“The Drunk Arrived Drunk” Lyrics
Style: Corrido (storytelling country music style of Mexico). Song about a two drunks keeping each other company and how an unfortunate and minor argument led to their deaths.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Translation:
Llego borracho el borracho,
Pidiendo cinco tequilas,
Y le dijo el cantinero,
Se acabaron las bebidas.
Si quieres echarte un trago,
Vamonos a otra cantina.
The drunk arrived drunk,
Asking for five tequilas,
And the barman told him,
This bar has dried up.
If you want to have a drink,
Let’s go to another bar.
(Llego borracho el borracho)
(The drunk arrived drunk)
Se fue borracho el borracho
Del brazo del cantinero
Y le dijo que te tomas,
A ver quien se cae primero,
A aquel que doble las corvas,
Le va a costar su dinero.
The drunk left drunk
In the arms of the barman
And he told him what do you drink?
Let’s see who falls first,
And he who bends the knee,
It will cost them their money.
Y borracho y cantinero
Seguían pidiendo y pidiendo.
Mariachis y cancioneros
Los estaban divirtiendo,
Pero se sentía el ambiente
Muy cerquita del infierno.
And the drunk and the barman
Kept asking and asking (for drinks).
Mariachis and singers
Were entertaining them,
But the atmosphere felt
Quite close to infernal.
Grito de pronto el borracho,
La vida no vale nada.
Le dijo el cantinero,
Mi vida esta asegurada,
Si vienes echando habladas,
Yo te contesto con balas.
Suddenly the drunk yelled,
Life isn’t worth anything.
The barman responded,
My life is assured,
If you come throwing words,
I will respond to you with bullets.
(Llego borracho el borracho)
(The drunk arrived drunk)
Los dos sacaron pistola,
Se cruzaron los balazos,
La gente corrió hecha bola,
Seguían sonando plomazos,
De pronto los dos cayeron
Haciendo cruz con sus brazos.
The two took out pistols,
They crossed bullets,
The people ran as a crowd,
One could still hear shots,
Suddenly the two fell
Making crosses with their arms.
Y borracho y cantinero,
Los dos se estaban muriendo.
Mariachis y cancioneros
También salieron corriendo.
Y así acabaron dos vidas
Por un mal entendimiento.
And drunk and barman,
The two were dying.
Mariachis and singers
Also left running.
And this is how two lives ended
Due to a misunderstanding.
Translation Notes:
Llego borracho el borracho
The drunk arrived drunk
Like in the translation, this line uses the same word as a noun and an adjective.
Y le dijo el cantinero,
Se acabaron las bebidas.
And the barman told him,
This bar has dried up. [*idiomatic translation]
The drinks are done/finished. [*literal translation]
Si quieres echarte un trago,
Vamonos a otra cantina.
If you want to have a drink, [*idiomatic translation]
If you want to throw a swig/mouthful/gulp at yourself, [*word-for-word literal translation]
Let’s go to another bar.
The noun un trago (a drink) comes from the verb tragar (to swallow, to gulp down). The verb echar (to throw) can also be used to mean “to put in” or “to put on” (e.g. drinks into yourself, gasoline into your car, a jacket on yourself).
A ver quien se cae primero,
A aquel que doble las corvas,
Le va a costar su dinero.
Let’s see who falls first,
And he who bends the knee,
It will cost them their money.
The noun la corva means “the back of the knee”.
Mariachis y cancioneros
Los estaban divirtiendo
Mariachis and singers
Were entertaining them
In Mexican restaurants and bars, it is common for groups of musicians and singers to come in and play songs for money. People can request specific songs, usually popular rancheras or corridos. The Spanish nouns un cantor or un cantante mean “a singer”, whereas un cancionero means “a person who sings specific repertoire of songs”.
Pero se sentía el ambiente
Muy cerquita del infierno.
But the atmosphere felt
Quite close to infernal.
The two drunks are drinking a lot and even though musicians are entertaining them, they don’t feel good. The alcohol is not enough to drown their real problems. For the first drunk, this becomes too much and he needs to say something about it:
Grito de pronto el borracho,
La vida no vale nada.
Suddenly the drunk yelled,
Life isn’t worth anything.
Le dijo el cantinero,
Mi vida esta asegurada,
Si vienes echando habladas,
Yo te contesto con balas.
The barman responded,
My life is assured,
If you come throwing words,
I will respond to you with bullets.
The barman, who is also drunk and feeling down, is bothered by the first drunk’s proclamation that life isn’t worth anything. He responds defensively that his life is fine and to basically shut up or else. This is the unfortunate misunderstanding. The first drunk’s proclamation was an expression of his own sadness and discontent, but the drunk barman took it personally and got offended, escalating to violent threats. This exchange started the drunk gunfight.
Se cruzaron los balazos,
La gente corrió hecha bola,
Seguían sonando plomazos…
They crossed bullets,
The people ran as a crowd,
One could still hear shots…
The noun una bola can mean “a ball” (like a children’s toy or a sphere) but colloquially also means “a bunch, a group”.
The noun un plomazo means “a gunshot” or “a bullet wound” in Mexico, depending on context. It is partially an onomatopoeic word due to the sound of bullets (like “pew pew” in English), but it comes from el plomo (the metal element of lead). The Spanish suffix –azo means “a blow”, here a lead blow.
“Llego Borracho El Borracho” by Jose Alfredo Jimenez
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