As I prepare to return to a world and worldview different from the one I currently call home, I find myself thinking about time itself. I’m reminded of the giant voice of Mercedes Sosa, singing a song by Warpe poet Armando Tejada Gómez: “Hombre en eltiempo” (roughly, Human Across Time)

Here are the words she sings with her beautiful Andean accent, and my translation:

Delante hay un camino, por él me voy – Ahead of me there’s a road, I’ll take it
Con la sombra adelante y atrás el sol – My shadow ahead; behind me, the sun.
Ando pisando el rastro del infinito – I wander, dragging my feeton the trail of the infinite
Polvo que pisa el polvo, la tierra soy – Dust dragging on dust, I am earth.

Hombre de todas partes, el hombre soy – Human from every place, I am human
Memoria americana de la canción – American memory of song
Y vaya donde vaya soy tierra que anda – and wherever I go, I am dirt that walks
Con la raíz afuera del corazón  – with roots pulled up from theheart.

Take a listen before I translate the rest! Click here

Another song was ringing in my head when I awoke this morning – a sobering and brave one that acknowledges the effects of time, age, reason and fear on us all. That one, called “Años” (Years), was written by Cuban poet Pablo Milanés and is also interpreted beautifully by Mercedes Sosa.

But to undertake a journey from Massachusetts to Chuquisaca and back, I need the energy of the first song, and so I’ll take both with me.

Here’s the rest of the first song, Hombre en el tiempo.

Anduve con la sangre todos los siglos – I walked in blood for all centuries
Hay sangre mía en toda la eternidad – My blood extends throughout eternity
Soy el tiempo que vuelve en cada niño – I am time that returns in every child
Y, desde la ternura, vuelve a cantar – And in tender years, comes back to sing.

Digo que me negaron el pan y el agua – I tell you they denied me bread and water
Digo que sé un misterio de luna y sal – I tell you I know a mystery of moon and salt
Me conocen los ríos porque en el barro – The rivers know me because in the mud
He sido un alfarero de Libertad – I have been a potter of liberty

Cuando la vida vuelva, vendrá conmigo – When life returns, a continental uprising 
Un tumulto de pueblo continental – Of people will come with me
Espérame en la fuerza de lo que crece – Wait for me in the strength of what is growing
De la tierra hacia el aire, del aire al pan – From earth to sky, from sky to bread

And here’s the second song, “Años” (Years) with my rough translation, and a live track sung by Mercedes Sosa upon her return to Argentina from exile.

El tiempo pasa – Time goes by
Nos vamos poniendo viejos – We get old
El amor no lo reflejo como ayer – I don’t reflect love like I did yesterday

En cada conversación – In every conversation
Cada beso, cada abrazo – Every kiss, every embrace
Se impone siempre un pedazo – A bit of reason always creeps in.
De razón

For Mercedes Sosa’s 1982 rendition, click here

I believe it takes courage at any age to recognize the effects of time on our passions. And yet many of us know how to rekindle passion and move forward with all that we’ve got in us today.

Song credits:

“Hombre en el tiempo” from the album Hasta la Victoria, Philips label, Argentina. Lyrics by Armando Tejada Gómez, interpreted by Mercedes Sosa.

“Años” from the album Mercedes Sosa en Argentina. Recorded live at the Teatro Opera in 1982, released in 2024 on the Philips label Argentina.