Santero

Santero

Bara suwa to omo yalawa'na
(vital force who far and wide appears,
Child that separates, splits and divides the road)

Mama ke'ni ir'awo-e
(may you not cut the initiates mat of goodness)

O bara wa yo eke esu odara omo yalawa'na
(vital force who comes to deliver [us], forked stick,
Esu performer of wonders,
Child that separates, splits and divides the road.)

Mama ke'ni r'awo-e
(may you not cut the iitiates mat of goodness)

Esmeralda
I am Esmeralda
I worked at el asilo
Today I quit
Now we have no place to go
But the gypsy from the bodega
The one who's dressed like Carmen, said
In times of need
You interpret any omen
I almost used this knife today
I could have killed someone,
Will this cast a shadow, on my son

Santero
I see a city on a hot night
And a playground filled with cries
And a quarter-moon like a dagger
Tears across the skies
So say the shells
So say the shells

Eleggua, King of the Cross-roads
Three beads red and three beads black
Sees the blade leap in the moonlight
Still he does not hold it back

So say the shells
Ma sere fun el caracoles

No, no puede ser
No, no puede ser

Esmeralda
I know my son is mischievous
Maybe troublesome, not wicked
Why should his feet obey the path
A few shells have predicted
I don't believe in spirits
I have no superstition
But I've given you my money
Finish your prediction
Throw the shells

Santero
I see a forest and a prison
And the snow and the guards are white
And a prisoner shivering in the sun
Then a mirror blinds my sight
So say the shells
So say the shells

Santero
I see him staggering through a desert
On a dry and burning plain
But Saint Lazarus in his mercy
Turns his thirsty soul to rain
So say the shells
Ma sere fun el caracoles

Oh this then is the future
From which no one can escape
Oh the cape and the umbrella
The umbrella and the cape
So say the shells
Ma sere fun el caracoles
So say the shells
Ma sere fun el caracoles
So say the shells
So say the shells