El Tatuado

The Tattooed One

El Tatuado

(Oh, it can't be, I see it and I don't believe it)(Ay no puede ser, lo veo y no lo creo)

After five years, we had him backDespués de cinco años, lo teníamos de regreso
The eldest son who was imprisoned in the northMijo el mayor que en el norte anduvo preso
We went to the airport to pick up the absent sonFuimos al aeropuerto a recoger al hijo ausente
That because of the juntas he was a criminalQue por culpa de las juntas andaba de delincuente

We already had the party prepared at homeTeníamos la fiestecita ya en la casa preparada
So that when he arrived, he would have a hard timePa' que cuando llegara, se diera una atarrajada
Because we were so happy, we couldn't believe itPorque andábamos muy gustosos, no lo podíamos creer
That my son, after so much, was about to returnQue mijo después de tanto estaba a punto de volver

More when I saw my boy, who got off the planeMás cuando vi a mi muchacho, que se bajó del avión
I didn't recognize him anymore, all gangocho and baldYa no lo reconocía, todo guangocho y pelón
But the worst was at home when I saw him nakedPero lo peor fue en la casa cuando lo vi encuerao'
That's when I got the eye when I saw him all tattooedAhí sí me dio el ojillo al verlo todo tatuao'

Why do you get tattoos?Por qué te tatutis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you paint yourself?Por qué te pintatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you scratch yourself?Por qué te rayatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
You are already disgracedYa te desgraciatis
You stupid fat assYou stupid fat ass

Why did you get a tattoo?Por qué te tatuaste
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why did you paint yourself?Por qué te pintaste
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why did you scratch yourself?Por qué te rayaste
Well, that's itPos nomás
You're already unhappyYa te desgraciaste
You stupid fat assYou stupid fat ass

On the nape of the neck, an L and an AEn la parte de la nuca, una L y una A
And down on the neck, the name of his motherY abajo en el pescuezo, el nombre de su mamá
He had a cross painted on one of his armsTenía una cruz pintada en uno de sus brazos
With the name of a friend who was shot deadCon el nombre de un amigo al que mataron a balazos

Then he brings another tattoo, which is two painted facesLuego trae otro tatuaje, que son dos caras pintadas
One of them is crying and the other is laughing out loudUna de ellas está llorando y la otra puras carcajadas
On the other arm he carries a colored flagEn el otro brazo trae a color una bandera
And an old lady with a charro hat and her boobs outY una vieja con sombrero charro y las chichis de fuera

Everything is well painted, from the elbow to the wristAnda todo bien pintao', desde el codo a la muñeca
It brings a car, a death and an Aztec calendarTrae un carro, una muerte y un calendario azteca
On his chest he has Westside, which I think is his neighborhoodEn el pecho, trae Westside, que creo que ese es su barrio
And also two hands together holding a rosaryY también dos manos juntas que sostiene un rosario

It has some Chinese letters and the head of a dragonUnas letras chinas tiene y la cabeza de un dragón
A few dice and a light to the sacred heartUnos dados y entre lumbre al sagrado corazón
On his belly, he has the word "vato loco" written on itEn la panza, trae escrita la palabra vato loco
On my back, my last name and a tear in my eyeEn la espalda, mi apellido y una lágrima en el ojo

Why do you get tattoos?Por qué te tatuatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you paint yourself?Por qué te pintatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you scratch yourself?Por qué te rayatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
You are already disgracedYa te desgraciatis
You stupid fat assYou stupid fat ass

Why do you get tattoos?Por qué te tatuatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you paint yourself?Por qué te pintatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you scratch yourself?Por qué te rayatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
You are already disgracedYa te desgraciatis
You stupid fat assYou stupid fat ass

Oh, oh, ohAy, ay, ay
That's why one gets diseasesPor eso es que a uno le dan las enfermedades
For those scares, those sorrows that make one go throughPor esos sustos, esas penas que le hacen pasar a uno
Look at my boy, he came to me more scratchedMiren mi muchacho, me llegó más rayado
That a wall of this Los AngelesQue una pared de este de Los Angeles
And I'm afraid that with those claws and so many tattoosY es que tengo miedo que con esas garras y con tanto tatuají
I hope some policeman confuses him with a, with a choloMe lo vaya a confundir algún policía con un, con un cholo

I asked him: Why do you paint yourself? And he didn't answer anythingLe dije: ¿Por qué se pinta? Y no contestó nada
I feel like bathing him with pure hydrogen peroxideMe dan ganas de bañarlo con pura agua oxigenada
I'm going to soak it in bleach and scrub it with soapVoy a remojarlo en cloro y a tallarlo con jabón
Just look at all the letters, it already looks like a blackboardMiren nomás cuánta letra, ya parece pizarrón

And these gossipmongers bring it by word of mouthY lo traen de boca en boca esa gente mitotera
He's more scratched than a bathroom at the power stationQue anda más rayado que un baño de la central
Central bus stationCentral camionera
Don't do that with your bodyNo hagas eso con tu cuerpo

Let's see, tell me what you findA ver, dime tú que le hallas
You think you look great walking around covered in stripesTú crees que te ves muy bien andando lleno de rayas
As much as I want to, boy, I can't understand youPor más que quiero, muchacho, yo no te puedo entender
I think you already tattooed yourself over thereSe me hace que te tatuaste hasta ya del over there

Why do you get tattoos?Por qué te tatuatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you paint yourself?Por qué te pintatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you scratch yourself?Por qué te rayatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
You are already disgracedYa te desgraciatis
You stupid fat assYou stupid fat ass

Why do you get tattoos?Por qué te tatuatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you paint yourself?Por qué te pintatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
Why do you scratch yourself?Por qué te rayatis
Well, that's itPos nomás
You are already disgracedYa te desgraciatis
You stupid fat assYou stupid fat ass