La Gayola

The Prison Cell

La Gayola

Don't be scared or run away from meNo te asustes ni me huyas
I haven't come to seek revengeNo he venido pa' vengarme
If tomorrow, preciselySi mañana, justamente
I'm leaving to never returnYa me voy pa' no volver
I've come to say goodbyeHe venido a despedirme
And I want to enjoyY el gustazo quiero darme
Looking at you face to faceDe mirarte frente a frente
And be reflected in your eyesY en tus ojos campanearme
Silently, for a long timeSilencioso, largamente
As you looked at me yesterdayComo me miraba ayer

I've come so that togetherHe venido pa' que juntos
We remember the pastRecordemos el pasado
Like two good friendsComo dos buenos amigos
Who haven't seen each other in a whileQue hace rato no se ven
Remembering that timeAcordarme de aquel tiempo
When I was an honest manEn que yo era un hombre honrado
And my dear mother's loveY el cariño de mi vieja
Was a poncho she had thrownEra un poncho que había echado
Over my noble and good soulSobre mi alma noble y buena
Against the cold of disdainContra el frío del desdén

One night, deathUna noche, la huesuda
Dressed my soul in mourningMe vistió el alma de duelo
My dear motherA mi buena madrecita
God called her to his sideLa llamó a su lado Dios
And in my dreams it seemedY en mis sueños parecía
That the poor woman, from heavenQue la pobre, desde el cielo
Told me that you were goodMe decía que eras buena
That I should always trust in youQue confiara siempre en vos

But you played dirty with mePero me jugaste sucio
And, thirsty for revengeY, sediento de venganza
I sheathed my knifeMi cuchillo, en un mal rato
In a heart in a bad momentLo envainé en un corazón
And later, now calmY más tarde, ya sereno
With my only hope deadMuerta mi única esperanza
I dried some rebellious tearsUnas lágrimas rebeldes
In a tavernLas sequé en un bodegón

They locked me up for many yearsMe encerraron muchos años
In the sordid prison cellEn la sórdida gayola
And one afternoon they set me freeY una tarde me largaron
For better or for worsePa' mi bien o pa' mi mal
I wandered the streetsFui vagando por las calles
And rolled like a ballY rodé como una bola
To eat a plate of soupPa' comer un plato'e sopa
How many times I waited in line!¡Cuántas veces hice cola!
The dawns found meLas auroras me encontraron
Lazing on a doorstepAtorrando en un umbral

Today I have nothing leftHoy ya no me queda nada
No refuge, I'm so poorNi un refugio, estoy tan pobre
I only came to see youSolamente vine a verte
To leave you my forgivenessPa' dejarte mi perdón
I swear, I'm happyTe lo juro, estoy contento
May happiness overflow for youQue la dicha a vos te sobre
I'm going to the countryside to work itVoy al campo a laburarla
To gather some coinsPa' juntar algunos cobres
So I won't lack flowersPa' que no me falten flores
When I'm inside the coffinCuando esté dentro' el cajón