"Muñeca de Trapo" by La Oreja de Van Gogh, English translation of lyrics
"Rag Doll" (2006)
Style: Pop/rock, heavy string instruments, sad song about unrequited love and neglect
Country: Spain
Listen:
Watch LODVG’s recorded performance video YouTube here.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Como esos cuadros que aún están por colgar,
Como el mantel de la cena de ayer,
Siempre esperando que te diga algo más,
Y mis sentidas palabras no quieren volar.
Like those paintings that have yet to be hung up,
Like the tablecloth of yesterday’s dinner,
Always waiting for me to tell you something more,
And my heartfelt words do not want to fly.
Lo nunca dicho se disuelve en un té,
Como el infiel dice nunca lo haré,
Siento que estoy en una cárcel de amor,
Me olvidarás si no firmo mi declaración.
What is never said dissolves in (a cup of) tea,
Like the unfaithful says, "I’ll never do it,"
I feel (that) I am in a prison of love,
You will forget me if I do not sign my declaration.
Chorus:
----------------------------------------
Me abrazaría al diablo sin dudar
Por ver tu cara al escucharme hablar.
Eres todo lo que más quiero,
Pero te pierdo en mis silencios.
I would hug the devil to me without a doubt
To see your face hear me speak.
You are everything I want/love most,
But I lose you in my silences.
Mis ojos son dos cruces negras
Que no han hablado nunca claro.
Mi corazón lleno de pena
Y yo una muñeca de trapo.
My eyes are two black crosses
That have never said anything clearly.
My heart full of regret
And me a rag doll.
----------------------------------------
Cada silencio es una nube que va
Detrás de mí sin parar de llorar.
Quiero contarte lo que siento por ti
Y que me escuche hablar la luna de enero,
Mirándote a ti.
Every silence is a cloud that follows [lit. goes]
Behind me without ceasing to cry.
I want to tell you what I feel for you
And (I want) the January moon to hear me speak, [*reference to poem by José Zorrilla y Moral]
Watching you.
[Chorus]
No tengo miedo al fuego eterno,
Tampoco a sus cuentos amargos,
Pero el silencio es algo frío
Y mis inviernos son muy largos.
I do not fear the eternal flames,
Nor its bitter stories,
But silence is something cold
And my winters are very long.
Y a tu regreso estaré lejos,
Entre los versos de algún tango,
Porque este corazón sincero
Murió en su muñeca de trapo.
And on your return I will be far away,
Between the verses of some tango,
Because this sincere heart
Died in its rag doll.
Translation Notes:
Como esos cuadros que aún están por colgar
Like those paintings that have yet to be hung up
{Como} {esos cuadros} (que) {aún están por} {colgar}
{Like} {those paintings/portraits} (that) {have yet to be / are still to be} {to hang}
cuadro [m. noun] = painting, portrait; something framed
---
Y que me escuche hablar la luna de enero
And (I want) the January moon to hear me speak [lit., third person subjunctive]
And for you to hear me speak "La Luna de Enero" ("The January Moon") [alt., maybe lit., formal "you" subjunctive]
I think the first literal translation is correct since she refers to her love informally ("quiero contarte...") in the line just previous to this and escuche is either a third person subjunctive or formal second person subjunctive verb. It does not sound natural to switch from informal to formal like that in two lines, so I do not think the alternative translation is correct. It probably is a reference to José Zorrilla y Moral's poem, but a more subtle one.
By the way, just so you get an idea of what the poem is like, here is the beginning translated:
It is completely in line with the song's themes of sadness, loneliness, and desire for love. It is also another reason for her to be saying she wants the January moon to hear her. It would be a sort of, "Ha! Look at me now, moon. I am happy." That is how she would like it to be.
General Comments:
Wait... what happened and the end and why will she be far away? I am confused. The translation is perfectly straight-forward, but the story is indirect. She died in the end, right? Metaphorically? Literally? Wikipedia says the song is about a "disregarded woman [who] compares herself to a rag doll when she cannot express her feelings for a loved one." I get that, but what happened at the end?
Style: Pop/rock, heavy string instruments, sad song about unrequited love and neglect
Country: Spain
Listen:
Watch LODVG’s recorded performance video YouTube here.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Como esos cuadros que aún están por colgar,
Como el mantel de la cena de ayer,
Siempre esperando que te diga algo más,
Y mis sentidas palabras no quieren volar.
Like those paintings that have yet to be hung up,
Like the tablecloth of yesterday’s dinner,
Always waiting for me to tell you something more,
And my heartfelt words do not want to fly.
Lo nunca dicho se disuelve en un té,
Como el infiel dice nunca lo haré,
Siento que estoy en una cárcel de amor,
Me olvidarás si no firmo mi declaración.
What is never said dissolves in (a cup of) tea,
Like the unfaithful says, "I’ll never do it,"
I feel (that) I am in a prison of love,
You will forget me if I do not sign my declaration.
Chorus:
----------------------------------------
Me abrazaría al diablo sin dudar
Por ver tu cara al escucharme hablar.
Eres todo lo que más quiero,
Pero te pierdo en mis silencios.
I would hug the devil to me without a doubt
To see your face hear me speak.
You are everything I want/love most,
But I lose you in my silences.
Mis ojos son dos cruces negras
Que no han hablado nunca claro.
Mi corazón lleno de pena
Y yo una muñeca de trapo.
My eyes are two black crosses
That have never said anything clearly.
My heart full of regret
And me a rag doll.
----------------------------------------
Cada silencio es una nube que va
Detrás de mí sin parar de llorar.
Quiero contarte lo que siento por ti
Y que me escuche hablar la luna de enero,
Mirándote a ti.
Every silence is a cloud that follows [lit. goes]
Behind me without ceasing to cry.
I want to tell you what I feel for you
And (I want) the January moon to hear me speak, [*reference to poem by José Zorrilla y Moral]
Watching you.
[Chorus]
No tengo miedo al fuego eterno,
Tampoco a sus cuentos amargos,
Pero el silencio es algo frío
Y mis inviernos son muy largos.
I do not fear the eternal flames,
Nor its bitter stories,
But silence is something cold
And my winters are very long.
Y a tu regreso estaré lejos,
Entre los versos de algún tango,
Porque este corazón sincero
Murió en su muñeca de trapo.
And on your return I will be far away,
Between the verses of some tango,
Because this sincere heart
Died in its rag doll.
Translation Notes:
Como esos cuadros que aún están por colgar
Like those paintings that have yet to be hung up
{Como} {esos cuadros} (que) {aún están por} {colgar}
{Like} {those paintings/portraits} (that) {have yet to be / are still to be} {to hang}
cuadro [m. noun] = painting, portrait; something framed
---
Y que me escuche hablar la luna de enero
And (I want) the January moon to hear me speak [lit., third person subjunctive]
And for you to hear me speak "La Luna de Enero" ("The January Moon") [alt., maybe lit., formal "you" subjunctive]
I think the first literal translation is correct since she refers to her love informally ("quiero contarte...") in the line just previous to this and escuche is either a third person subjunctive or formal second person subjunctive verb. It does not sound natural to switch from informal to formal like that in two lines, so I do not think the alternative translation is correct. It probably is a reference to José Zorrilla y Moral's poem, but a more subtle one.
By the way, just so you get an idea of what the poem is like, here is the beginning translated:
El prado está sin verdura,
Y los jardines sin flores,
No cantan los ruiseñores
Amores en la espesura.
No se oye el dulce murmullo
Del viento, que ronco brama.
The meadow is without green,
And the gardens without flowers,
The nightingales do not sing
(About) loves among the unkeptness (of the place).
One does not hear the sweet murmur
Of the wind, which ruts hoarsely.
No brota en la seca rama
Tierno y pintado capullo.
No saltan serenas fuentes
Por entre sutiles bocas,
Que ruedan desde las rocas,
En vez de arroyos, torrentes.
There does not spring from the dry branch
A tender and painted bud.
There jump no serene springs
From between fine mouths,
That roll from the rocks,
Instead of streams, torrents.
It is completely in line with the song's themes of sadness, loneliness, and desire for love. It is also another reason for her to be saying she wants the January moon to hear her. It would be a sort of, "Ha! Look at me now, moon. I am happy." That is how she would like it to be.
General Comments:
Wait... what happened and the end and why will she be far away? I am confused. The translation is perfectly straight-forward, but the story is indirect. She died in the end, right? Metaphorically? Literally? Wikipedia says the song is about a "disregarded woman [who] compares herself to a rag doll when she cannot express her feelings for a loved one." I get that, but what happened at the end?