José
I imagine you smiling, I blush at your memory
That my words come to revive a little
We crossed paths, you were about to leave
And I, I had just arrived
I forgot your voice, a child at the time
I understand Spanish, but I speak it with mistakes
Far from my roots, I write to be forgiven
At home I go round in circles like the mourning mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
Your son only talks about you, the dates behind the photos
His anecdotes about your time as a chrysanthemum
You hear his life in Europe, my father left you too soon
And I feel it in his "I love you"
José, are you proud of him, are you proud of us
You, who wove your nights around a kerosene lamp
You, the modest Argentine with values up to your neck
You would have applauded my songs without even understanding the lyrics
Committed in your choices, militant in your vows
Hand extended to all those who slept without a roof
In interview, I am lost, politics interests me little
You would have made an asado with my wooden tongue

We missed each other by a little, I imagine my head on your hand
Drinking a maté, listening to the whispering fire
Dad told me that your missing finger was stolen by a mill
As a child, I used to say that my grandfather was Don Quixote

José, how did you do in the middle of the pampa?
You worked in the fields guiding the cows at night
You rode a horse, damn, you should see me today
On my electric scooter slowing down when it rains too much
What were your Saturday nights like?
I don't know how to dance the tango, I'm behind the DJ at the back of the bar
I didn't learn the guitar but the love of rhyme
So I promise, I inflate the chest of your family name
The origin is eternal, it shines when we talk about it
In the apartment I go round in circles like a Carlos Gardel vinyl
Yo quiero slow down this time that goes too fast
Sitting on the branch of my family tree

Cambia, todo cambia
Time makes us believe it's easy
Ana 3mri ma nensa
What would the leaves be without the roots?

Amar, how are you? What was it like in your youth?
In the end, how to know, you died before I was born
A lot of things separate us
Is there someone on the phone?
At that time nothing is the same
There is time as a rampart
My work must seem like laziness to you
Amar, I have only one photo of you, look, heh
We share the same mustache
Apparently you were hard, you hit grandma
Like a boxer who would have missed his career

Amar, apparently they called you the dirty Arab
I play the Argentine when I fill the halls, it's okay
You, the right angle of the square
So different two generations apart
Amar, what was the war like?
I have a million followers on Instagram
You, the Muslim for a month fasting
I was offered two Gods and I chose none
We would surely disagree on many subjects
I admit, my time enjoys judging you
Amar, I love France too much
Yet, I know perfectly well that she abused you
Amar, trapped in the Lot, so far from the sea
You were bitter, Amar, I see it in my mother's eyes
And I admit, I resented you sometimes
She is the only memory I have of you
I would have deserted, laid down my arms like a coward
You had sand in your pockets and look at me in the palaces
In fact, maybe my place is not there
Come, for a day in our two lives we replace each other

What's Algeria like? I've never been there
I have no excuse, maybe I'm afraid to follow your footsteps
I don't have your last name, France left you nothing
As if your passage was drawn in the sand
So thank you, from your birth to your death
It's silly to say but without you I wouldn't exist
Soon, I will be a father, and yes you can believe me
My children will remember who Amar was

Cambia, todo cambia
Time makes us believe it's easy
Ana 3mri ma nensa
What would the leaves be without the roots?
Cambia, todo cambia
Time makes us believe it's easy
Ana 3mri ma nensa
What would the leaves be without the roots?

Thank you for being the source of the river of my blood
You were my age a long time ago, I dream of you in black and white
You took all your secrets and the weight of the great mysteries
The night will come whisper them to me the day I become a grandfather

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