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Black Dove

I am already tired of crying, and it doesn't dawn.
I don't know whether to curse you or pray for you.
I am afraid of looking for you, and finding you
where my friends assure me that you go.
There are moments when I would prefer to give up
and pull out, once and for all, the nails of my grief.
But my eyes die if they don't look at yours,
and my love, at dawn, waits for you again.
 
And you decided, on your own, to go out on spree.
Black dove, Black dove, where can you be?
Don't play anymore with my honor, reveler
if your caresses are going to be mine, nobody else's.
 
And although I love you passionately, don't come back.
Black dove you are a prison's bars 1.
I want to be free, to live my life with whomever will love me
God, give me strength, that I am dying to go in her search.
 
And you decided, on your own, to go out on spree.
 
Original lyrics

Paloma negra

Click to see the original lyrics (Spanish)

Lola Beltrán: Top 3
Comments
roster 31roster 31
   Wed, 26/06/2013 - 23:35

Thank you, Lacrimosa. Nice of you to vote.

una de dos piedrasuna de dos piedras    Mon, 18/11/2013 - 19:07

I agree. Excellent translation.
Re. your comment about "penar" vs. "penal", I've listened carefully several times to my recording of Amalia Mendoza singing this song on RCA's Las 100 Clasicas Rancheras, vol. 1, disc 1, and I hear "penal." I have also watched Pablo Montero singing live on Youtube and he seems to be singing "penal." I think it ought to be "pena.l" because a verb in this place would not make sense, but a noun would. Also I think there is another error in the transcription. Amalia sings, "ya no vuelvas" not "ya no vuelves" and I can also make out very clearly Pablo singing "vuelvas". They are not saying that the erstwhile lover is not coming back, but rather telling him or her not to come back. And again, this makes more sense. Therefore I would translate that line this way: Although I love you madly (or passionately), don't come back anymore. Don't you agree that that makes more sense in the context?
Oh, I did just see one little error in the translation. In verse 3 (verse 2 in your version) last line "my" ought to be "mine."

catalucatalu    Tue, 07/07/2020 - 17:02

Hi, thanks, I had translated the Chavela Vargas version and I came on to do the translation for this one, but you did a great job.

A couple of correction not of the translation but of the English:
in line 2, it should be "whether", not "weather"
in line 3, it should be "finding you", not "find you"
should be "if your caresses are going to be mine" not "my"

A couple of notes on translation:
I agree with una de does piedras that it should be "don't come back", not "you don't come back"
Also, "con quien ME quiera" -- I would translate that as "with someone who loves (or wants) me"

Anyway these are small edits that I recommend. Great job!

roster 31roster 31
   Wed, 08/07/2020 - 03:26

Corregida la traducción (de 2013), as well as the lyrics (something I couldn't have done in 2013).