Las coplas del pajarito

The Bird's Verses

Las coplas del pajarito

On the branch of a cactusEn la rama de un nopal
a little bird was complaining:se quejaba un pajarito:
"Everyone wants to rule"Todos quieren gobernar
with chains and hammers."con cadenas y martillos."

Oh yes, oh no,Ay sí, ay no,
my heart's little bird.pajarito de mi corazón.
Oh yes, oh no,Ay sí, ay no,
a bird full of pain.pajarito lleno de dolor.

American brothers,Hermanos americanos,
let's raise our headslevantemos la cabeza
and ask the meny pidamos a los hombres
to fulfill their promises.que se cumplan las promesas.

American brothers,Hermanos americanos,
our lands are not poornuestras tierras no son pobres
but they come from afarpero vienen desde lejos
and leave us with nothing.y nos dejan sin un cobre.

When a poor person asks for helpCuando un pobre pide ayuda
they deny it right away.se la niegan al momento.
They tell so many storiesLe cuentan tantas historias
that the poor person leaves content.que el pobre se va contento.

And if taxes need to be paidY si hay que pagar impuestos
they'll send the poor firstmandarán primero al pobre
while the rich are busyque el rico se está ocupando
stuffing money into an envelope.de echar dinero en un sobre.

The homeland asks its childrenLa patria pide a sus hijos
for respect and sanity.el respeto y la cordura.
The children give the homelandLos hijos dan a la patria
characters with tough skin.personajes de piel dura.

On the branch of a cactusEn la rama de un nopal
the little bird doesn't sing.el pajarito no canta.
From seeing so much injustice¡De mirar tanta injusticia
its throat dried up!se le secó la garganta!