"Baile De Los Pobres" by Calle 13, English translation of lyrics
"Poor People's Dance" (alt. "Dance of the Poor")
Album: Entren Los Que Quieran (Enter Whoever Wants To), 2010
Style: Latin urban and Bollywood fusion
Country: Puerto Rico
Listen:
This is a song highlighting social class differences ("You dress in silk, and I in straw") and celebrating the good things about being poor ("No one robs us... because we don't have anything!"). The storyline of two lovers from different social classes and the music has a strong Bollywood influence. Calle 13 has a great musical range and awesome genre mixes, well-deserving of record-breaking Latin Grammy wins, including "Best Urban Song" in 2011 for this song and "Album of the Year" in 2011 for this album. Listen to "Baile de los Pobres" at YouTube here.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
No tengo mucha plata, pero tengo cobre.
Aquí se baila como bailan los pobres.
(x2)
I don't have a lot of silver, but I have copper. [*alt. I don't have a lot of money, but I have cents.]
Here we dance how the poor dance.
(x2)
Mesiel, aquí llego tu Robín Hood
A meter las bolas en los boquetes como Tiger Woods.
Tú eres clase alta, yo clase baja.
Tú vistes de seda, y yo de paja.
'Moiselle, I have your Robin Hood here
To put (his) balls in holes like Tiger Woods.
You are high class; I am low class.
You dress in silk, and I in straw.
Nos complementamos como novios.
Tú tomas agua destilada, yo agua con microbios.
Tú la vives fácil, y yo me fajo.
Tú sudas perfume, yo sudo trabajo.
We complement each other as lovers.
You drink distilled water; I drink water with microbes.
You live the easy life, and I prepare for a fight. [*lit. ...and I put on my belt]
You sweat perfume; I sweat work.
Tú tienes chofer; yo camino a patas.
Tus comes filete, y yo carne de lata.
You have a chauffeur; I walk on foot.
You eat steak, and I canned food.
Nuestro parecido es microscópico
Pero es que por ti me derrito como gringo en el trópico.
Pégate a mí, que no te contaminas
Y con un besito vamos a pegarnos la porcina.
Our similarities are microscopic
But it's for you that I melt like a gringo in the tropics.
Stick with me, you won't get contaminated
And with a little kiss we'll get our pig on. [*alt. And with a little kiss we'll put on our porcine.]
Chorus:
----------------------------------------
No se necesita plata pa' moverse.
Necesita onda y música cachonda.
Música cachonda, ca-ca-cachonda.
You don't need money to move.
You need swagger and hot music. [*lit. You need waves/coolness and sexy/hot music.]
Hot, h-h-h-hot music.
No tengo mucha plata, pero tengo cobre.
Aquí se baila como bailan los pobres.
Música cachonda, ca-ca-cachonda.
(x2)
I don't have a lot of silver, but I have copper.
Here we dance how the poor dance.
Hot, h-h-h-hot music.
(x2)
----------------------------------------
Se baila sin mantel, sin cubierto, sin bandeja,
Con ganas de comerse a la pareja.
Se baila pega'o como bachata, sin traje y sin corbata,
Embriagando las neuronas con vodka barata.
We dance without a tablecloth, without cutlery, without trays,
With the urge to eat one's partner.
We dance stuck together like in bachata, without a suit and without a tie, [*bachata is a dance style]
Inebriating our neurons with cheap vodka.
Blancas, amarillas o mulatas
Que bailan con cualquier boom boom
Que suelte la piñata.
White girls, yellow girls or mulattas
Who dance with any boom boom
Who drops the piñata. [*i.e. shares money, buys them drinks, etc.]
Lo bueno de ser pobre al final de la jornada
Es que nadie nos roba ¡porque no tenemos nada!
The good thing about being poor at the end of the day
Is that no one robs us... because we don't have anything!
Apretaditos como en una lata de sardinas,
Agarrando nalgas porque está incluida la propina.
Dicen que eres la reina de todos los rosales
Pero hoy te voy a bajar cuatro clases sociales.
(Squeezing) tight like in a sardine can,
Grabbing ass because it's included in the tip.
They say that you are the queen of all the rose gardens, [*signifying high society]
But today I am going to drop you four social classes.
Calientita como pan de panadero,
Barriendo el piso con el trasero,
Toda la grasa se desplaza por la terraza.
Quiero que hagas lo que no puedes hacer en tu casa.
Warm like bread from the baker
Sweeping the floor with your ass,
All the grease spreads over the balcony. [*alt. All the fat spreads over the terrace.]
I want you to do what you can't do in your home.
[Chorus: "No se necesita plata pa' moverse…"]
Tú me tienes por el aire volando
Como si estuviera bajo el agua flotando,
Como, como, como, como, como, como, como,
Como si estuviera bajo el agua flotando.
(x2)
You have me flying through the air
As if I were floating underwater,
As if, if, if, if, if,
As if I were floating underwater.
(x2)
Translation Notes:
No tengo mucha plata, pero tengo cobre.
Aquí se baila como bailan los pobres.
(x2)
I don't have a lot of silver, but I have copper. [*lit.]
I don't have a lot of money, but I have cents. [*alt.]
As a listener, I hear this line and think that it means "I don't have a lot of money, but I have hussle/strength/character." As a translator, I am having a hard time coming up with an external source to justify this impression.
There is a discussion about the meaning of tengo cobre over at the WordReference Forums. No one knows for sure, but there is a lot of individual interpretation. Some members think that cobre should be taken literally as a reference to the metal used for valuable coins (silver) versus less valuable ones (e.g. the lowest coin in the USA is the penny which is coated with copper). Others think that it refers to some non-specific good quality of humanity as well. I think it is both, too, but have yet to come up with concrete evidence for the "having hussle" meaning.
The Spanish saying, no tener ni un cobre (lit. to not have even a copper) refers to poverty and not having any money. Calle 13 saying in the lyrics that "I don't have silver, but I do have copper" is a euphemistic way of saying, "I'm poor, but I don't have NOTHING." This fits with the rest of the song's theme that you can be poor, but you don't need money to dance or have fun or love.
---
Mesiel, aquí llego tu Robín Hood.
'Moiselle, I have your Robin Hood here.
Calle 13 pronounces the first word "Mesiel," but I believe it is an intentional mispronunciation and fusion of the French Monsieur (Sir/Mister) and Mademoiselle (Miss).
---
Tú tienes chofer; yo camino a patas.
You have a chauffeur; I walk on foot.
The correct and proper way to say this in Spanish is "yo camino a pie" ("I walk on foot") because un pie is a human foot, whereas una pata is an animal leg. Saying "yo camino a pata(s)" sounds crude and low class.
And for beginner Spanish students: Yes, una pata is also a female duck. There is no double meaning here. The word pata has two distinct meanings.
---
Lo bueno de ser pobre al final de la jornada
Es que nadie nos roba ¡porque no tenemos nada!
The good thing about being poor at the end of the day
Is that no one robs us... because we don't have anything!
One thing I like about Calle 13 is that even when they sing songs that celebrate the lower classes, they add poetry to their lyrics. These guys are educated and it shows in their lyrics and word choice. In this line, for example, they choose to use the less common word la jornada (the day), rather than the more common word for "day" which is el día. They choose jornada to rhyme with nada (nothing/anything) in the next line, but using more complex vocabulary is common enough for them that no one bats an eyelash. The word jornada also has the added connotations of a long day, a journey, and work. The phrase jornada de trabajo means "working day."
---
Apretaditos como en una lata de sardinas
Squeezing tight like in a sardine can
Tight like in a sardine can [*lit.]
The suffix -ito when attached to qualitative descriptions of measurement like apretado (tight) acts as an intensifier to give the meaning of "very tight." So tight, your separations are tiny! This is why you use the -ito suffix, which generally adds the meaning of "small" or "little."
Album: Entren Los Que Quieran (Enter Whoever Wants To), 2010
Style: Latin urban and Bollywood fusion
Country: Puerto Rico
Listen:
This is a song highlighting social class differences ("You dress in silk, and I in straw") and celebrating the good things about being poor ("No one robs us... because we don't have anything!"). The storyline of two lovers from different social classes and the music has a strong Bollywood influence. Calle 13 has a great musical range and awesome genre mixes, well-deserving of record-breaking Latin Grammy wins, including "Best Urban Song" in 2011 for this song and "Album of the Year" in 2011 for this album. Listen to "Baile de los Pobres" at YouTube here.
[Expand embedded video]
Translation:
No tengo mucha plata, pero tengo cobre.
Aquí se baila como bailan los pobres.
(x2)
I don't have a lot of silver, but I have copper. [*alt. I don't have a lot of money, but I have cents.]
Here we dance how the poor dance.
(x2)
Mesiel, aquí llego tu Robín Hood
A meter las bolas en los boquetes como Tiger Woods.
Tú eres clase alta, yo clase baja.
Tú vistes de seda, y yo de paja.
'Moiselle, I have your Robin Hood here
To put (his) balls in holes like Tiger Woods.
You are high class; I am low class.
You dress in silk, and I in straw.
Nos complementamos como novios.
Tú tomas agua destilada, yo agua con microbios.
Tú la vives fácil, y yo me fajo.
Tú sudas perfume, yo sudo trabajo.
We complement each other as lovers.
You drink distilled water; I drink water with microbes.
You live the easy life, and I prepare for a fight. [*lit. ...and I put on my belt]
You sweat perfume; I sweat work.
Tú tienes chofer; yo camino a patas.
Tus comes filete, y yo carne de lata.
You have a chauffeur; I walk on foot.
You eat steak, and I canned food.
Nuestro parecido es microscópico
Pero es que por ti me derrito como gringo en el trópico.
Pégate a mí, que no te contaminas
Y con un besito vamos a pegarnos la porcina.
Our similarities are microscopic
But it's for you that I melt like a gringo in the tropics.
Stick with me, you won't get contaminated
And with a little kiss we'll get our pig on. [*alt. And with a little kiss we'll put on our porcine.]
Chorus:
----------------------------------------
No se necesita plata pa' moverse.
Necesita onda y música cachonda.
Música cachonda, ca-ca-cachonda.
You don't need money to move.
You need swagger and hot music. [*lit. You need waves/coolness and sexy/hot music.]
Hot, h-h-h-hot music.
No tengo mucha plata, pero tengo cobre.
Aquí se baila como bailan los pobres.
Música cachonda, ca-ca-cachonda.
(x2)
I don't have a lot of silver, but I have copper.
Here we dance how the poor dance.
Hot, h-h-h-hot music.
(x2)
----------------------------------------
Se baila sin mantel, sin cubierto, sin bandeja,
Con ganas de comerse a la pareja.
Se baila pega'o como bachata, sin traje y sin corbata,
Embriagando las neuronas con vodka barata.
We dance without a tablecloth, without cutlery, without trays,
With the urge to eat one's partner.
We dance stuck together like in bachata, without a suit and without a tie, [*bachata is a dance style]
Inebriating our neurons with cheap vodka.
Blancas, amarillas o mulatas
Que bailan con cualquier boom boom
Que suelte la piñata.
White girls, yellow girls or mulattas
Who dance with any boom boom
Who drops the piñata. [*i.e. shares money, buys them drinks, etc.]
Lo bueno de ser pobre al final de la jornada
Es que nadie nos roba ¡porque no tenemos nada!
The good thing about being poor at the end of the day
Is that no one robs us... because we don't have anything!
Apretaditos como en una lata de sardinas,
Agarrando nalgas porque está incluida la propina.
Dicen que eres la reina de todos los rosales
Pero hoy te voy a bajar cuatro clases sociales.
(Squeezing) tight like in a sardine can,
Grabbing ass because it's included in the tip.
They say that you are the queen of all the rose gardens, [*signifying high society]
But today I am going to drop you four social classes.
Calientita como pan de panadero,
Barriendo el piso con el trasero,
Toda la grasa se desplaza por la terraza.
Quiero que hagas lo que no puedes hacer en tu casa.
Warm like bread from the baker
Sweeping the floor with your ass,
All the grease spreads over the balcony. [*alt. All the fat spreads over the terrace.]
I want you to do what you can't do in your home.
[Chorus: "No se necesita plata pa' moverse…"]
Tú me tienes por el aire volando
Como si estuviera bajo el agua flotando,
Como, como, como, como, como, como, como,
Como si estuviera bajo el agua flotando.
(x2)
You have me flying through the air
As if I were floating underwater,
As if, if, if, if, if,
As if I were floating underwater.
(x2)
Translation Notes:
No tengo mucha plata, pero tengo cobre.
Aquí se baila como bailan los pobres.
(x2)
I don't have a lot of silver, but I have copper. [*lit.]
I don't have a lot of money, but I have cents. [*alt.]
As a listener, I hear this line and think that it means "I don't have a lot of money, but I have hussle/strength/character." As a translator, I am having a hard time coming up with an external source to justify this impression.
There is a discussion about the meaning of tengo cobre over at the WordReference Forums. No one knows for sure, but there is a lot of individual interpretation. Some members think that cobre should be taken literally as a reference to the metal used for valuable coins (silver) versus less valuable ones (e.g. the lowest coin in the USA is the penny which is coated with copper). Others think that it refers to some non-specific good quality of humanity as well. I think it is both, too, but have yet to come up with concrete evidence for the "having hussle" meaning.
The Spanish saying, no tener ni un cobre (lit. to not have even a copper) refers to poverty and not having any money. Calle 13 saying in the lyrics that "I don't have silver, but I do have copper" is a euphemistic way of saying, "I'm poor, but I don't have NOTHING." This fits with the rest of the song's theme that you can be poor, but you don't need money to dance or have fun or love.
---
Mesiel, aquí llego tu Robín Hood.
'Moiselle, I have your Robin Hood here.
Calle 13 pronounces the first word "Mesiel," but I believe it is an intentional mispronunciation and fusion of the French Monsieur (Sir/Mister) and Mademoiselle (Miss).
---
Tú tienes chofer; yo camino a patas.
You have a chauffeur; I walk on foot.
The correct and proper way to say this in Spanish is "yo camino a pie" ("I walk on foot") because un pie is a human foot, whereas una pata is an animal leg. Saying "yo camino a pata(s)" sounds crude and low class.
And for beginner Spanish students: Yes, una pata is also a female duck. There is no double meaning here. The word pata has two distinct meanings.
---
Lo bueno de ser pobre al final de la jornada
Es que nadie nos roba ¡porque no tenemos nada!
The good thing about being poor at the end of the day
Is that no one robs us... because we don't have anything!
One thing I like about Calle 13 is that even when they sing songs that celebrate the lower classes, they add poetry to their lyrics. These guys are educated and it shows in their lyrics and word choice. In this line, for example, they choose to use the less common word la jornada (the day), rather than the more common word for "day" which is el día. They choose jornada to rhyme with nada (nothing/anything) in the next line, but using more complex vocabulary is common enough for them that no one bats an eyelash. The word jornada also has the added connotations of a long day, a journey, and work. The phrase jornada de trabajo means "working day."
---
Apretaditos como en una lata de sardinas
Squeezing tight like in a sardine can
Tight like in a sardine can [*lit.]
The suffix -ito when attached to qualitative descriptions of measurement like apretado (tight) acts as an intensifier to give the meaning of "very tight." So tight, your separations are tiny! This is why you use the -ito suffix, which generally adds the meaning of "small" or "little."