Can I Forgive Him

Paul Simon

I am Esmeralda Agr n, Senora
I know I've no right to speak
My son is not the savage boy you see
The cape, the sneer, the slicked-back hair
It hides the child I nursed and bathed, SenoraPlease don't turn your eyes from me
Your son, gone to God and mine to blame
My fated son, he too is gone
The state will see to that, I am sure, Senora
The state will see to that, I am sureYou Spanish people, you come to this country
Nothing here changes your lives
Ungrateful immigrants asking for pity
When all of your answers are knivesThis city makes a cartoon of a crime
Capes and umbrellas, the glorification of slime
I have to face this horror, SenoraMy religion asks me to pray for the murderer's soul
But I think you'd have to be Jesus on the cross
To open your heart after such a lossCan I forgive him?
Can I forgive him?
No, I cannot
Can I forgive him?
No, I cannotFriends become strangers
Compassion is hard to express in words
The trembling flowers they bring fear in the roots and the stem
What happened to me they know could happen to themCan I forgive him?
No, I cannot
Can I forgive him?
NoOnly God can say forgive
His Son too received a knife
But we go on, we have to live
With this cross we call our lifeFeels like a bomb fell
And wave after wave come the aftershocksYou can't believe that it's true
There must be some mistake
You drift through this nightmare
From which you can't wakeCan I forgive him?
Can I forgive him?
No, I cannot
Can I forgive him?
Can I forgive him?
No, I cannotCan I forgive him?
Can I forgive him?
No, I cannot
Can I forgive him?
No, I cannot

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