'loud'.
- leyes
- Noun meaning 'laws', 'rules', or 'regulations'.
- causa
- Noun meaning 'cause', 'reason', or 'purpose'.
- El
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular).
- Rey
- Noun meaning 'king' or 'monarch'.
- fue
- Past tense of 'ser' meaning 'was' or 'went'.
- congregando
- Present participle of 'congregar' meaning 'gathering' or 'assembling'.
- hombres
- Noun meaning 'men' or 'male human beings'.
- Como
- Adverb meaning 'like', 'as', or 'how'.
- grano
- Noun meaning 'grain', 'seed', or 'small particle'.
- separado
- Adjective meaning 'separated', 'apart', or 'divided'.
- paja
- Noun meaning 'straw' or 'dried grain stalks'.
- Los
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine plural).
- pocos
- Adjective meaning 'few', 'not many', or 'small number'.
- estaban
- Past tense of 'estar' meaning 'were' or 'remained'.
- vivos
- Adjective meaning 'alive', 'living', or 'vivid'.
- para
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'to', or 'in order to'.
- morir
- Verb meaning 'to die', 'to perish', or 'to expire'.
- Riendo
- Present participle of 'reír' meaning 'laughing' or 'smiling'.
- calaveras
- Noun meaning 'skulls' or 'skeletal remains'.
- dispersas
- Adjective meaning 'scattered', 'dispersed', or 'spread out'.
- yacen
- Verb meaning 'lie', 'rest', or 'are located'.
- Tras
- Preposition meaning 'after', 'behind', or 'following'.
- batallas
- Noun meaning 'battles' or 'military conflicts'.
- perdidas
- Adjective meaning 'lost', 'missing', or 'defeated'.
- vueltas
- Noun meaning 'turns', 'returns', or 'revolutions'.
- cielo
- Noun meaning 'sky', 'heaven', or 'firmament'.
- Una
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (feminine).
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