Boy From the Poor Side of Town

He was from the poor side of town
He lived in poverty and he sang
For joy, for health,
For love, for simplicity, all day long.

She lived a great distance away
From where he lived.
She lived in the distance.
And from high up she looked, looked towards him.

And he sang to her –
His heart and all of his pain.
His dream, and her dream, which he loved, he loved.

And he sang to her –
Don’t be like a bird in the heights.
Don’t be there among distant clouds.

She sat by his side
And was like his shadow.
He loved her glance
And never left her side.
From class to class,
From year to year,
They wandered on the roads.
And the two loved each other, isolated.

She tried –
To bring her father close to his heart.
To his world, to his everyday life –
But in vain, in vain.

He tried –
To bring his home to hers.
To her world, to her everyday life –
But in vain.

This way, days and nights, they had only each other
He was hers, she was his.
In isolation, in cold,
In pain, in envy – by themselves alone.

One day he left
And didn’t return, because he had forgotten –
Didn’t return, because he had forgotten –
His song, his life, which he had left.

He told her –
We can’t go on like this any longer.
Return home, return home,
Go back to your place.

He told her –
We can’t go on like this any longer.
Remain there – as for me, I return to poverty.

She tried –
To bring her home close to his heart
To his world, to his everyday life –
But in vain.