Corrido de El Viejo

Ballad of The Old Man

Corrido de El Viejo

Around 2 in the afternoonComo alas 2 de la tarde
When the sun becomes unbearableCuando el sol se pone muy insoportable
During my work roundsEn mis vueltas laborables
I had in front of me an elegant driverFrente ami tenia a un chófer elegante
At a red traffic light an old man approachedEn un semáforo en rojo se acerca un anciano
And asked him for money, get lost you filthy old manY le pidió dinero largese viejo mugroso
Don't tempt me, dirty beggar carNo me tiente el carro sucio limosnero

The man raised his hand, pointed at the old manEl señor saco la mano le apunto al anciano
With a firm finger I heard, I'm not playingCon el dedo firme escuche no estoy jugando
Go to the other side, do what I told youValla pa otro lado haga lo que le dije
Hunger and hope for a coin could be seen on his faceSe le miraba en el rostro hambre y esperanza por una moneda
But he pushed him forcefully and he fell scared on the sidewalkPero lo empujo con fuerza y cayo asustado sobre la banqueta

And anger overcame me, I turned on the blinkers and the handbrakeY a mi me gano el coraje puse intermitentes y el freno de manos
And even where that coward wasY hasta don de aquel cobarde
If you're so brave, get out of the carSi eres tan valiente bájate del carro
That guy, in a fit of anger, got out of his carEl tipo aquel en caliente bajo de su coche
And with that cynicism he said to me, what the hell do you wantY con aquel cinismo me dijo que rayos quieres
What's your problem, what do you want with meCual es tu problema que quieres con migo

I told him politelyLe dije de buena forma
I want you to help that poor innocent man upQuiero que levante a ese pobre inocente
He replied, why do you careMe contesto que te importa
Who do you think you are to command mePues quien te as creído para obedecerte
I said I'll do it my wayLe dije lo are a mi modo
Because in death everyone is equalPor que pa la muerte todos son iguales
If you don't help the old man up and apologize, I will kill youSi no levantas al viejo y le pides disculpas yo voy a matarte

With a big laugh, he said to my faceCon una gran carcajada me dijo en la cara
In no way will I degrade myselfDe ni una manera yo no voy a rebajarme
You don't scare me either, do as you wishTan poco me espantas y hazle como quieras
But his expression changed when point-blankPero le cambio el semblante cuando a quemarropa
I put a gun to his mouth and made him kneelLe puse una corta y ay lo puse de rodillas
And I shoved the gun inside his mouthY metí la escuadra dentro de su boca

In the middle of that street, I was sure I would kill himEn medio de aquella calle yo estaba seguro que lo mataría
As God is great, almost to pull the triggerComo diosito es muy grande casi pa jalar le
The old man shouted don't kill him, don't kill himEl anciano me grita no lo mate no lo mate
Mercy for the young man he shouted and begged herePiedad por el joven gritaba y pedía aquí
I am the guilty one, I dirtied his carYo soy el culpable yo le ensucie el carro
It was my faultLa culpa fue mía

That confused man remained silentAquel hombre confundido se quedo callado
Upon hearing the old man, he broke down in tearsAl escuchar al viejo sin palabras rompió el llanto
May God forgive me for what I didQue dios me perdone por lo que le echo
Forgive me for being inhumanePerdón por ser inhumano
Kind man, what a lesson you have given meHombre bondadoso que lección me has dado
Thank you for what you have taughtGracias por lo que a enseñado
And for the new life you have given meY por la nueva vida que me ha regalado