Paul Simon Santero Lyrics

Esmeralda
I am Esmeralda
I worked at el asilo
Today I quit
Now we have no place to go.
But a woman from the botanica
The one whose name is Carmen
Said in times of need
You interpret any omen.

I almost used a knife today
I could have killed someone.
Will this cast a shadow on my son?

Santero
In New York on a hot night
There's a playground filled with cries
As a quarter moon like a dagger
Tears across the skies
So say the shells.
So say the shells.

Eleggua, king of the crossroads
With his colors red and black,
Sees a blade leap in the moonlight
But he does not hold it back.
So say the shells.
Mafere fan los Caracoles.

Esmeralda
No! No puede ser.
I know my son is mischievous
Maybe troublesome, not wicked. Why should his feet obey the path
A few shells have predicted?

I don't believe in spirits
I have no superstitions.
But I've given you my money.
Finish your prediction.
Throw the shells.

Santero
I see him staggering through the desert
But he must not break the chain
Till Saint Lazarus in his mercy
Turns his thirsty soul to rain.
So say the shells.

Lazarus
Mafere fan los Caracoles.

Both
So this then is the future
From which no one can escape
Santero
The cape and the umbrella
The umbrella and the cape.
So say the shells
Lazarus
Mafere fan los Caracoles.
Santero
So say the shells
Lazarus
Mafere fan los Caracoles.
Santero
So say the shells
So say the shells.