Canción a Mi Padre

Song to My Father

Canción a Mi Padre

19501950
He gave birth to you on earthTe dio a luz en la tierra
Where young people throw stonesDonde los jóvenes lanzan piedras
At injustice every eveningA la injusticia cada atardecer

Where mothers waitDonde las madres esperan
With the plate on the tableCon el plato en la mesa
Without the certainty that their childrenSin la certeza de que sus hijos
Will return to eatRegresen para comer

So young and already a refugeeTan niño y ya refugiado
With laces without shoesCon cordones sin zapato
And a kilo of chickpeas for twelveY un kilo de garbanzos para los doce
And to eat and to eatY a comer y a comer

For dessert, stolen fruitDe postre, fruta robada
From some house's orchardDel huerto de alguna casa
And hunt a thousand hummingbirds to understandY cazar mil colibríes para entender
What it means to overcomeQué significa vencer

You became a man all at onceTe hiciste un hombre de golpe
When you were a teenagerCuando eras adolescente
The day in that warEl día en que en esa guerra
You made a rude gesture to deathLe hiciste un corte de mangas a la muerte

And the waves celebratingY las olas celebrando
That you arrived in Spain by boatQue llegaste a España en barco
And what am I going to do and what are you going to doY qué le voy a hacer y qué le vas a hacer
If you were also born in the MediterraneanSi tú también naciste en el mediterráneo

In Madrid you fell in loveYa en Madrid te enamoraste
With a flower who is now my motherDe una flor que hoy es mi madre
And even though you spoke differentlyY aunque hablabais diferente
You understood each other like no one elseOs entendíais como nadie

And you sought a futureY buscasteis un futuro
In bell-bottom pantsEn pantalones de campana
And you still bring homeY aún sigues llevando a casa
So many flowers without going through the checkoutTantas flores si pasar por caja

Father, I wouldn't know how to explain itPadre, no sabría explicarlo
You proved long agoDemostraste ya hace mucho
That to break down bordersQue para partir fronteras
A smile is a sawLa sonrisa es un serrucho

And sadness resignsY dimite la tristeza
Because upon your arrival, your laughterPorque al llegar tu risa
Recovers that childRecuperas a ese niño
That some lose sight ofQue algunos pierden de vista

And how to thank you, fatherY cómo agradecer, padre
That in my shipwrecksQue en mis naufragios
Your words always tasted like a plank in the seaTu palabra siempre supo a tabla en el mar

And how to explainY cómo explicar
That nobody loves me like you doQue nadie me quiere como tú me quieres
That if you lack air, I stop breathingQue si te falta aire, yo dejo de respirar

And how to make you understandY cómo hacer que entiendas
That when the grim reaper comes for youQue cuando la parca venga a ti
Two lips will emerge from the earth to be able to smileA la tierra le saldrán dos labios para poder sonreír

In Madrid you fell in loveYa en Madrid te enamoraste
With a flower who is now my motherDe una flor que hoy es mi madre
And even though you spoke differentlyY aunque hablabais diferente
You understood each other like no one elseOs entendíais como nadie

And you sought a futureY buscasteis un futuro
In bell-bottom pantsEn pantalones de campana
And you still bring homeY aún sigues llevando a casa
So many flowers without going through the checkoutTantas flores si pasar por caja

Father, I wouldn't know how to explain itPadre, no sabría explicarlo
You proved long agoDemostraste ya hace mucho
That to break down bordersQue para partir fronteras
A smile is a sawLa sonrisa es un serrucho

And sadness resignsY dimite la tristeza
Because upon your arrival, your laughterPorque al llegar tu risa
Recovers that childRecuperas a ese niño
That some lose sight ofQue algunos pierden de vista