Children's Songs

Inspired by Dixie Peach’s post today I will translate some of the songs I learned in Spanish as a child. The grade school I attended taught the core curriculum in English, but some of the other courses such as Good Manners, Religion and Music were taught in Spanish - so most of the children's songs I knew were in Spanish. Hell, I learned "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in its entirety when I was in my 20s!

Anyway, here are some numbers from my childhood Hit Parade...

Estaba la pájara pinta
sentada en su verde limón.
Con el pico recoge la paja,
con la paja recoge la flor.
¡Ay Dios! ¿Cuando veré a mi amor?
¡Ay Dios! ¿Cuando veré a mi amor?

Translation:
There was a colorful bird
Sitting atop her green lime
With her beak she picked up the straw,
With the straw she picked up the flower.
Oh Lord! When will I see my beloved?
Oh Lord! When will I see my beloved?

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Tengo una vaca lechera,
no es una vaca cualquiera.
Me da leche condensada,
¡Ay que vaca tan salada.
Tolón, tolón. Tolón, tolón.

Translation:
I have a milk cow
It isn’t just a regular cow.
She gives me condensed milk
Oh what a sassy cow!
Tolon, tolon.
Tolon, tolon.

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Soy un chino capuchino mandarín chín chín.

De la era, de la era, del Japón pón pón.

Mi coleta es de tamaño natural al al

Y con ella me divierto sin cesar.

Al pasar por un cafetín tín tín

Una china me tiró del coletín tín tín

"Oye china yo no quiero discutir" tir tir.

"Soy un chino capuchino mandarín" chín chín.

Translation:
I’m a Mandarin capuchin Chinese man, an, an
From the time, from the time of Japan, an, an
My ponytail is of regular size, ize, ize
And with it I enjoy myself endlessly.

As I passd by a coffee bar, ar, ar
A Chinese girl pulled on my ponytail, ail, ail
"Look Chinese girl I don’t want to argue", yu, yu
I’m a Mandarin capuchin Chinese man", an, an

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Un elefante, se balanceaba, sobre la tela de una araña.
Como veía, que resistía, se fue a buscar a otro elefante.
Dos elefantes, se balanceaban, sobre la tela de una araña.
Como veían, que resistía, fueron a buscar a otro elefante.
Tres elefantes, se balanceaban, sobre la tela de una araña.
Como veían, que resistía, fueron a buscar a otro elefante.
(etc.)

Translation:
One elephant swung on a spider web.
When he saw that he didn’t fall, he went to look for another elephant.
Two elephants swung on a spider web.
When they saw that they didn’t fall, they went to look for another elephant.
Three elephants swung on a spider web.
When they saw that they didn’t fall, they went to look for another elephant.
(etc.)

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OK - that was hard! I kept trying to make the translation fit the rhythm of the song - it didn't work! Trust me they're much better in Spanish - and when you're six!

Game Night!

Tonight I’m hosting Game Night at my house. This is something we came up with to replace our participation in a book club of which I had been a founding member and participated in for 10 years. Due to personality issues, many of us left the book club, but those that left decided we wanted to continue socializing on a regular basis – we had truly become friends. So Game Night was born. Only one Game Night participant wasn’t part of the book club, but she might as well have been.

Tonight there will be five of us, but we can sometimes be up to nine. We’ll be playing charades. The food is pot-luck and there’s always lots of wine as we find it enhances any game-playing activity. Actually, we find it enhances pretty much all activities.

We’re quite the boisterous, animated group – so it promises to be a fun, laugh-filled night with wonderful women. Just what the doctor ordered.

TRANSLATION – Esta noche soy la anfitriona de una Noche de Juego. Noche de Juego es algo que un grupo de amigas inventamos para reemplazar nuestra participación en un club de libros del cual yo fui fundadora y en el cual participé por 10 años. Debido a conflictos de personalidad, la mayoría renunciamos del club pero decidimos que queríamos continuar viéndonos regularmente, pues nos habíamos convertido en buenas amigas. Y de ahí la Noche de Juego nació. Solamente una de las participantes de Noche de Juego no participó en el club de libros, pero no importa.

Hoy nos reuniremos 5, pero a veces somos hasta 9. Esta noche vamos a jugar a las Charadas o Dígalo con Mímica. Cada una trae algo de comer y tomamos mucho vino, pues hemos descubierto que el vino mejora cualquier juego. En realidad, nosotras creemos que el vino mejora todas las actividades.

Somos un grupo bastante bullicioso y animado – luego promete ser una noche divertida, llena de risas y mujeres fabulosas. ¡Justo lo que necesito!

Hoy No Tengo Mucho Que Decir

Hoy no tengo mucho que decir. Nada me ha llamado la atención como para comentarlo. Llevé a Mami al médico, de no ser por Alzheimer's está muy bien de salud, aunque muy flaca. Fue un trauma - para mi, no para ella - la que estaba lista para un médico era yo. Pero ya no lo tenemos que volver a hacerlo otra vez por un año - si Dios quiere. Mañana trataré de ser mas interesante.

TRANSLATION: Today I don't have much to say. Nothing has drawn my attention enough to comment on. I took my mother to the doctor for a check-up. Except for the Alzheimer's she's perfectly healthy - albeit very thin. It was a trauma - for me not her - and I was the one ready for a doctor. At least we won't have to do this for another year, God willing. I'll try to be more interesting tomorrow.

"Cultivo una Rosa Blanca" by José Martí

For today's Language Week entry, I'm posting a poem by José Martí , a Cuban patriot, poet and statesman. While it's definitely not my favorite poem in Spanish, or even my favorite Cuban poem, it is a poem every Cuban child and practically every Cuban-American child raised in Miami memorized at some point during their childhood. I have no retention at all for poetry, yet this poem is ingrained deep in my cerebral cortex.

My translation of the poem, of course, doesn't do justice to rhythm and meter, but hopefully conveys the spiriti of forgiveness and generosity of spirit.

"Cultivo Una Rosa Blanca" - José Martí

Cultivo una rosa blanca,

en julio como en enero,

para el amigo sincero

que me da su mano franca.

Y para el cruel que me arranca

el corazón con que vivo,

cardo ni oruga cultivo:

cultivo la rosa blanca.

********************************

TRANSLATION:

I nurture a white rose

in July as in January,

for the true friend

who offers me his loyal hand.

And for the merciless one who wrenches out

the heart by which I live,

thistle nor thorn do I nurture:

for him, I nurture a white rose.

The Lion Will Sleep Forever

"Lion Sleeps Tonight" Singer Dies


El cantante Hank Medress que, con el grupo The Tokens, popularizó la canción "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" en 1961 murió de cáncer a los 68 años.

Aunque la canción es más vieja que yo, me acuerdo que yo la oí frecuentemente a través de los años, y siempre me gusto. La repetición de “weemoweh, oweemoweh, oweemoweh, oweemoweh” me llamó la atención desde chiquita.

El cantante se fue, pero la canción perdurará.


TRANSLATION: Singer Hanker Medress, who, along with the group The Tokens, popularized the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in 1961, has died at the age of 68 of cancer.

Although the song is older than I am, I remember hearing it frequently played throughout the years, and I always liked it. The popular “weemoweh, oweemoweh, oweemoweh, oweemoweh” refrain caught my attention when I was little and still makes me smile.

So, the singer has left, but the song remains.

It's weird writing in my Blog in Spanish. I find myself writing more formally, less conversationally. What I'm doing is writing in Spanish and translating it to English. Maybe tomorrow 'll switch it around and write in English then translate to Spanish.

Language Week 2007

¡Hola! Dixie Peach turned me on to Language Week 2007, click on the link for the details. So, yeah, I'm up for it - but I'll be cheating. Unlike Dixie, who will be writing in a language that was truly foreign to her, I will be writing in Spanish which in reality is as primary a language to me as English.

Technically it starts tomorrow, but I'll start today.

Mi amiga Dixie me informó sobre un reto donde del lunes 25 de junio al viernes 29 de junio tengo que escribir en mi Blog en un idioma que no sea inglés. Por supuesto escogí español, pues me es muy fácil.

Aunque nací en New York, mi primer idioma - y el único que hablé hasta los 6 años cuando empecé en el colegio – es el español. Me siento perfectamente cómoda hablando, leyendo y escribiendolo. Mis padres y mi escuela primaria hicieron hincapié en que lo aprendiera completamente. Gracias a esos esfuerzos, además de poder desenvolverme completamente en dos idiomas, tengo un negocio secundario donde hago traducciones – en ambas direcciones - profesionalmente.

Durante la semana escribiré un par de párrafos en español todos los días.

TRANSLATION: My friend Dixie told me about a challenge that involves my writing in my Blog daily - between Monday June 25th and Friday June 29th - in a language other than English. Of course I chose Spanish because it is very easy for me.

Even though I was born in New York, my first language - the only one I spoke until I was 6 years old and went to school - was Spanish. I feel perfectly comfortable speaking, reading and writing it. My parents and my elementary school made a point that I learn the language completely. Thanks to those efforts, not only am I able to fully function in two languages, I have a side business where I do translations - in both directions - professionally.

During the week I'll write a couple of paragraphs in Spanish every day.