silvio rodriguez • björn afzelius • khawaga
This song has odd relations. In 1973, Silvio Rodriguez released "El Mayor", a tribute to a cuban revolutionary hero named Ignacio Agramonte, who was killed in the Battle of Jimaguay on May 11th, 1873. The song rapidly grew to be the 2nd anthem of Cuba.
The late Swedish singer/songwriter Björn Afzelius, inspired of frequently visiting Latin-America and the Caribbian, bewitched by political revolutionary conviction, rewrote the song 3 years later. Ever since 1961 Cuba has been economically blocked by USA ... and even the United Nations has condemned this; with no result, of course. Afzelius saw a combat against a monster like USA just like fighting windmills - like Cervantes' immortal Don Quixote did. Unfortunately he wrote this tale in swedish - which is, in respect, not a common language.
So I rewrote it one more time. After all these years, Cuba is still isolated, and it is a shame. Don Qixote will never die nor win, I suppose. Here we go, using Rodriguez' beautiful melody and harmonies with Afzelius' words, adapted.
down in Valadero
Don Quixote to me appeared
exiting Las Americas
no ghosts I really feared
The castle of Du Pont is
a pearl in the Caribbian
the balcony steadily being washed by a viridine sea
the library still contains the paintings of his family
they came through the alley
in the hollow of the night
as shadows of fiction
Don Quixote and his knight
they brought me to the shoreline
and pointed out the night star
and said "there's the windmill of Miami Beach and I swear
they are the greatest mills on earth and tonight I'll be there"
cause I'm heading forwards
I horseback the ocean
I ride with the wind and rain
that backs up my emotion
cause I've made a decision
as my anger is rising
and nothing kan keep it from being
written on the horizon
I'm fighting the windmills
it's my passion and my trade
the deeper the better
the millponds I must wade
they say that I am crazy
but think about the old times
when Galileo was supressed to say that "the earth it is flat"
now even you and me today know better than that?
so I'm heading forwards
I horseback the ocean
I ride with the wind and rain
that backs up my emotion
cause I've made a decision
as my anger is rising
and nothing kan keep it from being
written on the horizon
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
C#m B7 down in Valadero C#m B7 Don Quixote to me appeared C#m exiting Las Americas B7 C#m B7 no ghosts I really feared C#m B7 The castle of Du Pont is C#m B7 a pearl in the Caribbian A G#m F#m B7 the balcony steadily being washed by a viridine sea A G#m F#m B7 the library still contains the paintings of his family B7 E B7sus4 cause I'm heading forwards E B7sus4 I horseback the ocean A G#m F#m Amaj7 B7sus4 B7 I ride with the wind and rain that backs up my emotion E Bsus4 cause I've made a decition E Bsus4 as my anger is rising A G#m F#m and nothing can keep it from being written Amaj7 B7sus7 B7 E on the horizon
