richard nauman - 2-19-2004 at 10:26 AM
Hello,
In my enternal quest to learn Spanish I have been trying to translate song lyrics and have gotten stuck on a couple of lines in the song "La Liebre"
by Los Tigres Del Norte. Can anyone give me a little help with these two lines?
"A donde va a dar el pueblo"
Looks like
"To where are you going to give the town"
but that doesn't seem right
"Porque a muchos les conviene"
looks like
"Because many agree to it"
Am I close with either one?
I'll post my translations when I'm done if anyone is interested.
Thanks,
RN
David K - 2-19-2004 at 12:41 PM
pueblo could also mean the people who live close together (as in 'village'). I hope one of our native Spanish speakers solves this one!
Nikon - 2-19-2004 at 02:04 PM
somebody go get Jesse
Bob H - 2-20-2004 at 01:02 PM
According to my Spanish speaking friend, the first one is translated exactly right, but he thinks the Spanish is a little strange (probably because
it's a song). The second one he translates in to "because it's convenient for most"
Hope this helps.
Bob H
richard nauman - 2-20-2004 at 03:43 PM
Thanks for the help. Here's what I came up with for the whole song. Its still rough in a few places but I think I understand most of it. You'll have
to add your own tuba and accordion.
La Liebre
Unos corretean la liebre
Y otros sin corer la alcanzan
Unos gastan el dinero
Y otros son los que trabajan
A donde va a dar el pueblo
Si tiene un monton de ratas
El dolar a diario sube
Nadie lo pued frenar
Porque a muchos los conviene
Nuestro peso devaluar
Y el dinero que ellos gastan
El pueblo lo va a pagar
Mi patria es pais Hermoso
Pero es un nido de truhanes
Que se van pasando el hueso
Entre amigos y compadres
Se pasan comiendo al pueblo
No se les acaba el hambre
Al subir la gasoline
Todo lo suben de precio
La mentada dueda externa
Les sirve como pretexto
Prometen que pagaran
Para subir los impuestos
El gobierno no te ayudad
Y menos si estas abajo
Pero si cambia tu suerte
Y miran que estas triunfando
Te viene a quitar hacienda
El fruto de tu trabajo
Cada sexenio que llega
Nos cobran por estrenarlo
Porque el que se va se lleva
Milliones que no ha Ganado
Muy poco les interesa
Dejar al pueblo endrogado
The Hare
Some chase the hare around
And others catch it without running
Some spend (waste?) money
And others are those who work
What will you give the town (community?)
If all you have is a pile of rats
The dollar goes up daily
Nobody can slow it down
Because many agree to it
Our Peso goes down in value
And the money that they spend (waste?)
The town (community?) is going to pay for it
My homeland is a beautiful country
But it is a nest of deceitful people
That are going to pass the bone (???)
Between friends and compadres
They pass by the town eating (???)
I don?t know how to end hunger (???)
The gasoline price rises
All the prices rise
The insult is in the external debt
You serve them with pretext
They promote those that pay them
To raise the taxes
The government will not help you
And less if you are poor
But if you change your luck
And they look at this triumph
They come to take away your house
The fruit of your work
Each 6 year period that arrives (each presidential election?)
They charge us for using it the first time (???)
Because he that goes arrives
Millions have not won
They are not interested in them
To abandon the town (community?) that is in debt
The hare (or rabbit)
Oso - 4-4-2004 at 12:41 PM
Not a bad start, Richard. Perhaps a few comments will help:
El Pueblo can mean either the town or the people. The end of the first paragraph might be "Where will the town end up if it has a pile of rats?"
The middle of the second paragraph could be "Because it is to the advantage of many to devalue our peso."
Third- The "bone" is the foundation of political power and what kept the PRI in power for 70 years. It can be a political appointment, a patronage
job, a government contract, a license to steal... Like throwing a dog a bone, it insures loyalty...."they go along eating the town and their hunger
never ends.
Fourth- "As the price of gas rises, they raise the price of everything else. The so-called external debt serves as pretext. They promise to pay it
in order to raise taxes."
Fifth- "Hacienda" here does not refer to your house but to the Secretaria de Hacienda, (the equivalent of the IRS) which comes to take away the fruit
of your labor.
Sixth- Estrenar is used in the sense of debut, to show off. When the new term arrives, they charge the people for the inauguration- the party to show
off the new guy as the one who leaves takes with him millions he has not earned, not caring that he leaves the people in debt.
David K - 4-4-2004 at 06:19 PM
Welcome back Barry, we have missed your contributions here! ?Viva Oso!
Natalie Ann - 4-5-2004 at 01:38 PM
Well, this has just been one of my favorite posts in awhile! Big thank you to Richard and to Oso.
[Edited on 4-5-2004 by Natalie Ann]