El Capitán de Su Calle

The Captain of His Street

El Capitán de Su Calle

Because he didn't want to be a statue of saltPorque no quiso ser estatua de sal
They all called him restless assLe llamaban todos culo inquieto
He pretended to be a normal guyAparentaba ser un tipo normal
But he kept a secretPero guardaba un secreto
When the cynics started to prayCuando a los cínicos les dio por rezar
He lit a candle for SatanÉl le puso a Satán una vela
He learned everything that needs to be forgottenAprendió todo lo que hay que olvidar
And he escaped from schoolY se escapó de la escuela
And for calling a spade a spadeY por llamarle tanto pan al pan
And wine wineY al vino vino
The good people thought badlyLa gente bien pensaba mal
And they said on the casino sidewalkY decían por la acera del casino
If this, if thatQue si tal que si cual
But he didn't carePero a él le daba igual
Because he shouted when he had to be quietPorque gritaba cuando había que callar
They all called him a party pooperLe llamaban todos aguafiestas
He slept all that needed to be dreamedDormía todo lo que había que soñar
Without skipping a napSin perdonar una siesta
And, although no one gave him a chanceY, aunque nadie daba un duro por él
He poured so much into the detailsSe volcaba tanto en los detalles
That without achieving anything he becameQue sin llegar a nada llegó a ser
The captain of his streetEl capitán de su calle
But in the neighborhood there was a generalPero en el barrio había un general
Who to top it offQue para colmo
Saw him go out at night to tryLo vio salir de noche a probar
To find three legsA buscarle tres patas
For the catsA las gatas
And two pears for the elmY dos peras al olmo
For a snackPara merendar
Because he knewPorque sabía
That naked truthQue la verdad desnuda
Hides hidden behind the barkGuarda oculta detrás de la corteza
The cherry pitEl hueso de cereza
Of a doubtDe una duda
And he laughedY se reía
With the melancholyCon la melancolía
That gives reason to sadnessQue le da la razón a la tristeza
When lips lose their mindCuando los labios pierden la cabeza
Because he didn't know how to live without kissingPorque no sabía vivir sin besar
They all called him tough guyLe llamaban todos picha brava
But he kissed to recoverPero él besaba para recuperar
The kisses he was missingLos besos que le faltaban
And, although death terrified him, he thoughtY, aunque la muerte le aterraba pensó
That if the pale lady arrivedQue si la pálida dama llegaba
He wouldn't waste the opportunityNo desperdiciaría la ocasión
To see how well she kissedDe ver qué tal besaba
And, to make fun of the most sacredY, por burlarse de lo más sagrado
The court officialsLos del juzgado
Framed the captainEmpapelaron al capitán
And sentenced him to five thousand years and a dayY le echaron cinco mil años y un día
So he can learn to singPaque aprenda a cantar
In the cold dungeonEn la mazmorra fría
Because he knewPorque sabía
That naked truthQue la verdad desnuda
Hides hidden behind the barkGuarda oculta detrás de la corteza
The cherry pitEl hueso de cereza
Of a doubtDe una duda
And he laughedY se reía
With the melancholyCon la melancolía
That gives reason to sadnessQue le da la razón a la tristeza
When lips lose their mindCuando los labios pierden la cabeza