“Smaragdos Margara (Claviceps Purpura)”, 1995
Album: Si Buscabas (If You Searched), 1985
Singers: Salvador Cardenal and Katia Cardenal
Style: Soft folk music, strong vocals; hauntingly pretty and ambiguous. I like how music travels the world. I actually first heard this song as a cover on Une Histoire de Famille, a French language album by the Montreal band Hart-Rouge.
Country: Nicaragua
Listen: original by Dúo Guardabarranco (softly spoken) on YouTube or Amazon.
Translation:
Con una aguja con hilo blanco,
Con la carrucha en tu regazo,
Cóseme el flanco, la herida aguda,
La negra llaga de mi costado.
With a needle with white thread,
With the spool on your lap,
Sew up my side, my acute wound,
The black ulcer on my side.