Argentine Songwriter Facundo Cabral was best known as the composer of “no soy de aquí ni soy de allá” (I’m not from here, nor there), which he improvised during one of his concerts. After touring the world, Cabral enjoyed popularity in his home country during the early 1980s, when Argentine radio demanded local content after the Falklands War. Facundo Cabral was named a United Nations messenger of peace in 1996. He was shot and killed during a tour in Guatamala while en route to the airport on July 9, 2011 (quote from wikipedia)

I was on route to another airport entirely when I heard the news of his assassination on npr’s theworld.org. It was the title of Cabral’s most famous song that caught my attention, and as a tribute to this singer I would like to add his name to “Travel Music” and share it with you.

No soy de aquí, ni de allá

Me gusta andar
pero no sigo el camino,
pues lo seguro ya no tiene misterio,
me gusta ir con el verano
muy lejos,

pero volver donde mi madre
en invierno
y ver los perros que jamás me olvidaron
y los abrazos que me dan mis hermanos.

Me gusta el sol
y la mujer cuando llora,
las golondrinas y las malas señoras,
saltar balcones y abrir las ventanas
y las muchachas en abril.
Me gusta el vino tanto como las flores
y los amantes, pero no los señores,
me encanta ser amigo de los ladrones
y las canciones en francés.

No soy de aquí… ni soy de allá
no tengo edad ni porvenir
y ser feliz es mi color de identidad.

Me gusta está tirado siempre en la arena
o en bicicleta perseguir a Manuela
o todo el tiempo para ver las estrellas
con la María en el trigal.

No soy de aquí… ni soy de allá
no tengo edad ni porvenir
y ser feliz es mi color de identidad.
No soy de aquí… ni soy de allá

I’m not from here nor there

I like to go
But not follow the road
Because certainty doesn’t hold any mystery
In the summer
I like to go far away
But in the winter
I’d like to return to my mother
To see the dogs that never have forgotten about me
And to be hugged by my siblings

I like the sun
And the crying woman
The swallows and the bad women
I like to jump on balconies and open the windows
And I like maids in april
I like wine just as much as flowers
And lovers, but not the men
I love being friends with thieves
And French songs

I’m not from here, nor from there
I’m ageless and without future 
Being happy is the color of my identity

I like to be stretched out, always, in the sand
Or on my bike, chasing Manuela
Or watch the stars without ever stopping
In the cornfields with Maria

I’m not from here, nor from there
I’m ageless and without future
Being happy is the color of my identity