Cavaddu cecu de la minera [English translation]

1

«A Peppì, iuh, you’re so tired, Peppì, iih-ah, good, auh.»2

Horse, blind horse of the mine

you that pull, pull a hundred carts full of coal

and proceed on your knees.

«Ah good, ah, ih-uh.»

Horse, blind horse of the mine,

you can see nothing, you know everything,

step after step, years pass.

When you’re old, you go back into the sun,

to that sun you can no longer see.

And you climb, climb, climb, climb

a hundred meters, a thousand meters, towards the sun.

A flood of light, the smell of the grass,

and you recall the time when you were strong

and you galloped, gallop, gallop,

gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop,

gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop,

gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop,

gallop…

Aah-aah-aah.

Horse, blind horse of the mine,

now you’re old, old and sick,

abandoned, you seek the hand of the man.

«Peppì, you’re so old, Peppì, too old.»

And you feel something next to your ear,

something cold inside a hand, a shaking hand,

and you hear ‹MBAM!›.

The man looks at you and caresses you,

but you can’t feel it,

you gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop,

gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop,

gallop, gallop, gallop, gallop…

1. «It’s a song about a horse, it’s titled ‟Blind Horse of the Mine”. The story is this, the story is about the horses that worked in mines in Sicily in the past, in the sulfur mines, because, at that time, it was horses that pulled carts. Today it’s different, there are other means. And since they spent a lot of time underground in the mines, the horses became blind. And in Sicily, in the past, there was this tragic celebration, called ‟La Pasqua dei cavalli” {Horse Easter}, and it was the owner of the horse who brought the horse up, into the sun, and with a tragic and pitiful act put it to sleep.»

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zolfo_di_Sicilia2. Peppì / Peppino / Peppe / Beppe are diminutives of the male name Giuseppe.

• Artist:Domenico Modugno