Maria Consuela Arroyo was born and was raised on the south side of town Her eyes holding midnight the face of an angel come down In softness and beauty she grew like a rose without thorn At fifteen she married, at sixteen her first child was born CHORUS: And time is a lover, the planter in ripeness who harvests your dreams And time is a river that sweeps us along in its stream He brings us together then forces us cruelly apart And there's no wrinkled crone in her dry skin and bones Who is not a young girl in her heart Maria Consuela Arroyo, she bore seven more on the south side of town And the love for her family, like soft rain, came whispering down Like flowers in a garden they flourished in beauty and grace With their eyes like dark mirrors, reflecting the love in her face CHORUS: And time is a traitor, yes time is the villain who stalks on our stage
The bringer of darkness the bringer of wrinkles and age He brings souls together then forces them cruelly apart And there's no wrinkled crone in her dry skin and bones Who is not a young girl in her heart Maria Consuela Arroyo, her man fell in battle across the dark seas Her children were scattered like feathers that ride down the breeze She kneels in the darkness, nine candles she lights every day And Padre Alfonzo remembers their names when he prays CHORUS: And time's the black angel, a dark curandero who brings the long sleep And time is the shepherd who keeps a good watch on his sheep He brings back together the souls that he once tore apart And he comforts old crones in their dry skin and bones For he still loves the girl in their heart And time is a love, the planter in ripeness who harvests your dreams