María Elena Walsh
Do you remember, sister, those were the days…
life taught us the same lesson
in the spring of 45
you were 15, and so was I
Do you remember, sister, those cadets,
the first bolero and tea at the Café Galeon
when on Sundays the rain brought
the voice of Bing Crosby and a verse of love
Do you remember La Plaza de Mayo (1)
when You-know-who came out on the balcony. (2)
Everything has changed so much that the sunshine of our youth
has changed to lunacy.
Do you remember, sister, the lean times
when a miserly peso could be stretched
to cover all the costs of playing hookey (3)
It was worth then more than a million today.
Do you remember, sister, that from that faraway place
a smell of death terrified us
It was Hiroshima where so many girls
were 15 as you and I.
Do you remember that later,
life came in high heels and separated us.
We no longer share the same sreetcar,
We are connected only by God’s good will.
(1) The May Square, a park in front of the government house
downtown Buenos Aires.
(2) Refers to Juan Peron.
(3) Skipping school.