Montaña de Brokeback

With all the buzz about gay cowboys accompanying the cinematic debut of Brokeback Mountain, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share the following playful verses by Cristóbal de Castillejo (1492?-1550?), a medieval Spanish court poet whose love poems caused him to be brought before the Inquisition. No surprise there, because the Inquisitors didn’t much care for gay cowboys, and in Castillejo’s Glosa de las vacas, the speaker (clearly male) flirts with a young man named Gil by offering him a roll in the hay if he’ll take care of the speaker’s cows.

It’s long, but deserves to be quoted in its entirety. The English translation that follows is based upon the translation by J.M. Cohen, taken from the third edition of The Penguin Book of Spanish Verse (Penguin Books: London & New York, 1988).

Guárdame las vacas,
carillejo, y besarte he;
si no, bésame tú a mí,
que yo te las guardaré.

En el troque que te pido,
Gil, no recibes engaño;
no te me
muestres extraño
por ser de mí requerido.
Tan ventajoso partido
no sé yo quien te lo dé;
si no, bésame tú a mí
que yo te las guardaré.

Por un poco de cuidado
ganarás de parte mía
lo que a ninguno daría
si no por don señalado.
No vale tanto el ganado
como lo que te daré;
si no, dame lo tú a mí
que yo te las guardaré.

No tengo necesidad
de hacerte este favor,
sino sola la que en amor
ha puesto mi voluntad.
Y negarte la verdad
no lo consiente mi fe;
si no, quiéreme tú a mí,
que yo te las guardaré.

Oh cuántos me pedirían
lo que yo te pido a ti,
y en alcanzarlo de mí
por dichosos se tendrían.
Toma lo que
ellos querrían,
haz lo que mandaré;
si no, mándame tú a mí,
que yo te las guardaré.

Mas tú, Gil,
por su ventura
quieres ser tan perezoso,
que precias más tu reposo
que gozar de
esta dulzura,
yo por darte a ti holgura
el cuidado tomaré
que tú me besas a mí,
que yo te las guardaré.

Yo seré más diligente
que tú sin darme pasión,
porque con el galardón
el trabajo no se siente;
y haré que se contente
mi pena con el porqué,
que es que me beses tú a mí,
que yo te las guardaré.


Keep my cows for me, darling boy,
and I will kiss you;
or else you may kiss me,
and I will keep the cows for you.

You will not be cheated, Gil, by this exchange
that I am offering you.
Do not be put out at being wooed by me.
I do not know who will make you
a more advantageous offer—or else, you may kiss me,
and I will keep the cows for you.

In return for a little trouble,
you will receive from me what I would give to
nobody except as a special gift.
The herd is not worth as much as what
I shall give you—or else you may give it to me,
and I shall keep the cows for you.

I have no need
to grant you this favor,
except that need which
has made my free will
the prisoner of love;
and honesty forbids me
to deny you the truth—
or else, you may love me,
and I will keep the cows for you.

Oh, how many men
would beg of me
what I am begging of you,
and would count
themselves lucky
if they got it from me.
Take what they
would like to have,
and do what I tell you—
or else, you may command me,
and I will keep the cows for you.

But if you happen to be so lazy, Gil,
as to value your rest more highly
than the enjoyment of that pleasure,
to save you trouble I will do the work,
and you shall kiss me,
while I keep the cows for you.

I will not be cross, but will be more diligent than you,
for when there is a reward,
work is no trouble, and I’ll see that my pains
are paid for with your kisses
and by keeping the cows for you.

A note on the images:

From top to bottom, Cows, Yellow-Red-Green (1912, oil on canvas, Staedtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich) by Franz Marc (1880-1916); Fieldhand with Scythe (1909, oil on canvas) by John George Brown (1831-1913); a detail from Caught Napping (1848, oil on canvas, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY) by William Sidney Mount (1807-1868);Clément Serveau’s (1886-1972) Two Nude Youths Holding Hands (early 20th century, woodblock print).