La Cigarra Lyrics in English by Natalia Jiménez, Lila Downs
Sonsonete refers to a repetitive, often annoying, and monotonous sound or tune. It's a colorful and somewhat onomatopoeic word that isn't heard in everyday conversation.
In "La Cigarra," the singer tells the cicada, "Que acabe tu sonsonete" (May your monotonous sound end). This expresses a desire for the cicada's constant, mournful song to stop, as it reminds her of her own sorrows and mortality. It's a vivid word that captures the feeling of being overwhelmed by a persistent, unwelcome sound.
This version of “La Cigarra” feels like someone singing right on the edge of pain and joy at the same time. The singer talks to a cicada and says, “Ya no me cantes cigarra” [“Don’t sing to me anymore, cicada”], because its song feels like a knife in the soul. She knows that “cuando cantas / pregonando vas tu muerte” [“when you sing, you go announcing your own death”], so every note reminds her that life is short and full of sadness. It is dark, almost dramatic, but in a very honest way: she even asks a sailor if there is “otro color más negro / que el color de mis pesares” [“another color darker than the color of my sorrows”]. That line is so extra, but it fits the mood perfectly.
At the same time, the song is weirdly hopeful. A little dove appears, “un palomito al volar / que llevaba el pecho herido” [“a little dove flying, with its chest wounded”], tired of looking for “un amor correspondido” [“a love that is returned”]. So we have hurt, unreturned love, and this feeling that everything is too much. And what does she do? She sits “bajo la sombra de un árbol” [“under the shadow of a tree”], plays guitar, and sings a huapango happily “porque la vida se acaba” [“because life ends”]. That twist is the heart of the song: instead of giving up, she wants to “morir cantando / como muere la cigarra” [“die singing, like the cicada dies singing”]. It is a proud, slightly defiant idea of living and loving so fully that even your goodbye comes with music.
