“Tainted”
Style: Slow rock, cynical but interesting. Song about corruption and crime.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Translation:
En el país del sagrado corazón
A nadie se le puede dar la absolución,
Cuando el billete es emperador.
In the country of the sacred heart
Absolution can be given to nobody,
When the banknote is emperor.
Ya no hay decencia que valga,
No hay honor.
There is no more decency that is worth anything,
There is no honor.
La horrible ley de la selva de cemento,
Supervivencia para el más violento,
Honor y escrúpulos son un invento
De un pasado lejano polvoriento.
The horrible law of the concrete jungle,
Survival for the most violent,
Honor and scruples are an invention
Of a distant, dusty past.
Chorus:
—————————————-
Todos estamos untados.
Todos quedamos involucrados.
Todos andamos armados.
Queremos harto billete de contado.
We are all tainted.
We all end up involved.
We are all armed.
We want excess bills of cash.
—————————————-
Aquí no quedan inocentes.
Todos aquí somos delincuentes.
Los hay de muchos pelambres y colores,
De cuello blanco, esos son los peores.
No innocents remain here.
We are all delinquents here.
They exist of many coats and colors,
Of white collars, those are the worst.
Aquí política es sinónimo de robo,
Millonarios sueldos y papayas de oro,
Animal social como los leones,
Es la presa riqueza,
Somos depredadores.
Here politics is synonymous with robbery,
Millionary salaries and golden papayas,
Social animal like the lions,
Wealth is the prey,
We are (the) predators.
[Chorus x3]
Translation Notes:
Aterciopelados band name meaning
aterciopelado [adj.] = velvety; peachy. Note that the word doesn’t mean “peach” (the fruit itself), though. It’s just used to describe peach fuzz. The root word is pelo (hair).
terciopelo [noun, m.] = velour, velvet, fine soft hair (like on a peach)
I think the name means something like “the veloured ones” or “the velvety ones,” though that sounds somewhat inartistic to me as a translation. Hmmm. Hmmm. “The envelveted”?
(I’m saying “the” because there’s an invisible los in front of the group name.)
“Envelveteds.” Oh, that looks weird. It means something like that, though. It sounds simultaneously innocently soft and grown-up sophisticated to me.
—
A nadie se le puede dar la absolución
Absolution can be given to nobody
To nobody can absolution be given [lit.]
—
Cuando el billete es emperador.
When the banknote is emperor.
billete = bill (like in “dollar bill”)
—
Todos estamos untados
We are all tainted [lit. painted, smeared]
We are all bribed [alt., colloquial]
—
Todos andamos armados
We are all armed
We are all stubborn [alt.? not really]
I grew up with “armado, armada” also meaning “stubborn,” but apparently that usage is specific to Mexico and Puerto Rico. This Colombian group probably wasn’t thinking of that double meaning.
andar [verb] = to go, to walk, to travel
You can use andar instead of a “to be” verb (estar, ser) to signify “being” in an active way.
estar feliz = to be happy
ser feliz = to be a happy person (generally happy, not just at a particular time)
andar feliz = to go about happy, to roam happy
Someone who está enojado is angry. That just explains their own emotional state, whether or not they display it.
Someone who anda enojado is going around being angry and grouchy. That might affect how they treat objects and people.
—
Queremos harto billete de contado
We want excess bills of cash
We want lots of bills of cash
(estar) harto = (to be) fed up
Without a “to be” verb and placed in front of a noun:
harto [adj.] = a lot of, an excessive amount
—
Millonarios sueldos y papayas de oro
Millionary salaries and golden papayas
No idea what “papayas de oro” refers to. I looked the phrase up online and only this song came up, so I just translated it literally.
As far as I can tell, it must have something to do with the phrase dar papaya from Colombia. In which case, I think it means something like “golden opportunities” in the song.
See:
http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/give-papaya/
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=622412
If you know of another meaning, tell me! Thanks.
—
If you want to hear more on the political situation in Colombia, see Juanes songs “Sueños” and “Fíjate Bien.” The song “Desapariciones” by Rubén Blades is on a similar subject, on Latin America in general.
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This is the 100th posted song translation, by the way.
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