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Translation
I was born in Alamo*
With my fingers I make fire
and with my heart I sing,
my heartstrings cry out:
I was born in alamo3, I was born in alamo.
I have no place and no countryside,
much less a homeland. [x2]
With my fingers I make fire
and with my heart I sing,
my heartstrings cry out:
I was born in alamo. I was born in alamo.
I have no place and no countryside,
much less a homeland.
I was born in alamo. I was born in alamo.
I have no place and no countryside,
much less a homeland. [x2]
With my fingers I make fire
and with my heart I sing,
my heartstrings cry out:
I was born in alamo. I was born in alamo.
I was born in alamo. I was born in alamo.
I have no place and no countryside,
much less a homeland.
I was born in alamo. I was born in alamo.
I have no place and no countryside,
much less a homeland.
- 1. of my own
- 2. This line can also be translated as: "I don't belong and I have no country, much less a homeland.
- 3. *= I've read and see that some believe 'alamo' means 'al amo' as in 'to/from the Lord', but from all the texts I've seen, I've yet to encounter the term 'amo' used to describe God. The word is usually Dio/Diyo (דיו). The second meaning I've seen is 'al amo' as in 'born from love'/'born out of wedlock'. However, it doesn't refer to Alamo, Texas nor any other location (as I've seen it translated like this with no explanation and it's wrong). The line can therefore be translated as: 1) I was born from the Lord 2) I was born out of love. EDIT (May 31, 2021): The words sound similar to he Greek words "Nas balamos" which translates to 'Go away stranger'. It would give the entire song a new meaning, words being told to the person throughout the song hat says they no longer have a home.
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Submitted by 
citlālicue on 2017-07-11
citlālicue on 2017-07-11Last edited by citlālicue on 2021-05-31
citlālicue on 2021-05-31✕
Yasmin Levy: Top 3
| 1. | Adio Kerida |
| 2. | Una noche más |
| 3. | La alegría |
Comments
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About translator
The history behind the song is vague, there's many variations and versions of it, it might have started out in Old Spanish or simply in Ladino (with Hebrew words). The song refers to the Roma people (the term 'gypsy' is derogative for their people, so I'm not using that), who never stayed in one place and were sometimes exiled from their place of origin. Sometimes even they didn't know where their place of origin was, thus the verses throughout the song. They are a wandering people who don't feel they belong anywhere.