ticklemetimbers87
Sat, 11/03/2023 - 05:23
✕
Translation
Girl*
Girl, don´t thrust
your daggers
in my back
so deep
they don´t hurt
they do me no harm.
Far away
on the centre
of the Earth
the roots
of Love
where they were
they shall remain.
Between forget-me-nots **
I left our Aprils forgotten
on the bottom of the placard
from the guest room.
Those were the golden times
of a better past.
Even though I almost erred
and told you little by little
don´t lie to me,
don´t tell me the truth,
don´t stay silent,
don´t raise your voice
nor ask me for forgiveness.
Even though I almost confessed
that I have been a dog of a partner ***
an ideal dog that learned to bark
and to come back home
so it could eat.
Girl, don´t thrust
your daggers
in my back
so deep
they don´t hurt
they do me no harm.
Far away
on the centre
of the Earth
the roots
of Love
where they were
they shall remain.
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Submitted by 
Fool Emeritus on 2012-11-03
Fool Emeritus on 2012-11-03Last edited by Fool Emeritus on 2023-03-13
Fool Emeritus on 2023-03-13✕
Collections with "Flaca"
| 1. | Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Argentinian Rock Songs |
Andrés Calamaro: Top 3
| 1. | Flaca |
| 2. | Mil horas |
| 3. | La Parte de Adelante |
Comments
ticklemetimbers87
Sat, 11/03/2023 - 05:23
Fool Emeritus
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 08:36
Corrected the first one. Disagree on the second.
1. "Bitch" is a charged word.
2. "Perro", or specifically, "ser perro" (to be rough around the edges, agressive and deft) has a layer of meaning in latin american spanish that "bitch" does not reflect.
3. Fits with the image of the tamed dog that learned to get home in time to eat hat follows right after.
Fool Emeritus
Mon, 13/03/2023 - 08:31
Any thrusting weapon, like daggers, can be "thrusted" by definition. I do agree that maybe it might feel a bit too flowery, but so is the general tone. And it's "in", not "on", though. That is right.
Dr_Igor
Tue, 14/03/2023 - 04:04
Thanks for responding. I think the correct preposition for "thrust" in this context would be "at". But my main point is that "stabbing someone in the back" is an idiom, a figure of speech, so universally used that it does not sound
"flowery" at all in English and of course it means to act treacherously towards that someone. To convey that meaning, I don't think anybody would use the verb "thrust" in English. In the original song there's no actual stabbing or thrusting - it talks about her attempts to hurt him (by being treacherous - that's why "por la espalda").
I've been wondering if there is a Spanish analog of that English idiom. Cambridge dictionary gave me
"dar una puñalada por la espalda" which is pretty close to what's in the song...
About translator
* Literally, "flaca" means "thin girl". However, in Argentina it is usually used simply as a more familiar or relaxed way of addressing a young girl, regardless of her actual physical shape.
** "No me olvides", written separately, is a full sentece "Do not forget me". In this case, it is referring to the "Nomeolvides" ("Forget-me-not), the blue flowers from the Myosotis family, and as such should be written in a single word.
*** A quite hard to translate play on words, "perro" as a noun means dog, which is the sense in which it is used on the next sentence. As an adjective, though, in most parts of south america will mean someone or something harsh, difficult and reticent (e.g. "perra vida" or hard knock life)