“The Crazy Boots” (1974)
Genre: Sing-song rock, 1970s anti-war song from a young soldier’s perspective in Argentina. The tone reminds me of the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Excellent satirical book, by the way.
Country: Argentina
Lyrics Translation:
Chorus:
———————————————-
Yo forme parte de un ejército loco,
Tenía veinte años y el pelo muy corto,
Pero, mi amigo, hubo una confusión,
Porque para ellos el loco era yo.
I was part of a crazy army,
I was twenty years old with very short hair,
But, my friend, there was a confusion,
Because for them the crazy one was me.
———————————————-
Es un juego simple el de ser soldado:
Ellos siempre insultan; yo siempre callado.
Descansé muy poco y me puse malo.
Las estupideces empiezan temprano.
It’s a simple game, (the one about) being a soldier:
They always insult; I always keep quiet.
I rested very little and I fell ill.
The stupidities started early.
Los intolerables no entendieron nada,
Ellos decían “Guerra,”
Yo decía “No, gracias.”
The intolerables did not understand anything,
They said, “War,”
I said, “No thanks.”
Amar a la Patria bien nos exigieron.
Si ellos son la Patria, yo soy extranjero.
Love your country right, they urged us.
If they are the country, I am a foreigner.
[Chorus: “Yo formé parte de un ejército loco…“]
Se darán cuenta que aquel lugar
Era insoportable para alguien normal,
Entonces me dije:
“Basta de quejarme, yo me vuelvo a casa,”
Y decidí largarme.
You will find out that that place
Was intolerable for someone normal,
So I said to myself,
“Enough complaining, I am going home,”
And I decided to get out of there.
Les grité bien fuerte lo que yo creía
Acerca de todo lo que ellos hacían.
Evidentemente les cayó muy mal
Y así es que me echaron del cuartel general.
I shouted at them plenty loudly what I believed
About everything they were doing.
Apparently they took it badly
And so they threw me out of headquarters.
[Chorus: “Yo formé parte de un ejército loco...”]
Si todos juntos tomamos la idea
Que la libertad no es una pelela,
Se cambiarían todos los papeles,
Y estarían vacíos muchos más cuarteles.
If we all together run with the idea
That liberty is not a fight,
All the roles (in the script) would change,
And many more barracks would be empty.
Porque a usar las armas — bien nos enseñaron
Y creo que eso es lo delicado.
Piénselo un momento, señor general,
Porque yo que usted me sentiría muy mal.
Because to use arms — they sure taught us
And I think that is the trouble.
Think about it a moment, Mr. General,
Because I in your shoes would feel very bad.
[Chorus: “Yo formé parte de un ejército loco…“]
Translation Notes:
Yo forme parte de un ejército loco,
Tenía veinte años y el pelo muy corto
I was part of a crazy army,
I was twenty years old with very short hair
More word-for-word literal:
I formed part of a crazy army,
I had twenty years and very short hair.
Descansé muy poco y me puse malo.
Las estupideces empiezan temprano.
I rested very little and I fell ill.
The stupidities started early.
More word-for-word literal:
I rested very little and I got bad (ill).
The stupidities start early. [*future tense]
Evidentemente les cayó muy mal
Y así es que me echaron del cuartel general.
Apparently they took it badly
And so they threw me out of headquarters.
caer mal = to be displeasing; to be disliked; *lit. to go down badly; **super lit. to fall badly
Porque a usar las armas — bien nos enseñaron
Y creo que eso es lo delicado.
Because to use arms — they sure taught us
And I think that is the trouble.
Alternative:
Because they taught us to use arms right (correctly)
And I think that is the difficult/tricky thing.
delicado [adj.] = delicate; sensitive
algo delicado = something delicate; something troublesome; something awkward; some sensitive subject
Porque yo que usted me sentiría muy mal.
Because I in your shoes would feel very bad.
yo que usted… = if I were you… [idiomatic]
I found the lyrics at this website:
http://www.me.gov.ar/efeme/24demarzo/lasbotas.html
They listed this song as coming from:
“Antología”, 1991 – Tema censurado de Pequeñas anéctdotas sobre las instituciones, 1974
“Anthology”, 1991 – Censored subject from Short anecdotes about the institutions, 1974
Discover more from Songlations
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
