Can I Forgive Him? Lyrics

ESMERALDAI am Esmeralda Agrón, Señora.I know I've no right to speak.My son is not the savage boy you see,The cape, the sneer, the slicked-back hairIt hides the child I nursed and bathed, Señora.Please don't turn your eyes from meYour son, gone to God, and mine to blameMy fated son,He too is goneThe state will see to that, I am sure, SeñoraThe state will see to that, I am sure.1S TMOTHERYou Spanish people, you come to this countryNothing here changes your livesUngrateful immigrants asking for pityWhen all of your answers are knivesThis city makes a cartoon of a crimeCapes and umbrellas the glorification of slimeI have to face this horror, Señora.2ND MOTHERMy religionAsks me to pray for the murderer's soulBut I think you'd have to beJesus on the crossTo open your heart after such a lossCan I forgive him?Can I forgive him?No, I cannotCan I forgive himNo, I cannotFriends become strangersCompassion is hard to express in wordsThe trembling flowers they bringFear in the roots and the stemWhat happened to me they know could happen to them.Can I forgive himNo, I cannotCan I forgive himNoESMERALDAOnly God can say 'Forgive'His son too received a knifeBut we go on, we have to liveWith this cross we call our life1ST MOTHERFeels like a bomb fellAnd wave after wave come the aftershocks2ND MOTHERYou can't believe that it's trueThere must be some mistakeYou drift through this nightmare from which you can't wakeBOTH MOTHERSCan I forgive him?Can I forgive him,No, I cannotCan I forgive him?Can I forgive him, no, I cannotCan I forgive him?Can I forgive him, no, I cannotCan I forgive himNo, I cannot.