“Maria the Healer” Lyrics
Album: De Todas Las Flores (Of All The Flowers), 2022
Style: Jazzy world music about women healing themselves.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Translation:
Cúrate mijita el dolor con nuestra luz del sol
Y los rayos de la luna.
Cúrate mijita el dolor con el sonido del río,
La cascada y la espuma.
Heal your pain, my daughter, with our sunlight
And the moon’s rays.
Heal your pain, my daughter, with the sound of the river,
The waterfall, and the foam.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te agarre.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te ame.
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it catch you.
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it love you.
Cúrate mi niña con las hojas de la menta
Y la hierbabuena.
Ponle amor al té en lugar de azúcar,
Toma y mira las estrellas.
Heal yourself, my girl, with leaves of mint
And spearmint.
Put love into the tea instead of sugar,
Drink it and look at the stars.
Cúrate mijita el dolor con nuestra luz del sol
Y los rayos de la luna.
Cúrate mijita con los besos que te sopla el viento,
Los abrazos de lluvia.
Heal your pain, my daughter, with our sunlight
And the moon’s rays.
Heal yourself, my daughter, with the kisses that the wind blows you,
The hugs from the rain.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te agarre.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te ame.
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it catch you.
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it love you.
Cúrate mi niña con amor del más bonito
Y enciende el fuego, entrega tus dolores,
Que se vuelvan polvo y vengan nuevas flores.
Heal yourself, my girl, with love of the most beautiful kind
And light the fire, surrender your sorrows,
Let them become dust and let new flowers grow.
Que se vuelvan polvo, que se vuelvan polvo
Todos los dolores.
Que los queme el fuego, que los queme el fuego
Y vengan nuevas flores.
(x2)
Let them become dust, let them become dust,
All your sorrows.
Let the fire burn them, let the fire burn them,
And let new flowers grow.
(x2)
Cúrate mijita el dolor con el calor del sol
Y el frío de la luna.
Endulza la mañana con aroma de lavanda, romero, eucalipto
Y que venga la calma.
Heal your pain, my daughter, with the heat of the sun
And the cool of the moon.
Sweeten the morning with the scents of lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus,
And let in the calm.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te agarre.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te ame.
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it catch you.
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it love you.
Cúrate mijita con el amor del más bonito,
Haga caso a la intuición,
Mira el mundo entero
Con el ojo aquel que lleva uste’ en la frente.
Heal yourself, my daughter, with love of the most beautiful kind,
Listen to your intuition,
See the whole world
With that eye that you have there on your forehead.
Cúrate mi niña con amor del más bonito,
Y recuerda siempre que tú eres la medicina.
(x2)
Heal yourself, my girl, with love of the most beautiful kind,
And remember always that you are the medicine.
(x2)
Que se vuelvan polvo, que se vuelvan polvo
Todos los dolores.
Que los queme el fuego, que los queme el fuego
Y vengan nuevas flores.
(x2)
Let them become dust, let them become dust,
All your sorrows.
Let the fire burn them, let the fire burn them,
And let new flowers grow.
(x2)
Translation Notes:
Curandera/curandero = healer
In Latin America, curanderos are healers knowledgeable about plant medicinal properties, native healing skills, and folk remedies. This knowledge is common in rural Mexico, where it is convenient and necessary to know how to heal common things (coughs, sore throats, insomnia, earaches, etc) with available herbs and food. My grandparents healed themselves this way whenever they could. They only made the multi-day trip to a traditional doctor if their illness was more serious.
Cúrate mijita el dolor con nuestra luz del sol
Y los rayos de la luna.
Heal your pain, my daughter, with our sunlight
And the moon’s rays.
mijita = mi hijita = my little daughter, my dear daughter. The –ita suffix is an affectionate diminutive.
The song emphasizes that nature belongs to all of us by saying “nuestra luz del sol” (our sunlight, our light of the sun).
Cúrate mijita el dolor con el sonido del río,
La cascada y la espuma.
Heal your pain, my daughter, with the sound of the river,
The waterfall, and the foam.
This song is encouraging the listener to go out and benefit from the healing power of being exposed to nature. It is reminding them of the beauty in nature and natural bodies of water.
By the way, if you are stuck indoors, listening to nature sounds can help you as well. I recommend rainymood.com.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te agarre.
Con el vaivén del mar que va y viene
Deja que te ame.
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it catch you. / Let me catch you. [*alternative]
With the sway of the sea that comes and goes
Let it love you. / Let me love you. [*alternative]
The bold version is what I think is intended and what is the most obvious translation. The alternative (“Let me…”) is an alternative interpretation but I don’t think it needs to be a double meaning. This song is giving advice and well-wishes to the listener and is not really about the singer.
The rhythm of the sea here symbolizes femininity due to the association between tidal currents and the moon, another symbol of womenhood. This stanza is encouraging the listener to embrace her femininity.
Cúrate mi niña con las hojas de la menta
Y la hierbabuena.
Heal yourself, my girl, with leaves of mint
And spearmint.
Technically both Spanish words translate to “mint” since Spanish common language does not differentiate between peppermint and spearmint. La menta and la hierbabuena are both common names for mint in general. The reason that hierbabuena (or yierbabuena) is emphasized is for the mystique of the literal word-for-word meaning of “hierbabuena“, “good herb” as opposed to a bad/poison herb. Someone knowledgeable on the medicinal properties of plants will know the difference. This line reminds the girl listening to this song that she learned these things from her family and that her knowledge is valuable. This is partially about femininity (women and mothers traditionally taking on the role of healing their children and family) but also about celebrating oral history and cultural knowledge.
Ponle amor al té en lugar de azúcar
Put love into the tea instead of sugar [*literal]
Put love into the tea in place of sugar [*literal also, word-for-word]
These lines encourage healthy choices. Less sugar is healthy for everyone, but especially those of us with Native American backgrounds who are at greater risk for diabetes. Cultural assimilation all over the Americas, as well as population displacement due to colonialism, has altered our diet. This line promotes self-love and is a gentle nudge toward healthier options.
Que se vuelvan polvo y (que) vengan nuevas flores.
Let them become dust and (let) new flowers grow.
Let them become dust and (let) new flowers come.
May they become dust and (may) new flowers arrive.
The second and third translations are equally literal. In Spanish, que + present subjunctive tense is a way to indicate a wish, desire, command, or hope.
This is a subtle reference to Catholicism and the words spoken during Ash Wednesday: “remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”. However, the listener is not being reminded of their mortality. Instead, they are being encouraged to let their sorrows fade away and to welcome new joys. The stanza is an homage to the ways that Mexicans mixed Spanish and Native practices, often in ways not intended by the Spanish colonialists and the Catholic missionaries they brought with them.
Cúrate mijita el dolor con el calor del sol
Y el frío de la luna.
Heal your pain, my daughter, with the heat of the sun
And the cool of the moon.
This stanza refers to the Mexican practices of using sunlight and moonlight for their healing/sanitizing and cleaning properties. For example, putting water in the sun for several hours to sterilize it is a validated method to make germ-contaminated water safe to drink. Solarizing laundry is better for the environment than machine drying and also helps remove bad smells. Opening windows at night to exchange air is a way of cooling homes during the summer. I vaguely remember that night dew is used for something, but I don’t remember what. Comment if you do.
Endulza la mañana con aroma de lavanda, romero, eucalipto
Y que venga la calma.
Sweeten the morning with the scents of lavender, rosemary, eucalyptus,
And let in the calm.
These are all aromatic herbs used for relaxation.
Con el ojo aquel que lleva uste’ en la frente.
With that eye that you have there on your forehead.
This refers to the the mystical third eye or inner eye most commonly seen in Eastern religions, but which occasionally shows up in Latin America also.
[“Curate mi nina con amor del mas bonito” – removing the accents and tilde so we can find this song translation on WordPress search more easily.]
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