"Muerte En Hawaii" by Calle 13, English translation of lyrics
"Death in Hawaii"
Album: Entren Los Que Quieran (Enter Those Who Want To), 2010
Style: Love song, ukelele, exaggerated accomplishments, ode
Country: Puerto Rico
Listen:
The lyrics are a cute love song, but I guess Calle 13 didn’t want to be cute, so they juxtaposed the song with a violent and bizarre music video. The album won "Album of the Year" in the 2011 Latin Grammys and was nominated for "Best Latin, Pop, Rock or Urban Album" in the 2012 Grammys.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation Notes:
Yo he peleado con cocodrilos.
Me he balanceado sobre un hilo cargando más de 500 kilos.
Le he da'o [dado] la vuelta al mundo en menos de un segundo.
He cruza'o [cruzado] 100 laberintos y nunca me confundo.
I have fought with crocodiles.
I have balanced over a string carrying more than 500 kilograms [= 1102.3 pounds = 0.55 tons].
I have gone around the world in less than a second.
I have crossed 100 labyrinths and I never get confused.
Respiro dentro y fuera del agua como las focas.
Soy a prueba de fuego. Agarro balas con la boca.
Mi creatividad vuela como los aviones.
Puedo construir un cerebro sin leer las instrucciones.
I can breathe in and out of water like the seals [*alt. I can breathe over and underwater like the seals].
I am fireproof. I can catch bullets with my teeth [*lit. mouth].
My creativity soars like airplanes.
I can build a brain without instructions. [*lit. I can construct a brain without reading the instructions.]
Hablo todos los idiomas de todos los abecedarios.
Tengo más vocabulario que cualquier diccionario.
Tengo vista de águila, olfato de perro.
Puedo caminar descalzo sobre clavos de hierro.
I speak every language of every alphabet.
I have more vocabulary than any dictionary.
I have the sight of an eagle, the sense of smell of a dog.
I can walk barefoot over iron nails.
Soy inmune a la muerte.
No necesito bendiciones porque siempre tengo buena suerte.
Ven conmigo a dar un paseo por el parque
Porque tengo más cuentos que contarte que García Márquez.
I am immune to death.
I do not need blessings because I always have good luck.
Come with me to take a walk around the park
Because I have more stories to tell you than García Márquez. [*Nobel Prize-winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude]
Por ti, todo lo que hago lo hago por ti,
Es que tú me sacas lo mejor de mí.
Soy todo lo que soy
Porque tú eres todo lo que quiero.
(x3)
For you, everything I do, I do for you,
Because you bring out the best in me.
I am everything that I am
Because you are everything that I want.
(x3)
Puedo brincar la cuerda con sólo una pierna.
Veo en la oscuridad sin usar una linterna.
Cocino lo que quieras, yo soy todo un chef.
Tengo sexo 24/7 todo el mes.
I can jump rope with only one leg.
I can see in the dark without a flashlight.
I can cook whatever you want, I am a chef.
I have sex 24/7 all month.
Puedo soplar las nubes grises pa’ [para] que tengas un buen día.
También sé como comunicarme por telepatía.
Por ti, cruzo las fronteras sin visa
Y le saco una buena sonrisa a la Mona Lisa.
I can blow away the gray clouds so you will have a good day.
I also know how to communicate with telepathy.
For you, I will cross the borders without a visa
And bring out a true smile from the Mona Lisa.
Por ti, respiro antes de morirme.
Por ti voy a la Iglesia y escucho toda la misa sin dormirme.
Sigo siendo el Rey, aunque no tenga reino. [*reference to old Mexican song "El Rey"]
Mi sudor huele a perfume y nunca me despeino.
For you, I breathe before dying.
For you I go to church and listen to the whole sermon without sleeping.
I continue being King, though I do not have a kingdom.
My sweat smells like perfume and my hair is never out of place.
Sé pelear todas las artes marciales.
También sé como comunicarme con los animales.
Mientras más pasa el tiempo me veo más joven
Y esta canción la compuse sin escuchar como Beethoven.
I know how to fight in all the martial arts.
I also know how to communicate with the animals.
The more time passes, the younger I look [*reference to Benjamin Button and maybe Dorian Gray]
And I composed this song without hearing like Beethoven [*famous composer who lost his hearing].
Por ti, todo lo que hago lo hago por ti,
Es que tú me sacas lo mejor de mí.
Soy todo lo que soy
Porque tú eres todo lo que quiero.
(x3)
For you, everything I do I do for you,
Because you bring out the best in me.
I am everything that I am
Because you are everything that I want.
(x3)
[Gunshot!]
[Text:]
1 Año
23,000 delfines muertos.
Algun día se tenían que vengar.
1 Year
23,000 dolphins killed.
They were bound to get revenge one day. [*lit. Some day they had to get revenge.]
Translation Notes:
Por ti, todo lo que hago lo hago por ti
For you, everything I do, I do for you
[todo] {lo que hago} [lo hago] [por ti]
[everything] {that I do} [I do it] [for you]
---
Cocino lo que quieras, yo soy todo un chef
I can cook whatever you want, I am a chef.
I cook whatever you want, I am a real chef. [*sort of lit.]
todo un ___ = entirely a ___; fully a ___; completely a ___
It is used similar to how in English one might say, "I am a f*cking chef," except without the swearing.
chef is a borrowed English word.
---
Y le saco una buena sonrisa a la Mona Lisa.
And [I] bring out a true smile from the Mona Lisa.
Note that in Spanish, there are two names for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting: "La Mona Lisa" and "La Giaconda."
---
Mi sudor huele a perfume y nunca me despeino.
My sweat smells like perfume and my hair is never out of place.
despeinarse [verb] = to mess one’s hair up
from des- (un-) + peinar (comb); base word peine (comb)
Album: Entren Los Que Quieran (Enter Those Who Want To), 2010
Style: Love song, ukelele, exaggerated accomplishments, ode
Country: Puerto Rico
Listen:
The lyrics are a cute love song, but I guess Calle 13 didn’t want to be cute, so they juxtaposed the song with a violent and bizarre music video. The album won "Album of the Year" in the 2011 Latin Grammys and was nominated for "Best Latin, Pop, Rock or Urban Album" in the 2012 Grammys.
[Expand embedded video]
Click to viewTranslation Notes:
Yo he peleado con cocodrilos.
Me he balanceado sobre un hilo cargando más de 500 kilos.
Le he da'o [dado] la vuelta al mundo en menos de un segundo.
He cruza'o [cruzado] 100 laberintos y nunca me confundo.
I have fought with crocodiles.
I have balanced over a string carrying more than 500 kilograms [= 1102.3 pounds = 0.55 tons].
I have gone around the world in less than a second.
I have crossed 100 labyrinths and I never get confused.
Respiro dentro y fuera del agua como las focas.
Soy a prueba de fuego. Agarro balas con la boca.
Mi creatividad vuela como los aviones.
Puedo construir un cerebro sin leer las instrucciones.
I can breathe in and out of water like the seals [*alt. I can breathe over and underwater like the seals].
I am fireproof. I can catch bullets with my teeth [*lit. mouth].
My creativity soars like airplanes.
I can build a brain without instructions. [*lit. I can construct a brain without reading the instructions.]
Hablo todos los idiomas de todos los abecedarios.
Tengo más vocabulario que cualquier diccionario.
Tengo vista de águila, olfato de perro.
Puedo caminar descalzo sobre clavos de hierro.
I speak every language of every alphabet.
I have more vocabulary than any dictionary.
I have the sight of an eagle, the sense of smell of a dog.
I can walk barefoot over iron nails.
Soy inmune a la muerte.
No necesito bendiciones porque siempre tengo buena suerte.
Ven conmigo a dar un paseo por el parque
Porque tengo más cuentos que contarte que García Márquez.
I am immune to death.
I do not need blessings because I always have good luck.
Come with me to take a walk around the park
Because I have more stories to tell you than García Márquez. [*Nobel Prize-winning author of One Hundred Years of Solitude]
Por ti, todo lo que hago lo hago por ti,
Es que tú me sacas lo mejor de mí.
Soy todo lo que soy
Porque tú eres todo lo que quiero.
(x3)
For you, everything I do, I do for you,
Because you bring out the best in me.
I am everything that I am
Because you are everything that I want.
(x3)
Puedo brincar la cuerda con sólo una pierna.
Veo en la oscuridad sin usar una linterna.
Cocino lo que quieras, yo soy todo un chef.
Tengo sexo 24/7 todo el mes.
I can jump rope with only one leg.
I can see in the dark without a flashlight.
I can cook whatever you want, I am a chef.
I have sex 24/7 all month.
Puedo soplar las nubes grises pa’ [para] que tengas un buen día.
También sé como comunicarme por telepatía.
Por ti, cruzo las fronteras sin visa
Y le saco una buena sonrisa a la Mona Lisa.
I can blow away the gray clouds so you will have a good day.
I also know how to communicate with telepathy.
For you, I will cross the borders without a visa
And bring out a true smile from the Mona Lisa.
Por ti, respiro antes de morirme.
Por ti voy a la Iglesia y escucho toda la misa sin dormirme.
Sigo siendo el Rey, aunque no tenga reino. [*reference to old Mexican song "El Rey"]
Mi sudor huele a perfume y nunca me despeino.
For you, I breathe before dying.
For you I go to church and listen to the whole sermon without sleeping.
I continue being King, though I do not have a kingdom.
My sweat smells like perfume and my hair is never out of place.
Sé pelear todas las artes marciales.
También sé como comunicarme con los animales.
Mientras más pasa el tiempo me veo más joven
Y esta canción la compuse sin escuchar como Beethoven.
I know how to fight in all the martial arts.
I also know how to communicate with the animals.
The more time passes, the younger I look [*reference to Benjamin Button and maybe Dorian Gray]
And I composed this song without hearing like Beethoven [*famous composer who lost his hearing].
Por ti, todo lo que hago lo hago por ti,
Es que tú me sacas lo mejor de mí.
Soy todo lo que soy
Porque tú eres todo lo que quiero.
(x3)
For you, everything I do I do for you,
Because you bring out the best in me.
I am everything that I am
Because you are everything that I want.
(x3)
[Gunshot!]
[Text:]
1 Año
23,000 delfines muertos.
Algun día se tenían que vengar.
1 Year
23,000 dolphins killed.
They were bound to get revenge one day. [*lit. Some day they had to get revenge.]
Translation Notes:
Por ti, todo lo que hago lo hago por ti
For you, everything I do, I do for you
[todo] {lo que hago} [lo hago] [por ti]
[everything] {that I do} [I do it] [for you]
---
Cocino lo que quieras, yo soy todo un chef
I can cook whatever you want, I am a chef.
I cook whatever you want, I am a real chef. [*sort of lit.]
todo un ___ = entirely a ___; fully a ___; completely a ___
It is used similar to how in English one might say, "I am a f*cking chef," except without the swearing.
chef is a borrowed English word.
---
Y le saco una buena sonrisa a la Mona Lisa.
And [I] bring out a true smile from the Mona Lisa.
Note that in Spanish, there are two names for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting: "La Mona Lisa" and "La Giaconda."
---
Mi sudor huele a perfume y nunca me despeino.
My sweat smells like perfume and my hair is never out of place.
despeinarse [verb] = to mess one’s hair up
from des- (un-) + peinar (comb); base word peine (comb)