Vijay, a good friend and ex-colleague of mine, shared many of my interests/characteristics. We both loved 3D animation, had a whacky sense of humour, similar movie and music tastes .
3D animation is very time consuming, and we used to work late nights to meet crazy deadlines. During these nightouts, we'd developed a routine to play both of our favourite songs. One song we'd both loved was 'La Bamba' by Ritchie Valens. Twas a spanish song and we'd both had no clue what it meant. But we didn't care. We loved it enuf to want to dance to the foot tapping music and it kept us going in the wee hours of morning.
Today, after a long time, I was listening to that song again and nostalgia hit me. Curious about what the song's lyrics meant, I googled away. First for the full lyrics, then for it's translation in English. Here's my find:
Espanol - English:
Para bailar la bamba
In order to dance the bamba
Para bailar la bamba
In order to dance the bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
a little bit of grace is needed.
Una poca de gracia pa'mí y pa' ti
a little grace and another little thing
Ay Arriba y arriba
and higher and higher
Ay arriba y arriba por ti seré
and higher and higher and I will go
Por ti seré
higher and I will go
Por ti seré
higher and I will go
Yo no soy marinero,
I am not a sailor
Yo no soy marinero
I am not a sailor
Soy capitan
for you I`ll be
Soy capitan
for you I`ll be
Soy capitan
for you I`ll be
Bamba, Bamba
Bamba, Bamba
Bamba, Bamba
Does the translation make sense? Perhaps. Perhaps, the true meaning got lost in the translation. And then Perhaps we should just 'listen' to the song and decide if the words really matter :-)
3 comments:
So, you are back after a hiatus. Good, good.
To make sense of the song we should not dissect it word for word sentence for sentence. It dies on the operating table.
The song is about a dance performed by a couple at the time of marriage. The dance form requires perfect coordination and timing between the partners as they stomp (the meaning of the word Bamba) the ground while they dance.
I think the declaration I am not a sailor makes it clear that the man will stick together with his partner and not sail away.
Does this shed some light on the meaning of this song?
:)
Sure it does Sree.
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