Cover art for Guantanamera by Pete Seeger
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Guantanamera Lyrics

Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera

Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crecen las palmas
Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crecen las palmas
Y antes de morirme quiero echar mis versos del alma

Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera

Mi verso es de un verde claro y de un carmin encendido
Mi verso es de un verde claro y de un carmin encendido
Mi verso es un ciervo herido que busca en el monte amparo

Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera

I am a truthful man from this land of palm trees
Before dying I want to share these poems of my soul
My verses are light green but they are also flaming red
I cultivate a rose in June and in January
For the sincere friend who gives me his hand
And for the cruel one who would tear out this heart with which I live
I do not cultivate thistles nor nettles I cultivate a white rose

Cultivo la rosa blanca en junio como en enero
Cultivo la rosa blanca en junio como en enero
Para el amigo sincero que me da su mano franca
Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera

Y para el cruel que me arranca el corazon con que vivo
Y para el cruel que me arranca el corazon con que vivo
Cardo ni ortiga cultivo cultivo la rosa blanca

Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera

Con los pobres de la tierra quiero yo mi suerte echar
Con los pobres de la tierra quiero yo mi suerte echar
El arroyo de la sierra me complace mas que el mar


Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera

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Genius Annotation

Taken straight from an introduction to the song given by Pete Seeger: (“Guantanamera-Live” (1972))

“José Martí was born in 1853. When he was 17 years old, he was active in the Cuban liberation movement and he was exiled by the Spanish governor. He spent most of his life in exile including 12 years in New York City. He wrote 70 books, poetry, novels, polemics. He’s one of the greatest writers in the Spanish Language. At the age of 42, he went back to Cuba. This is one of his last poems, as he was killed within the year in an aborted uprising. After he died, people put it to a popular tune.”

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