La Bien Paga
Na te debo
(I don’t owe you)
Na me pido
(Do not ask me)
Me voy de tu vera, olvidame ya
(I am going from your side, forget me now)
He pagao con oro tus carnes morenas
(I have paid with gold for your dark flesh)
No maldigas, paya, que estamos en paz
(Don’t speak ill (curse), (paya? possibly derrogative term for a non-white Spanish person), that we are at peace)
No te quiero
(I don’t love you)
No me quieras
(You don’t love me)
Si tu me lo diste, yo na te pedí
(If you gave it to me, I did not ask you)
No me echas en cara que to’ lo perdiste
(Don’t throw it in my face that you lost everything)
También a tu vera yo todo perdí
(Also at your side I lost everything)
Bien paga
(Well paid)
Si (Que) tú eres la bien paga
(If you are the one well paid (or you are the good payment?))
Porque tus besos compré
(Because I bought your kisses)
Y a mi te supiste dar
(And to me you knew you gave)
Por un puñao de parne
(For a handful of cash)
Bien paga, bien paga
(Well paid, well paid (Or “good salary”))
Bien paga fuiste, mujer
(Well paid go, woman)
(Strangely if you listen to the version I linked, which is the only one that I know about, the above stanza repeats and everything below is omitted, which means these lyrics were transcribed from some other version, or sheet music)
No te engaño
(I didn’t swindle you)
quiero a otra
(I love another)
No creas por eso que te traicioné
(Don’t believe that because of this I was unfaithful to you)
No cayo en mis brazos
(Don’t fall in my arms)
Me dio solo un beso
(You gave me only one kiss)
El único beso que yo no pagué
(The only kiss I didn’t pay for)
Na te pido
(I didn’t ask you)
Na me llevo
(Don’t take me(need? me))
Entre esas paredes dejo sepultas
(Between these walls stay buried)
Penas y alegrias, que te doy y me diste
(Pains and joys, that I give you and you gave me)
Y esas joyas que ahora pa’ otro luciras
(And the jewels that now for another shine)
April 29th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Ok, here’s my translation. Feel feel to ask why I translated it as I did (or challenge my choices). There were a number of things that I left as you had translated them:
I don’t owe you anything
Don’t ask me for anything
I am leaving your side, forget me at once
I have paid with gold for your dark flesh
Don’t curse, woman, let’s be at peace (**as I hear it, he says “estemos” rather than “estamos”)
(paya generally means a non-gypsy, so it could be left as-is or a suitable substitute could be used)
I don’t love you
You don’t love me
If you gave it to me, I didn’t ask for it
Don’t throw in my face that you lost everything
At your side, I lost everything, too
Well paid
Yes, you are the well paid one
Because I bought your kisses
And you knew to give them to me
For a handful of cash
Well paid, well paid
You were well paid, woman
I am not trying to fool you / cheating on you
I love another
Don’t believe that because of this I betrayed you
She did not fall into my arms
She just gave me a kiss
The only kiss I didn’t pay for
I’m not asking you for anything
I’m not taking anything
Between those walls I am leaving buried
Pain and joy, that I give you and you gave me
And those jewels that you will now shine for another
April 29th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Ah. You do pronouns much better. I lose track of who is doing what to who. I am happy though that I was close enough that I can continue to call it the “jilted hooker song…”
Also I should have listened to the song more while I did the translation… get more inflection!
I’ll have to get my Ventarron up for you to pick apart but it is still very rough… I am waaaaay slow!
April 30th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I always have to remind myself to double-check for Lunfardo–that’s my biggest problem! It turns out that “paya” can also mean someone who is very blond or a redhead, which makes sense here. Anyway, yeah, definitely a jilted hooker! haha.
I’m working on my Ventarron, too, so we’ll be able to compare.