La Calaca

The Skeleton

La Calaca

Take care, gentlemenMucho cuidado, señores
Because death is readyPorque la muerte anda lista
In the pantheon of sorrowsEn el panteón de dolores
It already has a spot for usYa nos tiene una posita
For the composersPara los compositores
And one or another journalistY uno que otro periodista
Graduates and doctorsLicenciados y doctores
Everyone is on his listTodos están en la lista

Tucu-tucu-tiki-takaTucu-tucu-tiki-taka
How ridiculous is deathQué recanija calaca
When we least expect itCuando menos lo pensamos
It makes us kick the bucketNos hace estirar la pata
I escaped from him onceYo me le escapé una vez
But he almost caught mePero por poco y me atrapa

Death does not teach about moneyLa muerte no enseña el cobre
It makes no distinctions, eitherTampoco hace distinciones
The same fate befalls the poor manLo mismo se lleva al pobre
As the rich with his millionsQue al rico con sus millones
One goes in a gold casketUno va en estuche de oro
And the other one, purely in underwearY el otro en puros calzones
But after a little bit of time passesPero pasadito el tiempo
They are both equally as baldQuedan igual de pelones

Tucu-tucu-tiki-takaTucu-tucu-tiki-taka
How ridiculous is deathQué recanija calaca
Weak ones and powerful onesDébiles y poderosos
No one escapes from deathDe morir nadie se escapa
We arrive at the same endingLlevamos el mismo fin
In a bag or in a sackEn petate o en petaca

I knew a merchantYo conocí un comerciante
Good for stealing from the clientBueno pa' robar al cliente
The items that were worth fiveLas cosas que valen cinco
He always charged them twentyÉl siempre las daba a veinte
But he died of coldPero se murió de frío
Poor thing, suddenlyPobrecito, de repente
They sent him to hellLo mandaron al infierno
So that the devil can keep him warmPa' que el diablo lo caliente

Tucu-tucu-tiki-takaTucu-tucu-tiki-taka
How ridiculous is deathQué recanija calaca
To all those expensive onesA todos esos careros
Take them with a tieLlévatelos de corbata
Undesirable usersIndeseables usureros
All suck like ticksChupan como garrapatas

The worker earns his breadEl obrero gana el pan
With the sweat of his browCon el sudor de su frente
So that his children may eatPara que sus hijos coman
Even though it's not enoughAunque no lo suficiente
While many abusersMientras muchos abusivos
All live violating the lawsViven violando las leyes
Earning what they wantGanando lo que ellos quieren
For acting like foolsPor andar haciéndose güeyes

Tucu-tucu-tiki-takaTucu-tucu-tiki-taka
How ridiculous is deathQué recanija calaca
I ask you all to excuse meYo les pido una disculpa
If I already messed upSi es que ya metí la pata
Even though they are very similarAunque son muy parecidos
An ox is not the same as a cowNo es lo mismo buey que vaca

The balance of lifeLa balanza de la vida
Is very unbalancedEstá muy desnivelada
There are few who earn muchHay pocos que ganan mucho
And many more earn nothingY muchos no ganan nada
A worker's dutyEl trabajo del obrero
Has no compensationsNo tiene compensaciones
With this mini salaryCon esto del minisueldo
It is not even enough for trucksNo alcanza ni pa' camiones

Tucu-tucu-tiki-takaTucu-tucu-tiki-taka
How ridiculous is deathQué recanija calaca
If you know the devilSi tú conoces al diablo
Beg him not to be ungratefulRuégale que no sea ingrato
So that the cost of livingPa' que el costo de la vida
Is cheaper for usSe nos ponga más barato

Take care, gentlemenMucho cuidado, señores
Those who are already votersLos que ya son votadores
Here come the electionsAhí vienen las elecciones
With their manipulatorsCon sus manipuladores
And each party saysY cada partido dice
That you must vote for themQue votar por ellos debes
And from here, going forwardY que de aquí en adelante
They will give us a life of kingsNos darán vida de reyes

Tucu-tucu-tiki-takaTucu-tucu-tiki-taka
How ridiculous is deathQué recanija calaca
And there goes another presidentY ahí viene otro presidente
To sound the victory trumpet for usA sonarnos la matraca
He comes promising a lotViene prometiendo mucho
But he'll give pure tucu-tucu-tiki-takaPero dará pura tucu-tucu-tiki-taka