Thursday, January 24, 2008

Shakira's Hay Amores Translation

ShakiraI decided to post my Spanish to English translation of the song, Hay Amores, from Love in the Time of Cholera by Shakira as well. Translating is like doing a puzzle. In general, translations aren't completely literal and that is what makes doing them such fun...but on the other hand, difficult. Everytime you work through a passage to translate you can't but help improve your knowledge and appreciation of the complexity of language.

Hay Amores

Ay mi bien,
¿qué no haría yo por ti?
¿Por tenerte un segundo,
Alejados del mundo
Y cerquita de mí?

Ay mi bien,
Como el río Magdalena,
Que se funde en la arena del mar,
Quiero fundirme yo en ti.

*Hay amores que se vuelven resistentes a los daños,
Como el vino que mejora con los años,
Asi crece lo que siento yo por ti.

Hay amores que se esperan al invierno y florecen
Y en las noches del otoño reverdecen
Tal como el amor que siento yo por ti. *

Ay mi bien,
No te olvides del mar
Que en las noches me ha visto llorar
Tantos recuerdos de ti.

Ay mi bien,
No te olvides del día
Que separó en tu vida,
De la pobre vida que me tocó vivir.


(Repite seccion entre las *)
Yo por ti...por ti...como el amor que siento yo por ti.

And now my Englsih translation (WordReference is a great help for those stickler words or phrases that could mean one thing or another, like "me tocó vivir"):

There Are Loves

Oh, my well-loved
What wouldn’t I do for you?
To have you a second,
Far away from the world
And close to me?

Oh, my well-loved
Like the Magdalena River,
That melts in the sand of the sea,
I want you to melt into me.

*There are loves that that remain resistant to damage,
Like wine that gets better through the years,
So grows how I feel for you.

There are loves that wait until the winter and flower
And in the night of autumn sprout again
Just like the love I feel for you.*

Oh my well-loved,
Don’t forget the sea
That has seen me cry in the nights
So many memories of you.


Oh my well-loved,
Don’t forget the day
That separated your life,
From the poor life that I had to live.

(Repeat section between the *)
And for you…for you…like the love I have for you.

Here's a link to my translation of La Despedida as well.

8 comments:

  1. What is up with Shakira? You have posted a couple of blogs about her.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I may (or may not) be obessed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. shakira is awesome! long live shakira shakira!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tu translación es muy buena

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for posting that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Translation Really Helped me to Understand more of The Language and the Song Itself (Which I liked Before I Even knew what I was actually Listening!)
    Thank You

    PS:Thank You once more for pointing me to wordrefrence.com :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. hi Jenn, i have heard this song once and I coudn't stop replaying it though I don't know spnish
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  8. Çinar Fidan(Adana,Türkiye)December 23, 2009

    thanks:)
    little advice for all: read the book and watch the movie
    Love in Time of Cholera- Marquez

    ReplyDelete