La Bicicleta Blanca

The White Bicycle

La Bicicleta Blanca

You saw it. I'm sure you saw it too, at some pointLo viste. Seguro que vos también, alguna vez, lo viste
I'm talking to you about that eternally lonely cyclist, so alone, who climbs the streets at nightTe hablo de ese eterno ciclista solo, tan solo, que repecha las calles por la noche
Wear your pant cuffs tucked into your socksUsa las botamangas del pantalón bien metidas en las medias
And a beret pulled down to his ears, did you notice?Y una boina calzada hasta las orejas, ¿te fijaste?
Nobody knows where the hell it comes fromNadie sabe, de dónde cuernos viene
You never know where the hell he's goingJamás se le conoce a dónde diablos va
Anyway, if you see him pass by, look at him with much loveDe todos modos, si lo vieras pasar, miralo con mucho amor
It may be, againPuede que sea, otra vez

The skinny guy who had the white bikeEl flaco que tenía la bicicleta blanca
Whistling a polkita he crossed the citySilbando una polkita cruzaba la ciudad
Its wheels were pitiful: so small and squareSus ruedas, daban pena: Tan chicas y cuadradas
The poor guy got his beard tangled in the pedal!¡Que el pobre se enredaba la barba en el pedal!

He carried, as a handlebar, the horns of a goatLlevaba, de manubrio, los cuernos de una cabra
In the back, on a cart, he carried a fish and a loaf of breadAtrás, en un carrito, cargaba un pez y un pan
Panting like a pig, he climbed the cliffsJadeando a lo pichicho, trepaba las barrancas
And he encouraged himself, shouting as he pedaledY él mismo se animaba, gritando al pedalear

Go on, God! Go on, God!¡Dale, Dios! ¡Dale, Dios!
Go for it, you little heart!¡Meté, flaquito corazón!
You know that winningVos sabés que ganar
It's not about arriving, it's about continuingNo está en llegar sino en seguir

Everyone, meanwhile, on the sidewalksTodos, mientras tanto, en las veredas
Rolling with laughterRevolcándonos de risa
We applaud him to death!¡Lo aplaudimos a morir!
And he, with novel eyesY él, con unos ojos de novela
He greeted, he thankedSaludaba, agradecía
And he repeated it againY volvía a repetir

Go on, God! Go on, God!¡Dale, Dios! ¡Dale, Dios!
Go for it, go for it, God!¡Dale con todo, dale, Dios!

But one night, his ugly trailer-mounted bicycle started to create a huge, phosphorescent line. Incredible! Pickpockets were returning wallets on the buses, the powerful were ending hunger, UFOs were revealing the mystery of peace, the mayor himself was filling in the potholes in the streets, and even I, a kid, I who am the sorrows, wept with joy dancing to the cyclist's polka under that lightPero cierta noche, su horrible bicicleta con acoplado entró a sembrar una enorme cola fosforescente. ¡Increíble!: Los pungas devolvían las billeteras en los colectivos, los poderosos terminaban con el hambre, los ovnis nos revelaban el misterio de la paz, el intendente, en persona, rellenaba los pozos de las calles, y hasta yo, pibe, yo que soy las penas, lloré de alegría bailando bajo esa luz la polka del ciclista

Afterwards, I don't know, I swear, why sinister rageDespués, no sé, ¡te juro!, por qué siniestra rabia
I don't know why we did it, we did it by accident!No sé por qué lo hicimos ¡lo hicimos sin querer!
To the skinny one, poor skinny one!, assaulted and from behindAl flaco, ¡pobre flaco!, de asalto y por la espalda
We broke his white bicycleSu bicicleta blanca le entramos a romper

We hit him like in a bag, without disgust, hard, bigLe dimos como en bolsa, sin asco, duro, en grande
We tore it to pieces And, at last, I saw that heLa hicimos mil pedazos Y, al fin, yo vi que él
Biting his beard, he cried: Let me save them!Mordiéndose la barba, gritó: ¡Qué yo los salve!
He looked at his bike, smiled, and walked awayMiró su bicicleta, sonrió, se fue de a pie

(My old skinny one who walked on earth: How did you not realize that we are not angels, but men and women?)(Mi viejo flaco nuestro que andabas en la tierra: ¿Cómo no te diste cuenta que no somos ángeles, sino hombres y mujeres?)

SkinnyFlaco
Don't be sadNo te pongas triste
It was not all in vainTodo no fue inútil
Don't lose faithNo pierdas la fe
On a kite with pedalsEn un cometa con pedales
Go on, go on!¡Dale, que te dale!
I know you have to come backYo sé que has de volver

SkinnyFlaco
Don't be sadNo te pongas triste
It was not all in vainTodo no fue inútil
Don't lose faithNo pierdas la fe
On a kite with pedalsEn un cometa con pedales
Go on, go on!¡Dale, que te dale!
I know you have to come backYo sé que has de volver