Napoleón

Napoleon

Napoleón

I saw him crossing streetsYo lo vi cruzando calles
under rain and under sunbajo lluvia y bajo sol
his name was Pedro Ovallesse llamaba Pedro Ovalles
they called him Napoleonle decían Napoleón
Napoleon, NapoleonNapoleón, Napoleón

He walked in worn-out shoesAndaba en zapatos rotos
and his bottle of rumy su botella de ron
painfully gentledolorosamente manso
the man left himel hombre se le marchó
Napoleon, Napoleona Napoleón, a Napoleón

And one day, by presidential orderY un día, por orden presidencial
they picked up everyonerecogieron a todo
who lived in his houseel que vivía en su casa
pants, torn jacketpantalón, saco roto
Napoleon and they washed his faceNapoleón y le lavaron la cara
but Napoleon,mas Napoleón,
never changednunca cambió

They can wash his skinPueden lavarle la piel
but his heart remains the sameque el corazón le queda igual
because a fallen starporque una estrella al caer
can never rise againnunca jamás se puede elevar
That's how Napoleon philosophizedAsí filosofaba Napoleón
with his head down Napoleoncon la cabeza baja Napoleón
The man left himEl hombre se le marchó
painfully gentledolorosamente manso
NapoleonNapoleón

Those who seek his madnessLos que buscan su locura
in the dirt of the earen lo sucio de la oreja
and in the worn-out shoey en lo roto del zapato
they don't know that dailyno saben que diariamente
thousands of Napoleons are bornnacen miles Napoleón
society may stop themlos pare la sociedad
Don't say that man stops themNo digan que los pare el hombre

Those who seek his madnessLos que buscan su locura
in the scabs of his skinen las costras de su piel
and in his paper bedy en su cama de papel
where he keeps dreamsdonde va guardando sueños
who does it like thisquien lo hace así
seeks to evade the problembusca evadir el problema
society doesn't wash itselfla sociedad no se lava
it destroys or buildsse destruye o se construye
but depending on who does itpero según quien lo haga

Having good legsTeniendo las piernas buenas
he walked on his kneescaminaba de rodillas
because when he fell face downporque cuando se fue de bruces
he leaned on the bottlese apoyó en la botella
he was so weak that to hisera tan debil que a su
last enemyúltimo enemigo
he also forgave himel también lo perdonó
his name is Pedro Ovallesse llama Pedro Ovalles
they called him Napoleonle decían Napoleón