Las Cosas Que Pasan

The Things That Happen

Las Cosas Que Pasan

How nice it was to sit at a bar tableQue lindo era sentarse en la mesa de un bar
And watch Buenos Aires go byY ver a Buenos Aires pasar y pasar

A postman passes by on a bicyclePasa un cartero en bicicleta
With a violet-colored telegramCon un telegrama color violeta
A police patrol carUn patrullero de la policia
Looking for a thief for fifteen daysQue busca un choro hace quince dias

The milkman passes by with a blank facePasa el lechero con cara de nada
Selling contaminated milkVendiendo leche contaminada
A notary found himself locked upUn escribano se vió encerrado
Blowing kisses to a lawyerTirandole besos a un abogado

A politician passes by with short stepsPasa un político con paso corto
Longing for the congress with an absent airAñorando el congreso con aire absorto
A vampire passes by looking for a MinaPasa un vampiro buscando una Mina
But they rape him around the cornerPero lo violan pasando la esquina

The executioner passes by with his stun gunPasa el verdugo con su picana
And as he passes, he looks at me with desireY al tiempo que pasa me mira con ganas
Two nuts pass by eating snacksPasan dos tuercas comiendo picadas
An old lady crosses and they turn her into a pulpSe cruza una vieja y la hacen pomada

Taxis and buses pass byPasan los taxis y los colectivos
The executive secretariesLas secretarias del Ejecutivo
A tango-dancing retireeUn jubilado tangodeante
Jorge Luis Borges, the girl, and her loverJorge Luis Borges, la niña y su amante

The seven madmen, the smugglersLos siete locos, los contrabandistas
The good men, the masochistsLos buenos hombres, los masoquistas
The prostitutes and their pianistsLas prostitutas y sus pianistas
The healers and their analystsLas curanderas y sus analistas

A girl with a thousand last names passes byPasa una niña de mil apellidos
Jealously selling the dispossessedVendiendo celosa los desposeídos
A band of criminals passes byPasa una banda de criminales
On their beautiful police motorcyclesEn sus hermosas motos policiales

A Mercedes with a foreign license plate passes byPasa un Mercedes con chapa extranjera
Carrying the lover of any manLlevando la amante de un tipo cualquiera
A Mercedes with an official license plate passes byPasa un Mercedes con chapa oficial
Carrying the lover of a generalLlevando la amante de un general

Second, the employees pass by in the darkSegunda, pasan oscuros los empleados
Elbowing the guy next to themClavandole el codo al tipo de al lado
The guys next to them pass by in the darkPasan oscuros los tipos de al lado
Elbowing the unemployedClavandole el codo a los desocupados

The students run byPasan corriendo los estudiantes
Because they are being chased by the guardsPorque los persiguen los vigilantes
The guards run byPasan corriendo los vigilantes
Because they are being chased by the studentsPorque los persiguen los estudiantes

A worker in espadrilles passes byPasa un obrero en alpargatas
With twenty pesos, which is all his moneyCon veinte pesos que es toda su plata
The Minister of Economy passes byPasa el Ministro de Economía
Telling him: My boy, there is no more surplus value!Le dice: Mijito no hay más plusvalía!

The crazy ones pass by, the sane ones pass byPasan los locos, pasan los cuerdos
If you don't give them attention, they hit you with ironSi no les das corte te dan con el fierro
A lady in a low-cut suitUna señora con traje escotado
A priest follows her and falls into sinUn cura la sigue y cae en pecado

Men pass by with an air of deathPasan los hombres con aire de muerte
Passing by crying their sad fatePasan llorando su triste suerte
I pass by myself and see myself sittingPaso yo mismo y me veo sentado
Watching the people passing by my sideMirando la gente que pasa a mi lado

The President's guard passes byPasa la guardia del Presidente
Swords in the air, all insaneLos sables al aire todos dementes
The history of our nation passes byPasa la historia de nuestra nación
Century after century without a solutionSiglo tras siglo sin solución

Cats pass by, dogs pass byPasan los gatos, pasan los perros
The living pass by, the dead pass byPasan los vivos, pasan los muertos
Running by, buzzing byPasan corriendo, pasan zumbando
Silence passes by, screaming passes byPasa el silencio pasa gritando

The country and the continent pass byPasa el país y el continente
My life passes by stupidlyPasa mi vida estupidamente
And I'm still here sitting in a barY yo sigo aqui sentado en un bar
Watching Buenos Aires go byViendo a Buenos Aires pasar y pasar