Song Meaning
The lyrics paint a stark contrast between two paths at the sacred hour of return. One, trod by the 'hortelanos' (gardeners or tillers), is a path of collective effort and reward, marked by the scent of labor and the promise of connection – 'la canción, y van al beso' (the song, and they go to the kiss). This communal journey, though burdened by the weight of seasons, leads towards shared solace and intimacy.
In contrast, the speaker walks 'por otra senda' (by another path), a solitary and aimless route. This path, though also taken at the 'hora' (hour) of return, offers no such promise of connection, instead 'merodea sin destino' (prowls without destiny). The air here is not filled with the scent of hands and tools, but with a profound, almost tragic solitude.
The most striking image is the solitary bull on the riverbank, weeping. This powerful, masculine symbol is depicted in a state of profound existential confusion, 'Olvidando que es toro y masculino' (Forgetting it is a bull and masculine). This echoes the speaker's own lost direction, suggesting a deep internal struggle with identity and purpose, a forgetting of one's inherent nature in the face of a desolate path.
This lyrical juxtaposition is potent because it grounds abstract feelings of isolation and existential dread in concrete imagery. The shared, tangible return of the tillers highlights the speaker's internal, intangible loss. The weeping bull, a creature of instinct and power, rendered vulnerable and confused, mirrors the speaker's own apparent loss of self on a path devoid of destination or connection.
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