Amorosa Guajira Lyrics in English by Omara Portuondo
This one is pure Cuban countryside. It sets the scene in "una verde campiña" (a green countryside) "donde crece en flor la piña" (where the pineapple grows in bloom), with a palm grove that "arrulla" (lulls, like a lullaby). Then we meet "un guajiro enamorado" (a guajiro in love). A guajiro is a Cuban country farmer, and a guajira is a country girl, which is also the name of a rural Cuban song style.
The guajiro sings his heartache, and it is wonderfully over the top: nothing inspires him anymore, "ni el canto del ave" (not even the birdsong). He begs "ven a alegrar mi bohío" (come and brighten my hut), where a bohío is the traditional thatched hut of the Cuban countryside. Even the riverbed has turned gloomy "porque faltas tú" (because you are missing), and his "blanca casita" (little white house) is left "solita" (all alone). Watch those diminutives: casita and solita make everything sound smaller and sadder. He ends with the evening dying and a soul that refuses to "vivir sin tu amor" (live without your love).
