"Cancíon de Adiós" by Coti, English translation of lyrics
"Song of Goodbye"
Style: Breakup song, not angry, but definitely passive-aggressive
Country: Argentina
Listen:
This song (at YouTube here) sounds cheerful until you realize that he is breaking up with his girlfriend. Oh my goodness, I hope he didn’t actually perform it for a girl. That would be mean.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Fuiste la luz de mi vida
Y mi musa preferida
Pero todo se acabo.
You were the light of my life
And my preferred muse
But everything ended.
Fuiste mi cruz de rosario,
Mi suerte en el calendario,
La dueña de mi colchón.
You were my rosarie cross,
My luck on the calendar,
The owner of my couch.
Fuiste un tango puro y duro,
Escrito en papel oscuro
Que no quiero ni cantar.
You were a tango, pure and simple, [*alt. pure and solid, *lit. pure and hard]
Written on dark paper
That I do not even want to sing.
Una guitarra sin cuerdas,
Un collar falso de perlas
Que nunca vieron el mar.
A guitar without cords,
A faux necklace of pearls
That never saw the sea.
Fuiste un jardín de malvones,
Un vinilo sin rayones,
Una dama de verdad...
You were a garden of geraniums,
A vinyl record without scratches,
A real lady...
Que duro 15 minutos
Y ahora me dejas el luto
De no querer verte más.
That lasted 15 minutes
And now you leave me in the grief
Of not wanting to see you again.
Fuiste una Lady Madonna,
Fuiste un gol de Maradona,
Fuiste la mano de Díos.
You are a Lady Madonna,
You were a Maradona goal, [*he’s an Argentinian soccer player]
You were the hand of God.
Fuiste todo pero fuiste,
Yo no sé si me entendiste
Que te estoy diciendo adiós.
You were everything, but you were, [*note: emphasis on past tense]
I do not know if you understood me,
(That) I am saying goodbye to you.
Fuiste un "día que me quieras,"
Fuiste Gardel y Le Pera
Y la Isla de Camarón. [*name inverted to rhyme, lit. the Island of Shrimp]
You are a "day that you love me,"
You were Gardel and Le Pera [*singer-songwriter famous in tango history and his collaborator]
And Camarón de la Isla. [*flamenco singer]
Fuiste en Madrid, Hortaleza
Y en Buenos Aires, princesa,
Reina de mi corazón.
You were in Madrid, Hortaleza [*district in Madrid, Spain; strong "to be" verb]
And in Buenos Aires, princess, [*capital of Argentina]
Queen of my heart.
-------------------------------------
Fuiste la luz de mi vida
Y mi musa preferida
Que ya no puedo expirar...
You were the light of my life
And my preferred muse
That I can no longer exhale/release...
...Ni un canto ni una ranchera,
Ni un solo verso siquiera,
Sólo esta canción de adiós.
...Not a canto nor a ranchera, [*story-like song styles associated with opposite social classes]
Nor a single verse even,
Just this song of goodbye.
-------------------------------------
(x2)
Y este fue mi testamento
De un amor que de contento
No me dejó ni el sudor.
And this was my testament
Of a love that when once happy
Did not even leave me the sweat.
Sólo queda despedirme
Con voz ronca pero firme.
El mal trago ya paso.
All that is left is to bid you farewell
With a hoarse but firm voice.
The bad (thing to) swallow has gone down.
Medio vals, mitad ranchera,
Le pongo el nombre que quieras
Y lo pinto Rock and Roll.
Half waltz, half ranchera,
I will give it whatever name you want
And I will paint it Rock and Roll.
Aquí adelante de todos,
Le estoy diciendo a mi modo,
Te estoy diciendo a mi modo,
Buena suerte, ciao, adiós...
Here in front of everyone,
I am saying "too bad" to it,
I am saying "too bad" to you,
Good luck, ciao, adiós... [*Two ways of saying "goodbye" in Italian and Spanish.]
Translation Notes:
Fuiste en Madrid, Hortaleza
You were in Madrid, Hortaleza [strong "to be" verb, ser]
This is in contrast to a weaker "to be" verb, estar:
Estabas en Madrid, Hortaleza
You were (physically located) in Madrid, Hortaleza
ser = to be -- describes your identity (your job, personality, permanent characteristics, etc.)
estar = to be -- describes your current state (your emotional state, location, situation, etc.)
Here, too, I think the past tense is significant.
Style: Breakup song, not angry, but definitely passive-aggressive
Country: Argentina
Listen:
This song (at YouTube here) sounds cheerful until you realize that he is breaking up with his girlfriend. Oh my goodness, I hope he didn’t actually perform it for a girl. That would be mean.
[Expand embedded video]
Click to viewTranslation:
Fuiste la luz de mi vida
Y mi musa preferida
Pero todo se acabo.
You were the light of my life
And my preferred muse
But everything ended.
Fuiste mi cruz de rosario,
Mi suerte en el calendario,
La dueña de mi colchón.
You were my rosarie cross,
My luck on the calendar,
The owner of my couch.
Fuiste un tango puro y duro,
Escrito en papel oscuro
Que no quiero ni cantar.
You were a tango, pure and simple, [*alt. pure and solid, *lit. pure and hard]
Written on dark paper
That I do not even want to sing.
Una guitarra sin cuerdas,
Un collar falso de perlas
Que nunca vieron el mar.
A guitar without cords,
A faux necklace of pearls
That never saw the sea.
Fuiste un jardín de malvones,
Un vinilo sin rayones,
Una dama de verdad...
You were a garden of geraniums,
A vinyl record without scratches,
A real lady...
Que duro 15 minutos
Y ahora me dejas el luto
De no querer verte más.
That lasted 15 minutes
And now you leave me in the grief
Of not wanting to see you again.
Fuiste una Lady Madonna,
Fuiste un gol de Maradona,
Fuiste la mano de Díos.
You are a Lady Madonna,
You were a Maradona goal, [*he’s an Argentinian soccer player]
You were the hand of God.
Fuiste todo pero fuiste,
Yo no sé si me entendiste
Que te estoy diciendo adiós.
You were everything, but you were, [*note: emphasis on past tense]
I do not know if you understood me,
(That) I am saying goodbye to you.
Fuiste un "día que me quieras,"
Fuiste Gardel y Le Pera
Y la Isla de Camarón. [*name inverted to rhyme, lit. the Island of Shrimp]
You are a "day that you love me,"
You were Gardel and Le Pera [*singer-songwriter famous in tango history and his collaborator]
And Camarón de la Isla. [*flamenco singer]
Fuiste en Madrid, Hortaleza
Y en Buenos Aires, princesa,
Reina de mi corazón.
You were in Madrid, Hortaleza [*district in Madrid, Spain; strong "to be" verb]
And in Buenos Aires, princess, [*capital of Argentina]
Queen of my heart.
-------------------------------------
Fuiste la luz de mi vida
Y mi musa preferida
Que ya no puedo expirar...
You were the light of my life
And my preferred muse
That I can no longer exhale/release...
...Ni un canto ni una ranchera,
Ni un solo verso siquiera,
Sólo esta canción de adiós.
...Not a canto nor a ranchera, [*story-like song styles associated with opposite social classes]
Nor a single verse even,
Just this song of goodbye.
-------------------------------------
(x2)
Y este fue mi testamento
De un amor que de contento
No me dejó ni el sudor.
And this was my testament
Of a love that when once happy
Did not even leave me the sweat.
Sólo queda despedirme
Con voz ronca pero firme.
El mal trago ya paso.
All that is left is to bid you farewell
With a hoarse but firm voice.
The bad (thing to) swallow has gone down.
Medio vals, mitad ranchera,
Le pongo el nombre que quieras
Y lo pinto Rock and Roll.
Half waltz, half ranchera,
I will give it whatever name you want
And I will paint it Rock and Roll.
Aquí adelante de todos,
Le estoy diciendo a mi modo,
Te estoy diciendo a mi modo,
Buena suerte, ciao, adiós...
Here in front of everyone,
I am saying "too bad" to it,
I am saying "too bad" to you,
Good luck, ciao, adiós... [*Two ways of saying "goodbye" in Italian and Spanish.]
Translation Notes:
Fuiste en Madrid, Hortaleza
You were in Madrid, Hortaleza [strong "to be" verb, ser]
This is in contrast to a weaker "to be" verb, estar:
Estabas en Madrid, Hortaleza
You were (physically located) in Madrid, Hortaleza
ser = to be -- describes your identity (your job, personality, permanent characteristics, etc.)
estar = to be -- describes your current state (your emotional state, location, situation, etc.)
Here, too, I think the past tense is significant.