“Che Araña” (Friend Spider) by Cri-Cri, Eugenia León, English translation of lyrics

“Friend Spider” (1942)
Songwritter: Francisco “Cri-Cri” Gabilondo Soler
Style: Children’s song about a musical spider who rallies other household bugs and animals for a dance party. Cri-Cri is unique for his elaborate children’s stories with advanced Spanish vocabulary. He does not speak down to children. The songs are fun without being overly repetitive.
Country: Mexico
Listen: Cri-Cri (children’s song); Eugenia León (ballad style)

Lyrics Translation:

Al fondo del barril desvencijado
Que alumbra un rayo de sol,
La araña en sus hilos baila tango
Con los acordes del bandoneón.

At the bottom of the crumbling barrel
That a ray of sunlight illuminates,
The spider on its strings dances tango
With the chords of the bandonion.

Don Gato imita el instrumento,
Estirando farolito de papel,
Y su cola menea con sentimiento,
Llevando el ritmo del baile aquel.

Sir Cat imitates the instrument,
Stretching a paper lantern,
And his tail wags with emotion,
Carrying the rhythm of that dance.

Chorus:
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¡Che Araña!
Baila con maña,
Hay que contar.

Friend Spider!
Dances with skill,
One must say.

Tres pasitos
Arrastraditos
Pa’ delante [para adelante] y para atrás.

Three little steps
A little dragged
Forward and backwards.
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Entre las astillas carcomidas
Que quedan del viejo tonel,
Se asoma petulante la clientela,
Y de puntillas penetra en él.

Between the rotting splinters
Left over of the old barrel,
The arrogant clientele shows its face
And on tip-toes cuts through it.

Brillantes cucarachas aburridas,
Pulgones fatigados de picar,
Más otras sabandijas relamidas
Que se reunen a trasnochar.

Bright, bored cockroaches,
Fleas tired of biting,
Plus other bugs dressed prim and proper,
That come together to spend the night out.

[Chorus x2]

Translation Notes:

Che [noun] = friend (Argentina)

In Argentina, one often hears the word “Che” used as a casual term for “Friend.” Ernesto Guevara used it so much even when he left Argentina that he became known as Che Guevara.

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Don Gato imita el instrumento,
Estirando farolito de papel

Sir Cat imitates the instrument,
Stretching a paper lantern

The cat is using a paper lantern like an accordion, stretching it and pushing it back to imitate the real accordion instrument.

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Se reunen a trasnochar.

They come together to spend the night out.

trasnochar is a verb that comes from tras noche (across night, through night)

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I got a lovely comment on the old website that was so motivating! I am copying it here so I don’t forget about it:

I adore Songlations. In terms of the sheer level of thought, reflection, detail and loving care that goes into your translations, I think this site is unique. There are countless sites where I can find rough English equivalents or laughable machine translations. However I’ve never seen anything that approaches your quest to find the English formulation that best replicates the particular shade/nuance of the words Spanish original.

D.R. from London, England

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“Che Arana” by Cri-Cri, also sung by Eugenia Leon: titles and names without the special characters so website search works.