Guitarra de Los Boliches

Guitar of the Dive Bars

Guitarra de Los Boliches

Little guitar of the dive barGuitarrita del humilde
Singer of the barCantorcito del boliche
With your six worn stringsCon tus seis cuerdas gastadas
And the fourth one about to breakY la cuarta por cortar
Your passionate singerTu cantor apasionado
Between drinks and applauseEntre copas y aplausos
Turns his hand into an orchestraPone en su mano una orquesta
Directed by his thumbQue dirige su pulgar

If those who know knewSi supieran los que saben
The wages you've fought forLos jornales que has peleado
Night after night on the stagesNoche anoche en los tablados
Of the bar and the tavernDe cantina y bodegón
Dawn arrivesMadrugada recalada
With the bar crowdCon la barra del. Boliche
The end of the night gets longerSe hace más largo el espiche
For those heading towards the endDel que va para el final

And there goes the old guitar playerY allá se va el viejo guitarrero
With his guitar girlfriend under his armCon su guitarra novia bajo el brazo
Strolling south through the downtown streetsRumbeando al sur por las calles del bajo
Black hat smoking his cigaretteSombrero negro humeando su cigarro
And there he goes dreaming that somedayY allá se va soñando que algún día
He will be given what others have been givenSe le ha de dar como a otros se le ha dado
For him, the years and time have not passedPara él los años y el tiempo no han pasado
And the long-awaited day will comeY ha de llegar el día tan soñado

When dawn stretchesCuando el alba despereza
Its tiredness from cigarettesSu cansancio de cigarros
With the goodbye of the last drinkCon el chau del último trago
The end is nearSe avecina el no va más
In the old broken caseEn el viejo estuche roto
The singer makes your bedEl cantor te hace la cama
And singing a lullabyY cantándole una nana
They head to the boarding houseSe van para la pensión

Guitar of the poorGuitarrita de los pobres
Singers who never make itCantorcitos que no llegan
But risk their livesPero la vida se juegan
Just to singSolo por querer cantar
Hopefully your tuning pegsOjalá tu clavijero
Where there's always a roseDonde siempre hay una rosa
Won't reject those who don't enjoyNo rechace al que no goza
The privilege of tuningPrivilegio de afinar