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Thanks to life

Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me two beams of light, that when opened,
Can perfectly distinguish black from white
And in the sky above, her starry backdrop,
And from within the multitude The one that I love.
 
Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me an ear that, in all of its width
Records— night and day—crickets and canaries,
Hammers and turbines and bricks and storms,
And the tender voice of my beloved.
 
Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me sound and the alphabet.
With them the words that I think and declare:
"Mother," "Friend," "Brother" and the light shining.
The route of the soul from which comes love.
 
Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me the ability to walk with my tired feet.
With them I have traversed cities and puddles
Valleys and deserts, mountains and plains.
And your house, your street and your patio.
 
Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me a heart, that causes my frame to shudder,
When I see the fruit of the human brain,
When I see good so far from bad,
When I see within the clarity of your eyes...
 
Thanks to life, which has given me so much.
It gave me laughter and it gave me longing.
With them I distinguish happiness and pain—
The two materials from which my songs are formed,
And your song, as well, which is the same song.
And everyone's song, which is my very song.
 
Thanks to life
Thanks to life
Thanks to life
Thanks to life
 
Original lyrics

Gracias a la vida

Click to see the original lyrics (Spanish)

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Comments
bill.levine.33bill.levine.33    Sat, 01/09/2018 - 20:51
Vote has been deleted.

Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto
Me ha dado la marcha de mis pies cansados
Con ellos anduve ciudades y charcos,
Playas y desiertos montañas y llanos
Y la casa tuya, tu calle y tu patio.

This was not translated even close.

Fool EmeritusFool Emeritus
   Sat, 29/01/2022 - 12:03

Bad translation of one single stanza does not justify bad rating of all the song, and I remind you that 1-star is GT quality. This does not match GT translation and syntax close enough. This is 2-star quality, not 1.

Main issue is that this translation is from another version of the song- I do believe this is actually Violeta Parra's one, since I recongize that stanza. But that is a format-related problem, not a translation one.

Don JuanDon Juan
   Sat, 29/01/2022 - 13:25

If that's the case we can move it to Violeta's page, thanks for the hint!