The Little Bird

El Pajarillo

Makeup by the gallon, she wore it dailyMaquillaje a granel, usaba a diario
And sold her skin for a high priceY vendía su piel a precio caro
From eight to ten on a cornerDe las ocho a las diez en una esquina
She was a young unfaithful, a rose and a thornEra joven infiel, era rosa y espina

And her name was, I don’t know, I never knewY se llamaba, no sé, nunca lo supe
I never asked, never had the chanceNunca le pregunté, nunca dispuse
To know her time and her skin, she was a kidDe su tiempo y su piel, era un mocoso
And I just looked at her from hole to holeY tan solo le miré de pozo en pozo

And she was a little bird with white wingsY era un pajarillo de blancas alas
From balcony to balcony, from square to squareDe balcón en balcón, de plaza en plaza
Seller of love, providerVendedora de amor, ofrecedora
For the highest bidder of her tunePara el mejor postor de su tonada

Five winters passed and she was still thereCinco inviernos pasaron y ahí seguía
The same hour as yesterday, the same cornerLa misma hora de ayer, la misma esquina
She was young and faithful, still had the rose of her skinEra joven y fiel, y aún tenía la rosa de su piel
And a bigger thornY más grande de espina

And she smiled at the passersbyY sonreía al pasar de los mirones
Under that streetlight, night after nightBajo de aquel farol, noche tras noche
Twenty times they took her captiveVeinte veces se la llevaron presa
And she sang her song behind barsY cantó su canción tras de las rejas

And she was a little bird with white wingsY era un pajarillo de blancas alas
From balcony to balcony, from square to squareDe balcón en balcón, de plaza en plaza
Seller of love, providerVendedora de amor, ofrecedora
For the highest bidder of her tunePara el mejor postor de su tonada

Her skin got wrinkledSe le arrugó la piel
And the makeup wasn’t enough to coverY el maquillaje suficiente no fue para taparle
The mark left by the sixth winterLa huella que dejó el sexto invierno
Her color faded and even her breathSe le acabó el color y hasta el aliento

And from eight to ten, alone on the cornerY de las ocho a las diez, solo en la esquina
That streetlight and that thorn remainedSe quedó aquel farol y aquella espina
I don’t know where the rose wentLa rosa no sé yo dónde se iría
Her name was, I don’t know, and she smiledSe llamaba, no sé, y sonreía

And she was a little bird with white wingsY era un pajarillo de blancas alas
From balcony to balcony, from square to squareDe balcón en balcón, de plaza en plaza
Seller of love, providerVendedora de amor, ofrecedora
For the highest bidder of her tunePara el mejor postor de su tonada