Pajarillo

The Little Bird

Pajarillo

Every day she wore heavy makeupMaquillaje a granel, usaba a diario
And sold her body 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 young and unfaithful, a rose with thornsEra joven infiel, era rosa y espina

And her name, I don’t know, I never found outY se llamaba, no sé, nunca lo supe
I never asked, never had the chanceNunca le pregunté, nunca dispuse
In her skin, she was just a kidDe su tiempo y su piel, era un mocoso
And I only saw her from one pit to anotherY 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
A seller of love, a 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 and still had the rose of her skinEra joven y fiel, y aún tenía la rosa de su piel
And the thorn was even biggerY más grande de espina

And she smiled at the gazes passing byY 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
A seller of love, a 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, just on the cornerY de las ocho a las diez, solo en la esquina
That streetlight remainedSe quedó aquel farol y aquella espina
And that thorn sealed the rose, where would she go?La rosa no sé yo dónde se iría
She was called, 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
A seller of love, a providerVendedora de amor, ofrecedora
For the highest bidder of her tunePara el mejor postor de su tonada