Antonio Machado: The crime happened in Granada

Antonio Machado (Sevilla, 1875-Colliure, 1939) is one of the best and most famous Spanish poets. He was a memebre of the so called 98’s Generation, with Miguel de Unamuno and Valle Inclán among others. Influenced by French poets as Baudelaire and Rimbaud, he wrote about feeling itself, influencing on the next poets generations. Later he get influences from people’s popular song and wisdom, which left reflected in many of his poems, as "He andado muchos caminos" (I’ve been walking a lot of roads), with some kind of scorn to intellectual people. During the Spanish Civil War, he get position in the Republican side, making poems as "El crimen fue en Granada" (The crime happened in Granada), denouncing Federico García Lorca’s murder by the fascists. At the end of the war, he was at Barcelona, and he had to get out Spain, crossing Pyrenees, to France. Some days later he died. Actually, his body keeps buried in Colliure. His poems and attitude made of him a symbol for the artistic Antifrancoist resistance; poets as Jesús López Pacheco, Gabriel Celaya and others get influence from him; and many songwriters as Paco Ibáñez, Hilario Camacho, Joan Manuel Serrat and others have made songs with his poems.

EL CRIMEN FUE EN GRANADA: A
FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA

1. El crimen Se le vio, caminando entre fusiles, por una calle larga, salir al campo frío, aún con estrellas de la madrugada. Mataron a Federico cuando la luz asomaba. El pelotón de verdugos no osó mirarle la cara. Todos cerraron los ojos; rezaron: ¡ni Dios te salva! Muerto cayó Federico —sangre en la frente y plomo en las entrañas— … Que fue en Granada el crimen sabed —¡pobre Granada!—, en su Granada. 2. El poeta y la muerte Se le vio caminar solo con Ella, sin miedo a su guadaña. —Ya el sol en torre y torre, los martillos en yunque— yunque y yunque de las fraguas. Hablaba Federico, requebrando a la muerte. Ella escuchaba. «Porque ayer en mi verso, compañera, sonaba el golpe de tus secas palmas, y diste el hielo a mi cantar, y el filo a mi tragedia de tu hoz de plata, te cantaré la carne que no tienes, los ojos que te faltan, tus cabellos que el viento sacudía, los rojos labios donde te besaban… Hoy como ayer, gitana, muerte mía, qué bien contigo a solas, por estos aires de Granada, ¡mi Granada!» 3. Se le vio caminar… Labrad, amigos, de piedra y sueño en el Alhambra, un túmulo al poeta, sobre una fuente donde llore el agua, y eternamente diga: el crimen fue en Granada, ¡en su Granada!

Antonio Machado

The Crime Was In Granada

For Federico García Lorca

  I:  The Crime

 He was seen walking between the
rifles,
down a long street
out to chill fields
still lit by early stars.
They killed Federico
when the dawn broke.
The executioner’s crew
dared not look in his face.
They shut their eyes,
said: ‘Nor will God save you!
Federico fell dying
–blood on his brow, lead in his guts –
…To think the crime should be in Granada.
– 
poor Granada – in his Granada…

II: Death
and the Poet

He was seen walking alone with Her,
and unafraid of her scythe.
– The sun now on tower after tower, hammers
on anvils – anvil on anvil, of the forges.
Federico was speaking
flattering Death. She listened.
‘Yesterday in my verse, friend,
the clap of your dry palms sounded,
you gave ice to my song, your silver
scythe’s edge to my tragedy,
I’ll sing to you of your wasted flesh,
your empty eyes,
your hair the wind stirs,
the red lips where you were kissed…
Now as ever, gypsy, my death,
how good to be alone with you,
in this breeze of Granada,
my Granada!

III

He was seen walking…
Friends,
carve
in the Alhambra, a statue of dreams
and stone, for the poet,
over a fountain where water goes grieving
and saying, eternally:
the crime was in Granada,
in his Granada!

translated by A. S. Kline:

http://www.tonykline.co.uk/