Flor de Fango

Mud Flower

Flor de Fango

Mina, I've known you for a whileMina, que te manyo de hace rato
Forgive me if I bother youPerdoname si te bato
I saw you being bornDe que yo te vi nacer
Your cradle was a tenementTu cuna fue un conventillo
Lit by keroseneAlumbrado a querosén

Just at fourteen years oldJusto a los catorce abriles
You surrendered to revelryTe entregastes a la farra
The delights of tangoLas delicias del gotán
You liked jewelryTe gustaban las alhajas
Fashionable dressesLos vestidos a la moda
And champagne partiesY las farras de champán

You walked around dressed upAnduviste pelechada
Accompanied as a servantDe sirvienta acompañada
To pass as a well-bred girlPor pasar por niña bien
And envied by manyY de muchas envidiada
Because you had a good lifePorque llevabas buen tren
And you became a gold diggerY te hiciste cachadora
Then you became the wifeLuego fuiste la señora
Of a Jewish merchantDe un comerciante mishe
You left him ruinedLo dejaste arruinado
Without wind, mooredSin vento, amurado
At the door of a caféEn la puerta de un café

Later you were the little friendDespués fuiste la amiguita
Of an old pharmacistDe un viejo boticario
And the son of a police chiefY el hijo de un comisario
All the money you tookTodo el vento te saco
And your decline beganY empezó tu decadencia
You pawned the jewelryLas alhajas amuraste
And rented a roomY una pieza alquilaste
In a boarding houseEn una casa 'e pensión
You became a singerTe hiciste tonadillera
You had strange timesPasaste ratos extraños
And through disappointmentsY a fuerza de desengaños
You were left heartlessQuedaste sin corazón

Your life was like a lilyFue tu vida como un lirio
Of sorrows and tormentsDe congojas y martirios
Only one pain overwhelmed youSolo un dolor te agobio
You had no comfort in the worldNo tenias en el mundo ni un consuelo
And lacked a mother's loveY el amor de madre te falto
You were a mud dollFuiste papusa de fango
And the delights of a tangoY las delicias de un tango
Drove you out of the apartmentTe espiantaron del bulín
Friends deceived youLos amigos te engrupieron
And they themselves lost youY ellos mismos te perdieron
Night after night at the feastNoche a noche en el festín