Sal and Isela’s song for a farmworker: ‘Sudor (Sweat)’ (video)

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It’s hard work, but somebody’s got to do it. Califas balladeers Sal and Isela tell the story of a farmworker in Sudor (Sweat).

Mira los lyrics:

I’m breaking my back, my brow is filled with sudor
Fourteen hour workdays, sometimes even more
I left behind family, my children, my wife
To make some dinero for a better life

Senor Americano I don’t ask for much
I don’t ask ask for pity, I don’t need a crutch
I’m not here to rob you, I’m not here to steal
Vengo a trabajar and to harvest your fields

Some call me a wetback, a beaner, a tramp
But you won’t see me begging along the off-ramp
That’s not my custom, that’s not my way
El Sudor from my back is what earns me my pay

I put food on the table for my family
And for all the people who unwittingly
Buy from the markets and from the fruit stands
Lettuce and tomatoes I picked with my hands

Some call me a wetback…

Some say they are with me, that they feel my pain
Others want to use me for political gain
Three sides to each story, two sides to each coin
I’m here for survival, not causes to join

Some call me a wetback…

PREVIOUSLY ON SAL AND ISELA: