(dedicated to i.k., who discovered me this amazing basque group, and to g.p.u. with whom i once went to university seeing every morning a train station not that dissimilar to the one below -or perhaps i want to remember it that way- gabriel say something, this blog cannot be if you remain silent)
"eremuko dunen atzetik dabilzulo urdin guztiak miatu ezinik
eta euri zitalari esker bizi da
ikusi zituen gurpil sutsuak
arranotu zaizkio, amoratu
eta bazter batean aurkitzen da
eremuko dunen atzetik dabil
zulo urdin guztiak miatu ezinik
eta euri zitalari esker bizi da
ikusi zituen gurpil sutsuak
arranotu zaizkio, amoratu
eta bazter batean aurkitzen da
desafinatzeke nahasirik gabe
jadanik agure itxura eutsirik
gauaren pareta "sprai"atu duzu
hamazazpi urteak
hamazazpi zuri dira ezekiel
mingotzaren merkromina ezekiel
eter labur bat zara
hari single bat zara
betiko
eremuko dunen atzetik dabil
zulo urdin guztiak miatu ezinik
eta euri zitalari esker bizi da"
I am honoured. I think nobody had ever dedicated a song to me before, even less a song in Basque...
ReplyDeleteThose times were happy times, Swann, for me at least. Life in the potato mountain, as our common friend Julius used to call it...
those were happy times indeed (pticularly the last years, but then i did not go to the university with you -or at all, for that matter- which would spoil the poetics of the train station which does remind me our own deuesto one, perhaps it is the proximity of the hills).
ReplyDeletewhich reminds me, where is borja? he is no longer on facebook is he? and how can we save enrique from his own madness? (or me from mine, for that matter). it must have been something they put on the food in the potato mountain which made us work like madmen. not you, you were always in control (except when you lost it and the green valleys and the red hills trembled as if an earthquake had taken place) (all of which i miss, i hope you and marta are well and i hope to see you soon).
re the basque language, i must confess i always loved, adored, idealised this record out of proportion without understanding a single word of it. i would include the entire record on the blog but you can only find a couple of songs on youtube. i cannot believe why they are not more widely known (even within the basque country i never had the impression that they were particularly valued).
anyway, if you honour me by letting me publish one of your poems i would be most grateful.
and we have to find a way to send this to igor! we had two outstanding guitar players on our floor, despite his preferring the battery, igor was quite a sight with a guitar (even if i would probably hate the lyrics of whatever he was singing).
take care, hermanito.