“Down to The Roots” Lyrics
Album: Hasta La Raíz (Down to Your Roots), 2015
Style: Folk rock, alternative rock. Natalia told National Public Radio that she wanted to sing about her roots, in her case about Mexico. The album won Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album (58th Grammy Awards), Best Alternative Music Album (16th Latin Grammy Awards), and Best Engineered Album (16th Latin Grammy Awards). This particular song won Song of the Year and Best Alternative Song (16th Latin Grammy Awards).
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Translation:
Sigo cruzando ríos,
Andando selvas, amando el sol.
Cada día sigo sacando espinas
De lo profundo del corazón.
I keep crossing rivers,
Passing jungles, loving the sun.
Every day I keep pulling thorns
From the depths of my heart.
En la noche sigo encendiendo sueños
Para limpiar
Con el humo sagrado,
Cada recuerdo.
At night I keep lighting dreams on fire
To clean,
With the sacred smoke,
Every memory.
Cuando escriba tu nombre en la arena blanca,
Con fondo azul,
Cuando mire el cielo, en la forma cruel
De una nube gris,
Aparezcas tú.
When I write your name in the white sands,
With a blue depth,
When I look at the sky, in the cruel way
Of a gray cloud,
May you appear.
Una tarde suba una alta loma,
Mire el pasado,
Sabrás que no te he olvidado.
Some afternoon, climb a tall hill,
Witness the past,
You’ll see that I haven’t forgotten you.
Yo te llevo dentro
Hasta la raíz,
Y por más que crezca
Vas a estar aquí.
I have you deep inside
Down to my roots,
And however much I grow,
You will be here.
Aunque yo me oculte tras la montaña
Y encuentre un campo lleno de caña,
No habrá manera, mi rayo de luna,
Que tú te vayas.
Although I hide myself behind the mountain
And find a field full of sugar cane,
There will be no way, my moonlight beam,
That you leave.
Oh-uh-oh-oh, oh-oh,
Oh-uh oh-oh, oh-oh,
Oh-uh oh-oh, oh-oh,
Oh-uh oh-oh, oh-oh…
Pienso que cada instante sobrevivido al caminar,
Y cada segundo de incertidumbre,
Cada momento de no saber,
Son la clave exacta de este tejido
Que ando cargando bajo la piel.
I think that every point I survived on my path,
And every second of doubt,
Every moment I didn’t know,
Are the perfect code for this fabric
That I carry beneath my skin.
Así te protejo.
Aquí sigues dentro.
This is how I protect you.
Here you continue within me.
Yo te llevo dentro.
Hasta la raíz,
Y por más que crezca
Vas a estar aquí.
I have you deep inside
Down to my roots,
And however much I grow,
You will be here.
O que yo me oculte tras la montaña
Y encuentre un campo lleno de caña,
No habrá manera, mi rayo de luna,
Que tú te vayas
Que tú te vayas.
Or if I hide myself behind the mountain
And find a field full of sugar cane,
There won’t be a way, my ray of moonlight,
For you to leave,
For you to leave.
Yo te llevo dentro
Hasta la raíz,
Y por más que crezca
Vas a estar aquí.
I have you deep inside
Down to my roots,
And however much I grow
You will be here.
O que yo me oculte tras la montaña
Y encuentre un campo lleno de caña
No habrá manera, mi rayo de luna,
Que tú te vayas,
Que tú te vayas.
Or if I hide myself behind the mountain
And find a field full of sugar cane,
There will be no way, my moonlight beam,
That you leave.
That you leave.
Oh-uh-oh, uh-uh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-uh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-uh-oh, uh-uh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-uh-oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-uh-oh-oh
Oh-uh, oh-oh…
(x2)
Yo te llevo dentro
Hasta la raíz,
Y por más que crezca
Vas a estar aquí.
I have you deep inside
Down to my roots,
And however much I grow,
You will be here.
O que yo me oculte tras la montaña
Encuentre un campo lleno de caña
No habrá manera, mi rayo de luna,
Que tú te vayas…
Or if I hide myself behind the mountain
And find a field full of sugar cane,
There will be no way, my dear moon ray,
That you leave…
Translation Notes:
Per Natalia Lafourcade’s 2016 interview with National Public Radio, “I wanted to sing about something that would remind me of Mexico and home… It is important not to forget your roots.”
En la noche sigo encendiendo sueños
Para limpiar
Con el humo sagrado,
Cada recuerdo.
At night I keep lighting dreams on fire
To clean,
With the sacred smoke,
Every memory.
The verb encender means “to light, to ignite, to turn on” and here has positive connotations. She means that she is bringing light and positive energy with her dreams, not that she is destroying them.
El humo sagrado (the sacred smoke) refers to the Native American ritual of burning sacred herbs and passing the smoke throughout a residence in order to cleanse it of negative influences, also called “smudging”. The most common herbs used include white sage and palo santo (“holy stick”). In the lyrics, Natalia is using her dreams.
Una tarde {suba} [una alta loma],
{Mire} el pasado, <sabrás que> no te he olvidado.
Some afternoon, {climb} [a tall hill],
{Witness} the past, <you’ll see that> I haven’t forgotten you.
One afternoon {go up} [a tall hill],
{See} the past, <you’ll know that> I haven’t forgotten you.
Mountains and hills are formed slowly through the passage of time and the movement of tectonic plates. Going up to higher land, Natalia can see a bird’s eye view of the land below, and contemplate on its history. The journey may be metaphorical, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is also literal. My Mexican parents tell me stories of the land they grew up in and about how various features influenced human history. For example, my native ancestors strategically used the mountain ranges and caves to fight off Spanish invaders for a few centuries. My dad laughs when he tells me that the Spanish couldn’t figure out where our ancestors went or how they were getting water. We knew the land better.
Aunque yo me oculte tras la montaña
Y encuentre un campo lleno de caña
Although I hide myself behind the mountain
And find a field full of sugar cane
The word caña just means “cane”, but in the context of Latin America, it likely refers to sugar cane. Sugar cane is not native to the Americas, but is one of the oldest imported old world crops. During the Spanish conquest, it was brought to every hot climate area in Latin America. Natalia grew up in the Mexican state of Veracruz, which in present day is the biggest producer of sugar in Mexico.
No habrá manera, mi rayo de luna,
Que tú te vayas.
There will be no way, my moonlight beam,
That you leave.
There won’t be a way, my dear moonlight ray,
For you to leave.
Here, “rayo de luna” (ray of moonlight) is a term of affection, but also MAYBE a reference to the short story by Spanish poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, “El rayo de luna“, published 1871 in Spain. The text and audio reading is available from University of San Francisco. It is about Manrique, a young man who loved being alone and wandering, sees a beautiful woman dressed in white, chases her to meet her but she disappears, then he searches for her the rest of his life. His servants and his mother try to reason with him to move on, but he is obsessed.
Excerpt near the end:
-Tú eres joven, tú eres hermoso -le decía aquélla;- ¿por qué te consumes en la soledad? ¿Por qué no buscas una mujer a quien ames, y que amándote pueda hacerte feliz?
-¡El amor!… El amor es un rayo de luna -murmuraba el joven.
-¿Por qué no despertáis de ese letargo? -le decía uno de sus escuderos;- os vestís de hierro de pies a cabeza, mandáis desplegar al aire vuestro pendón de ricohombre, y marchamos a la guerra: en la guerra se encuentra la gloria.
-¡La gloria!… La gloria es un rayo de luna.
My translation:
“You are young, you are good looking”, she [his mother] told him, “why do you consume yourself in solitude? Why don’t you search for a woman to love, and who loving you back can make you happy?”
“Love! …Love is a ray of moon light”, murmured the young man.
“Why don’t you wake yourself from that lethargy?” said one of his squires, “dress yourself in iron from head to toe, order to roll out and display your rich man’s banner, and let us march to war: in war there is glory.”
“Glory! …Glory is a ray of moon light.”
If Natalia is referencing this story, I don’t think it is a strongly thematically tied reference. The reference is less about Manrique, the Spanish man who lost sight of the beautiful woman, and more about the woman herself, who Natalia suggests hid in the mountains. The metaphor is a bit mixed, as is Mexico itself, whose population is now predominantly of mixed Spanish and Native Mexican heritage.
Pienso que cada instante sobrevivido al caminar,
Y cada segundo de incertidumbre,
Cada momento de no saber,
Son la clave exacta de este tejido
I think that every point I survived on my path,
And every second of doubt,
Every moment I didn’t know,
Are the perfect code for this fabric
This stanza refers to the history of Mexico, and the death and survival during the Spanish conquest that shaped Mexico’s culture and genetics. Here, la clave (the key, the password) has the connotation of a blueprint or a code key. All her history provides the way to understand this fabric/textile/tissue “que ando cargando bajo la piel” (that I carry beneath my skin).
The word tejido can refer to woven fabrics (or knits or textiles) which are cultural, as well as the biological meaning of “tissue” such as muscle tissue, skin tissue, etc.
“Hasta La Raiz” by Natalia Lafourcade
Songlations 