Cuando el rey Selomó

Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement:Y5756b/16
Referenced and notated in: Romancero Sefardi de Marruecos, pg. 103, Editorial Alpuerto, Pardes Publishing House, 2018 Susana Weich-Shahak.

The ballad is found only in the Sephardic tradition of Morocco. It recounts the episode narrated in  Kings 1, chap. 3: 16-18. of the two women fighting over a single baby who came to the wise King Solomon for advice.

Text:
Cuando el rey Selomó     en Yerusalaim reinó,
vinieron a el dos mujeres   que el corazón lastimó.x2
- Justicia, señor, justicia,   justicia si me les dar
eramos yo y esta dueña,     solita es en una casa,
las dos comiamos de un pan  las dos bebiamos de un agua
juntas tuvimos un niño,    juntitas y en una cama.
Esta dueña, por desgracia,    al su hijo ahogara;
tomara al mío que es vivo,  y el suyo, muerto, a mí me dara
Ya se hablo el rey Selomó      una bonita palabra:
- Traeme al vivo, y al muerto,   lo partire com espada
Lo que es la madre del muerto,   por la justicia otorgara;
lo que es la madre del vivo,   lloraba y non callaba.
- Llevadle, señor, llevadle,  llevadle, no quiero yo nada,
cuando el niño sea grande    por su madre él buscara.

Translation:
When King Solomon reigned in Jerusalem,
two women came to him who pained his heart. x2
“Justice, sir, justice - give me justice,
it was I and this other woman, alone in one house,
we both ate of one bread, we both drank of one water,
we kept one child together, together in one bed.
This other woman, alas, has drowned her son;
she will take mine, which is alive, and give me hers, which is dead.”
Then King Solomon spoke a wise word:
“Bring me the living child and the dead one; I will cut it with my sword.”
“What is the mother of the dead - she shall be given up by justice;
what is the mother of the living - she wept and would not be silent.”
“Take him away, my lord, take him away, take him away - I want nothing;
when the child grows up he will seek his mother.”