Here’s an havanera song. Havaneres were the songs that immigrants and sailors who went from the Iberian peninsula to Cuba used to sing in the 19th century. The genre has remained popular in Catalonia, where fishermen and sailors have continued to sing them in taverns.
This havanera was written by Antònia Vilàs i Ferràndiz, a poetess from la Barceloneta (Barcelona’s fishermen quarter). This version is sung by Neus Mar.
A un poble de pescadors In a fishermen’s village
entre el mar i la muntanya between the sea and the mountain
una mare al seu fill a mother instilled his son
l'inculcà que fóra frare. to become a priest.
A dalt d'un vell monestir On top of an old monastery
un jove amb hàbit de frare a young man in a priest habit
tot contemplant el blau mar, contemplating the blue sea,
tot contemplant el blau mar, contemplating the blue sea,
així a sa mare li parlà: this he spoke to his mother:
“Mare, vull ser pescador “Mother, I want to be a fisherman
no m'ho privis dolça mare don’t forbid it, sweet mother
ja sé amb quanta buidor et deixà la mort del pare. I know all the emptiness that father’s death left in you.
Mare, vull ser pescador Mother, I want to be a fisherman
vull ser pescador i no frare I want to be a fisherman and not a priest
que sóc fill de pescador for I am a fisherman’s son
i malgrat el teu dolor and despite your pain
jo tinc les venes salades. my veins are salted.
Mare vull fer-me a la mar. Mother, I want to set sail to the sea.
Mare vull fer-me a la mar Mother, I want to set sail to the sea.
i que em bressin les onades.” and be rocked by the waves.”
A un poble de pescadors In a fishermen’s village
davant la Verge del Carme in front of Our Lady of Mount Carmel [patroness of fishermen]
prega una mare amb fervor a mother prays with fervour
veient la mar abrivada. seeing the stormy sea.
Prega que torni el seu fill She prays her son will come back
que marxà amb la mar en calma who left when the sea was calm
i mentre resa plorant and while she prays crying
en aquell precís instant in that precise moment
torna el fill i així li parla: the son returns, and speaks to her like this:
“Mare, vull ser pescador “Mother, I want to be a fisherman
no m'ho privis dolça mare don’t forbid it, sweet mother
ja sé amb quanta buidor et deixà la mort del pare. I know all the emptiness that father’s death left in you.
Mare, vull ser pescador Mother, I want to be a fisherman
vull ser pescador i no frare I want to be a fisherman and not a priest
que sóc fill de pescador for I am a fisherman’s son
i malgrat el teu dolor and despite your pain
jo tinc les venes salades. my veins are salted.
Mare vull fer-me a la mar. Mother, I want to set sail to the sea.
Mare vull fer-me a la mar Mother, I want to set sail to the sea.
i que em bressin les onades. and be rocked by the waves.
Mare, vull ser pescador”. Mother, I want to be a fisherman”.