"Bonito" by Jarabe de Palo, English translation of lyrics
"Nice", lit. "Pretty"
Style: Cheerful, repetitive
Country: Spain
Listen:
At YouTube here.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Bonita mañana,
Bonito lugar,
Bonita la cama,
Qué bien se ve el mar.
Pretty morning,
Pretty place,
Pretty bed,
How good the sea looks.
Bonito es el día
Y acaba de empezar.
The day is pretty
And it has just begun.
Bonita la vida,
Respira, respira, respira.
Life is pretty,
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
El teléfono suena, mi pana se queja
La cosa va mal, la vida le pesa
Que vivir así ya no le interesa,
Que seguir así no vale la pena.
The telephone rings, my buddy complains,
Something is going wrong, life is tough [*lit. life weighs him],
(So much so) that living like this no longer interests him,
That continuing like this is not worth it.
Se perdió el amor, se acabó la fiesta,
Ya no anda el motor que empuja la tierra,
La vida es un chiste con triste final,
El futuro no existe, pero yo le digo...
The love was lost, the party ended,
The engine that turns the earth no longer works,
Life is a joke with a bad ending,
The future does not exist, but I tell him...
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
(x2)
Bonita la paz, bonita la vida.
Bonito volver a nacer cada día.
Bonita la verdad cuando no suena a mentira.
Bonita la amistad. Bonita la risa.
Pretty peace, pretty life,
Nice to be born anew every day.
Truth is pretty when it does not sound like a lie.
Friendship is nice. Laughter is nice.
Bonita la gente cuando hay calidad.
Bonita la gente que no se arrepiente,
Que gana y que pierde, que habla y no miente.
Bonita la gente, por eso yo digo...
The people are nice when they are good [*lit. quality] people.
Nice, the people who do not regret,
Who win and who lose, who speak and do not lie.
Nice people, that is why I say...
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Qué bonito que te va cuando te va bonito,
Qué bonito que te va.
(x2)
How nice it goes when it goes nice for you,
How nice it goes (for you).
(x2)
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
La mar, la mañana, la casa, la sombra,
La tierra, la paz y la vida que pasa.
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Tu calma, tu salsa, la mancha en la
Espalda, tu cara, tus ganas, el fin de semana.
The sea, the morning, the house, the shadow,
The land, the peace and the life that goes by.
Pretty, everything seems pretty to me.
Your calm, your salsa, the birthmark on your
Back, your face, your enthusiasm, the weekend.
Bonita la gente que viene y que va,
Bonita la gente que no se detiene,
Bonita la gente que no tiene edad,
Que escucha, que entiende, que tiene y que da.
Pretty the people who come and go,
Pretty the people who do not stop, [*double meaning: detenerse = to stop, pause; to hold oneself back]
Pretty the people who are ageless,
Who listen, who understand, who have and who give.
Bonito Portet, bonito Peret,
Bonita la rumba, bonito José,
Bonita la brisa que no tiene prisa,
Bonito este día, respira, respira.
Nice Portet, nice Peret, [*a commune in France and a Spanish singer]
Rumba is nice, José is nice,
Nice the breeze that is not in a hurry,
This day is nice, breathe, breathe.
Bonita la gente cuando es de verdad.
Bonita la gente que es diferente,
Que tiembla, que siente,
Que vive el presente.
Pretty the people when they are sincere [*lit. true],
Pretty the people who are different,
Who tremble, who feel,
Who live in the present.
Bonita la gente que estuvo y no está.
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Pretty the people who were here and now are not.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Qué bonito que te va cuando te va bonito,
Qué bonito que te va.
Qué bonito que se está cuando se está bonito,
Qué bonito que se está.
(x2)
How nice it goes when it goes nice for you,
How nice it goes (for you).
How nice it is when it is nice,
How nice it is.
(x2)
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Translation Notes:
It sounds like he is using circular logic to cheer someone up and bring them back from the edge. Life will get better! Life is good for me. When life is good for you, life will be good! Et cetera. It is a catchy song.
---
bonito [m. adj.] = nice; lit. pretty
Sometimes the meaning obviously favors one or the other, sometimes the meaning is about 50% "nice" and 50% "pretty." The translation choice for bonito in any particular line is subjective and I can already anticipate a lot of bilingual people telling me, "Well, I would have chosen..."
All I can say in response is, "I know!" I probably agree with you 50%.
I went back and forth on many lines several times, especially on the "pretty people" vs. "nice people" lines, and I still do on re-reading the translation. Oh well.
---
Qué bonito que se está.
How nice it is.
How nice it feels to stay in this state. How comfortable one can be in this state.
Style: Cheerful, repetitive
Country: Spain
Listen:
At YouTube here.
[Expand embedded video]
Click to viewTranslation:
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Bonita mañana,
Bonito lugar,
Bonita la cama,
Qué bien se ve el mar.
Pretty morning,
Pretty place,
Pretty bed,
How good the sea looks.
Bonito es el día
Y acaba de empezar.
The day is pretty
And it has just begun.
Bonita la vida,
Respira, respira, respira.
Life is pretty,
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
El teléfono suena, mi pana se queja
La cosa va mal, la vida le pesa
Que vivir así ya no le interesa,
Que seguir así no vale la pena.
The telephone rings, my buddy complains,
Something is going wrong, life is tough [*lit. life weighs him],
(So much so) that living like this no longer interests him,
That continuing like this is not worth it.
Se perdió el amor, se acabó la fiesta,
Ya no anda el motor que empuja la tierra,
La vida es un chiste con triste final,
El futuro no existe, pero yo le digo...
The love was lost, the party ended,
The engine that turns the earth no longer works,
Life is a joke with a bad ending,
The future does not exist, but I tell him...
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
(x2)
Bonita la paz, bonita la vida.
Bonito volver a nacer cada día.
Bonita la verdad cuando no suena a mentira.
Bonita la amistad. Bonita la risa.
Pretty peace, pretty life,
Nice to be born anew every day.
Truth is pretty when it does not sound like a lie.
Friendship is nice. Laughter is nice.
Bonita la gente cuando hay calidad.
Bonita la gente que no se arrepiente,
Que gana y que pierde, que habla y no miente.
Bonita la gente, por eso yo digo...
The people are nice when they are good [*lit. quality] people.
Nice, the people who do not regret,
Who win and who lose, who speak and do not lie.
Nice people, that is why I say...
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Qué bonito que te va cuando te va bonito,
Qué bonito que te va.
(x2)
How nice it goes when it goes nice for you,
How nice it goes (for you).
(x2)
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
La mar, la mañana, la casa, la sombra,
La tierra, la paz y la vida que pasa.
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Tu calma, tu salsa, la mancha en la
Espalda, tu cara, tus ganas, el fin de semana.
The sea, the morning, the house, the shadow,
The land, the peace and the life that goes by.
Pretty, everything seems pretty to me.
Your calm, your salsa, the birthmark on your
Back, your face, your enthusiasm, the weekend.
Bonita la gente que viene y que va,
Bonita la gente que no se detiene,
Bonita la gente que no tiene edad,
Que escucha, que entiende, que tiene y que da.
Pretty the people who come and go,
Pretty the people who do not stop, [*double meaning: detenerse = to stop, pause; to hold oneself back]
Pretty the people who are ageless,
Who listen, who understand, who have and who give.
Bonito Portet, bonito Peret,
Bonita la rumba, bonito José,
Bonita la brisa que no tiene prisa,
Bonito este día, respira, respira.
Nice Portet, nice Peret, [*a commune in France and a Spanish singer]
Rumba is nice, José is nice,
Nice the breeze that is not in a hurry,
This day is nice, breathe, breathe.
Bonita la gente cuando es de verdad.
Bonita la gente que es diferente,
Que tiembla, que siente,
Que vive el presente.
Pretty the people when they are sincere [*lit. true],
Pretty the people who are different,
Who tremble, who feel,
Who live in the present.
Bonita la gente que estuvo y no está.
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Pretty the people who were here and now are not.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Qué bonito que te va cuando te va bonito,
Qué bonito que te va.
Qué bonito que se está cuando se está bonito,
Qué bonito que se está.
(x2)
How nice it goes when it goes nice for you,
How nice it goes (for you).
How nice it is when it is nice,
How nice it is.
(x2)
Bonito, todo me parece bonito.
Nice, everything seems nice to me.
Translation Notes:
It sounds like he is using circular logic to cheer someone up and bring them back from the edge. Life will get better! Life is good for me. When life is good for you, life will be good! Et cetera. It is a catchy song.
---
bonito [m. adj.] = nice; lit. pretty
Sometimes the meaning obviously favors one or the other, sometimes the meaning is about 50% "nice" and 50% "pretty." The translation choice for bonito in any particular line is subjective and I can already anticipate a lot of bilingual people telling me, "Well, I would have chosen..."
All I can say in response is, "I know!" I probably agree with you 50%.
I went back and forth on many lines several times, especially on the "pretty people" vs. "nice people" lines, and I still do on re-reading the translation. Oh well.
---
Qué bonito que se está.
How nice it is.
How nice it feels to stay in this state. How comfortable one can be in this state.