"Angel" by Nach Scratch, English translation of lyrics
"Angel"
Style: Rap/poem about tragic accident, family love, piano
Country: Spain
Listen:
At YouTube here. Songs like these are fun to translate because they don’t repeat themselves much.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Te recuerdo postrada en la cama,
Mi mirada infantil desviada
Te veía, no concebía el drama.
I remember you bedridden,
My childish gaze diverted,
Saw you, not understanding the drama.
Parálisis cerebral.
Y ¿como entender tu suerte?
¿Como entender que otros niños se asustarán a verte?
Cerebral palsy [*lit. cerebral paralysis].
And how to understand your fate?
How to understand that other children will be frightened by you? [*lit. be frightened on seeing you]
Entre las sábanas blancas,
Tu piel confundida en ellas,
Te giras, después me miras
Y sonríes con bella virtud.
Between the white sheets,
Your skin confused in them,
You turn, then you see me
And you smile with virtuous beauty.
Doncella enferma
Que destella gratitud por cada poro.
Hermana mayor, mi fiel tesoro.
Ailing maiden
Who sparkles with gratitude from every pore.
Older sister, my faithful treasure.
Un ángel a quien Dios nombró.
Si lo que en ti da merma, da la gracia eterna,
Ella la ganó con creces.
An angel which God named.
If what in you causes loss, (also) gives eternal grace,
She won it a hundredfold.
Futuro puro que el destino arrebató, yo [*puro, adj. = pure; virginal; immaculate]
No puedo evitar llorar al recordarte a veces.
Unblemished future that destiny snatched away, I
Cannot avoid crying when I remember it sometimes.
Y en mis sueños apareces,
Me proteges del frío,
Si me ves entre el gentío sientes mi vacío,
Y hablas
Palabras de esperanzas que sólo tu danza irradia.
And in my dreams you appear,
You protect me from the cold,
If you see me in crowds you feel my emptiness,
And you speak
Words of hope that only your dancing can transmit.
No puedo evitar llorar, dejar brotar mi rabia,
Ni perdonar al azar su fragilidad infringida,
Que un capricho de la vida te dejara herida.
I cannot avoid crying, letting my rage burst forth,
Nor (can I) forgive fate for its violated fragility,
That a whim of life would leave you injured.
Te fuiste a los 16.
Suena dramático
Y el tiempo pasa tan rápido
Que hasta el dolor se olvida.
You left at 16.
It sounds dramatic
And time passes so fast
That even pain is forgotten.
Maldigo a quien te negó el regalo de sentir el sol,
De ver amanecer,
De conocer a tu primer amor.
I curse the one who denied you the gift of feeling the sun,
Of seeing the dawn arrive,
Of knowing your first love.
Maldigo a esta existéncia endeble
Que nos envuelve en fiebres
De un terror que hierve porque pierde lo que ama.
I curse this feeble existence
That wraps us up in fevers
From a terror that boils because one loses what one loves.
Pero tu llama, hermana, aún derrama cera en mi recuerdo
Y en éste corazón latiendo te conservo,
Porque eres mi ángel.
But your flame, sister, still spills wax in my memory
And in this beating heart I preserve you,
Because you are my angel.
Chorus:
----------------------------------------
Ángel, tu recuerdo es mi oración.
Ángel, vives en mi corazón.
Ángel, mi ángel, mi ángel, quiero dedicarte esta canción.
Angel, your memory is my prayer.
Angel, you live in my heart.
Angel, my angel, my angel, I want to dedicate this song to you.
----------------------------------------
Somos hijos de un Dios menor,
Remendamos cada error,
Dibujando en nuestras mentes un mundo mejor.
We are children of a lesser God,
We correct every error,
Drawing in our minds (an image of) a better world.
Y no es sencillo
Sacarle brillo a la conciencia
Cuando la experiencia echa el pestillo al corazón y mata.
And it is not easy
To bring out the sparkle in (our) conscience
When experience turns the deadbolt on the heart and kills.
Si la inocencia escapa por el mal que se desata dentro
Y los vientos de tormento quitan el aliento.
If innocence escapes (away) from the evil that is unleashed inside
And the winds of torment take away (your) breath.
Cuando miro alrededor y no te encuentro,
Siento que algo de mi también partió en aquel momento
De tu adiós precoz.
When I look around and do not find you,
I feel that something in me also left* on that moment [*alt. died]
Of your premature goodbye.
Tu cuerpo frágil se derretía veloz, [*derretir = to melt]
No te defendía del ataque atroz
Del tiempo que te consumía.
Your fragil body disintegrated swiftly,
Did not defend you against the merciless attack
Of the time that was consuming you.
Y en mi melancolía fría
Hoy le cuento al mundo que exististe un día,
Que se te quería tanto como el ángel que tu fuiste.
And in my cold melancholy
Today I tell the world that you existed one day,
That you were loved so much like the angel that you were.
Y te canto porque sé que oyes este llanto triste
Y me resguardas del peligro,
Que me ves coger un micro y estás orgullosa.
And I sing to you because I know that you hear this sad cry
And you shelter me from danger,
That you see me grasp a microphone and you are proud.
Quiero contarte tantas cosas
Pero me ahogo de tanto pensar,
¿Cómo sería la vida sin aquel mazazo?
Poder charlar, sentir tu abrazo y tu perfume, [*sentir = to feel; to smell]
Ver los lazos que nos unen a la eternidad.
I want to tell you so many things
But I drown myself thinking so much,
How would life be without that heavy blow?
To be able to chat, to feel your hug and smell your perfume,
To see the bonds that unite us to eternity.
Pero, ¿quién es inmune a la inclemencia de esta realidad
Y asume su tortura sin quejidos?
Dime, ¿quién no ha sufrido la falta de un ser querido
Que se va sin haber vivido, sin hayar sentido?
Hermana mía, tu recuerdo sigue vivo, sigue vivo.
But who is immune to the harshness of this reality
And bears its tortures without moans?
Tell me, who has not suffered the loss of a loved one
Who leaves without having lived, without finding reason?
My sister, your memory lives on, lives on.
[Chorus: "Ángel, tu recuerdo es mi oración..."]
Tu recuerdo es mi oración. Vives en mi corazón.
Hermana mía, allí donde estés, eres mi ángel.
Your memory is my prayer. You live in my heart.
Sister, wherever you are, you are my angel.
Translation Notes:
Si lo que en ti da merma, da la gracia eterna, ella la ganó con creces
If what in you causes loss, (also) gives eternal grace, she won it a hundredfold.
The line is a bit strange, but at least it makes some sense.
It is mistranscribed everywhere (except at this site) as:
Si en lo que en vida ella arma gracia eterna, ella la ganó con creces
If what in life she arms eternal grace, she won it a hundredfold.
That makes no sense. It is a bunch of gibberish. Stop putting gibberish on lyrics websites; it makes me cranky.
That said, it's possible that the current transcription is slightly wrong as well. If you hear something else, let me know.
---
Here’s another variable transcription I found:
Pero tú llama hermana a un derramacera mi recuerdo
But you call, sister, (call) to a derramacera my memory.
[Confusing syntax and derramacera isn’t a word.]
The site that has everything else right transcribes this line as:
Pero tu llama, hermana, aun derrama cera en mi recuerdo
But your flame, sister, still spills wax in my memory.
By which he means: Your candle is still lit in my memory.
---
Maldigo a esta existéncia endeble / Que nos envuelve en fiebres / De un terror que hierve porque pierde lo que ama.
I curse this feeble existence / That wraps us up in fevers / From a terror that boils because one loses what one loves.
I know this sounds like it could be idiomatic, but it is not. It’s poetic. :-)
---
Another transcription error:
De tu antes precoz
From your premature before
Should be:
De tu adiós precoz
From your premature goodbye
Bad transcriptions make translators cranky, I’m telling you! I like the song, though, so not too cranky.
---
I considered that "somos hijos de un Dios menor" (we are children of a lesser God) might be a reference to a play by Mark Medoff with that title (and with that Spanish title in the Spanish translation). Probably not, though. More likely either Nach Scratch just thought the phrase was poetic or both play and song found inspiration from an older source, independently.
---
Y no es sencillo / Sacarle brillo a la conciencia / Cuando la experiencia echa el pestillo al corazón y mata.
And it is not easy / To bring out the sparkle in (our) conscious / When experience turns the deadbolt on the heart and kills.
I would have translated it as "consciousness" if I had only read this stanza, but the stanzas around this one are talking about making the world a better place, so I think it is "conscience." It could mean either depending on how you interpret it.
---
Que me ves coger un micro y estás orgullosa.
That you see me grasp a microphone and you are proud.
That you see me pick up a microphone and you are proud. [*alt.]
Style: Rap/poem about tragic accident, family love, piano
Country: Spain
Listen:
At YouTube here. Songs like these are fun to translate because they don’t repeat themselves much.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
Te recuerdo postrada en la cama,
Mi mirada infantil desviada
Te veía, no concebía el drama.
I remember you bedridden,
My childish gaze diverted,
Saw you, not understanding the drama.
Parálisis cerebral.
Y ¿como entender tu suerte?
¿Como entender que otros niños se asustarán a verte?
Cerebral palsy [*lit. cerebral paralysis].
And how to understand your fate?
How to understand that other children will be frightened by you? [*lit. be frightened on seeing you]
Entre las sábanas blancas,
Tu piel confundida en ellas,
Te giras, después me miras
Y sonríes con bella virtud.
Between the white sheets,
Your skin confused in them,
You turn, then you see me
And you smile with virtuous beauty.
Doncella enferma
Que destella gratitud por cada poro.
Hermana mayor, mi fiel tesoro.
Ailing maiden
Who sparkles with gratitude from every pore.
Older sister, my faithful treasure.
Un ángel a quien Dios nombró.
Si lo que en ti da merma, da la gracia eterna,
Ella la ganó con creces.
An angel which God named.
If what in you causes loss, (also) gives eternal grace,
She won it a hundredfold.
Futuro puro que el destino arrebató, yo [*puro, adj. = pure; virginal; immaculate]
No puedo evitar llorar al recordarte a veces.
Unblemished future that destiny snatched away, I
Cannot avoid crying when I remember it sometimes.
Y en mis sueños apareces,
Me proteges del frío,
Si me ves entre el gentío sientes mi vacío,
Y hablas
Palabras de esperanzas que sólo tu danza irradia.
And in my dreams you appear,
You protect me from the cold,
If you see me in crowds you feel my emptiness,
And you speak
Words of hope that only your dancing can transmit.
No puedo evitar llorar, dejar brotar mi rabia,
Ni perdonar al azar su fragilidad infringida,
Que un capricho de la vida te dejara herida.
I cannot avoid crying, letting my rage burst forth,
Nor (can I) forgive fate for its violated fragility,
That a whim of life would leave you injured.
Te fuiste a los 16.
Suena dramático
Y el tiempo pasa tan rápido
Que hasta el dolor se olvida.
You left at 16.
It sounds dramatic
And time passes so fast
That even pain is forgotten.
Maldigo a quien te negó el regalo de sentir el sol,
De ver amanecer,
De conocer a tu primer amor.
I curse the one who denied you the gift of feeling the sun,
Of seeing the dawn arrive,
Of knowing your first love.
Maldigo a esta existéncia endeble
Que nos envuelve en fiebres
De un terror que hierve porque pierde lo que ama.
I curse this feeble existence
That wraps us up in fevers
From a terror that boils because one loses what one loves.
Pero tu llama, hermana, aún derrama cera en mi recuerdo
Y en éste corazón latiendo te conservo,
Porque eres mi ángel.
But your flame, sister, still spills wax in my memory
And in this beating heart I preserve you,
Because you are my angel.
Chorus:
----------------------------------------
Ángel, tu recuerdo es mi oración.
Ángel, vives en mi corazón.
Ángel, mi ángel, mi ángel, quiero dedicarte esta canción.
Angel, your memory is my prayer.
Angel, you live in my heart.
Angel, my angel, my angel, I want to dedicate this song to you.
----------------------------------------
Somos hijos de un Dios menor,
Remendamos cada error,
Dibujando en nuestras mentes un mundo mejor.
We are children of a lesser God,
We correct every error,
Drawing in our minds (an image of) a better world.
Y no es sencillo
Sacarle brillo a la conciencia
Cuando la experiencia echa el pestillo al corazón y mata.
And it is not easy
To bring out the sparkle in (our) conscience
When experience turns the deadbolt on the heart and kills.
Si la inocencia escapa por el mal que se desata dentro
Y los vientos de tormento quitan el aliento.
If innocence escapes (away) from the evil that is unleashed inside
And the winds of torment take away (your) breath.
Cuando miro alrededor y no te encuentro,
Siento que algo de mi también partió en aquel momento
De tu adiós precoz.
When I look around and do not find you,
I feel that something in me also left* on that moment [*alt. died]
Of your premature goodbye.
Tu cuerpo frágil se derretía veloz, [*derretir = to melt]
No te defendía del ataque atroz
Del tiempo que te consumía.
Your fragil body disintegrated swiftly,
Did not defend you against the merciless attack
Of the time that was consuming you.
Y en mi melancolía fría
Hoy le cuento al mundo que exististe un día,
Que se te quería tanto como el ángel que tu fuiste.
And in my cold melancholy
Today I tell the world that you existed one day,
That you were loved so much like the angel that you were.
Y te canto porque sé que oyes este llanto triste
Y me resguardas del peligro,
Que me ves coger un micro y estás orgullosa.
And I sing to you because I know that you hear this sad cry
And you shelter me from danger,
That you see me grasp a microphone and you are proud.
Quiero contarte tantas cosas
Pero me ahogo de tanto pensar,
¿Cómo sería la vida sin aquel mazazo?
Poder charlar, sentir tu abrazo y tu perfume, [*sentir = to feel; to smell]
Ver los lazos que nos unen a la eternidad.
I want to tell you so many things
But I drown myself thinking so much,
How would life be without that heavy blow?
To be able to chat, to feel your hug and smell your perfume,
To see the bonds that unite us to eternity.
Pero, ¿quién es inmune a la inclemencia de esta realidad
Y asume su tortura sin quejidos?
Dime, ¿quién no ha sufrido la falta de un ser querido
Que se va sin haber vivido, sin hayar sentido?
Hermana mía, tu recuerdo sigue vivo, sigue vivo.
But who is immune to the harshness of this reality
And bears its tortures without moans?
Tell me, who has not suffered the loss of a loved one
Who leaves without having lived, without finding reason?
My sister, your memory lives on, lives on.
[Chorus: "Ángel, tu recuerdo es mi oración..."]
Tu recuerdo es mi oración. Vives en mi corazón.
Hermana mía, allí donde estés, eres mi ángel.
Your memory is my prayer. You live in my heart.
Sister, wherever you are, you are my angel.
Translation Notes:
Si lo que en ti da merma, da la gracia eterna, ella la ganó con creces
If what in you causes loss, (also) gives eternal grace, she won it a hundredfold.
The line is a bit strange, but at least it makes some sense.
It is mistranscribed everywhere (except at this site) as:
Si en lo que en vida ella arma gracia eterna, ella la ganó con creces
If what in life she arms eternal grace, she won it a hundredfold.
That makes no sense. It is a bunch of gibberish. Stop putting gibberish on lyrics websites; it makes me cranky.
That said, it's possible that the current transcription is slightly wrong as well. If you hear something else, let me know.
---
Here’s another variable transcription I found:
Pero tú llama hermana a un derramacera mi recuerdo
But you call, sister, (call) to a derramacera my memory.
[Confusing syntax and derramacera isn’t a word.]
The site that has everything else right transcribes this line as:
Pero tu llama, hermana, aun derrama cera en mi recuerdo
But your flame, sister, still spills wax in my memory.
By which he means: Your candle is still lit in my memory.
---
Maldigo a esta existéncia endeble / Que nos envuelve en fiebres / De un terror que hierve porque pierde lo que ama.
I curse this feeble existence / That wraps us up in fevers / From a terror that boils because one loses what one loves.
I know this sounds like it could be idiomatic, but it is not. It’s poetic. :-)
---
Another transcription error:
De tu antes precoz
From your premature before
Should be:
De tu adiós precoz
From your premature goodbye
Bad transcriptions make translators cranky, I’m telling you! I like the song, though, so not too cranky.
---
I considered that "somos hijos de un Dios menor" (we are children of a lesser God) might be a reference to a play by Mark Medoff with that title (and with that Spanish title in the Spanish translation). Probably not, though. More likely either Nach Scratch just thought the phrase was poetic or both play and song found inspiration from an older source, independently.
---
Y no es sencillo / Sacarle brillo a la conciencia / Cuando la experiencia echa el pestillo al corazón y mata.
And it is not easy / To bring out the sparkle in (our) conscious / When experience turns the deadbolt on the heart and kills.
I would have translated it as "consciousness" if I had only read this stanza, but the stanzas around this one are talking about making the world a better place, so I think it is "conscience." It could mean either depending on how you interpret it.
---
Que me ves coger un micro y estás orgullosa.
That you see me grasp a microphone and you are proud.
That you see me pick up a microphone and you are proud. [*alt.]