Old Cuban Men
By That Beach Sound Cartel
“Oye chico…”
“You remember those old Cuban men?”
[Verse 1]
Back when I was just a kid
In el barrio we called home,
The old Cuban men sat everywhere
Tranquielo, Never seemed to be alone.
Domino Y cafecitos
Cigar smoke in the air,
Comiendo mierda all afternoon
Like they hadn’t a single care.
My old man left every morning
Guayabera loaded down,
All the pockets llenitos de cigarros
Headed somewhere into town.
Then he’d walk back through la puerta
Right around supper time,
Pockets empty…
Los Tabacos, all gone…
And a smile that said, life’s fine.
[Chorus]
¿Dónde están los viejos Cubanos?
The ones I knew back then,
The men with cigar smoke stories
And rough hardworking hands.
¿Dónde están los viejos Cubanos?
The ones from long ago,
Maybe they ain’t really gone…
Maybe we’re just getting old.
[Verse 2]
Back then those old Cubanos
Had rules carved deep as stone,
You respected your mamá
And you spoke Spanish at home
Their daughters wore pleated skirts,
And Sunday dresses to the dance,
Lord if a skirt got too short
You didn’t stand a chance.
They argued baseball
Argued politics,
Argued who made better rice.
And somehow every damn discussion
Turned into life advice.
[Chorus]
¿Dónde están los viejos Cubanos?
The ones I knew back then,
The men with cigar smoke stories
And rough hardworking hands.
¿Dónde están los viejos Cubanos?
The ones from long ago,
Maybe they ain’t really gone…
Maybe we’re just getting old.
[Verse 3]
Now I see the old men laughing
But something feels different somehow,
They’re at Hooters eating hot wings
Arguing over los Dolphins now.
Big Daddy’s on a Friday night
Taco Bell after the game,
Nothing wrong with any of it
But it just don’t feel the same.
Back then every conversation
Somehow ended up with Castro,
Now, nobody seems to care
Where those old arguments go.
I guess after fifty years
You run out of things to say,
And start worrying more about lunch
Than what happened yesterday.
Nothing wrong with any of it
But it just don’t feel the same.
Now their granddaughters got tattoos
Showing off their thighs,
And those same old Cuban grandpas
Just smile and roll their eyes.
The old Cubano’s would’ve fainted
If a baby came before “I do”,
Now they’re buying diapers at Costco
Like that’s what they’re supposed to do.
[Bridge]
The cigars got traded for smartphones
The dominoes got harder to find
Little Havana keeps changing
Just like the rest of time
Sometimes I swear I miss it
More and more every year
Then I catch myself telling stories
And it all becomes real clear
[Final Chorus]
¿Dónde están los viejos Cubanos?
I think I finally know
They’re sitting in our memories
From fifty years ago
¿Dónde están los viejos Cubanos?
The answer found me when
I looked into the mirror…
We became the old Cuban men
[Outro]
Comiendo mierda…
Talking baseball…
Smoking cigars…
Beneath the stars…
“Oye chico…”
“We became the old Cuban men.”
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