Translation of the song Yo soy el son cubano artist Antonio Machín

Estribillo:

Chorus:

Yo soy el son cubano

I am the Cuban rhythm

todos me bailan contentos

everybody dances happily to my tune

se divierten como hermanos

having fun like brothers

soy guajiro, tierra adentro

I'm a peasant* from deep within the mainland.

Si en el campo yo nací

If I was born in the fields*

y a la ciudad me trajeron

and was then brought to the city,

y allí fue donde me dieron

then there was where they gave me

el ritmo que brindo aquí

this rhythm I now give away.

{Estribillo}

(Chrous)

Si me bailan con cadencia

If you dance to me with cadence

enseguida notarán

you will soon notice

que como el son cubano

that in all the wide world

en el mundo no hay igual

there's nothing quite like the Cuban rhythm.

{Estribillo y música}

(Chorus and Music)

Mi madre me dijo a mí

Mi mother once told me

que cantara y no llorara

that I should sing, and not weep

que echara las penas al aire

that I should cast my sorrows aside

pero que no la olvidara

but that I shouldn't forget her.

{Estribillo}

(Chorus)

El canto será mi muerte

Chanting will be my death

talvez mi felicidad (bis)

or maybe my happiness (x2)

y yo de conformidad

and, abiding to this dictate

espero cualquiera suerte

I wait for whatever fate is in store for me.

así que mi cuerpo inerte

And as they carry my lifeless body

lo lleven al camposanto

on to the burial ground,

allí yo no quiero llanto

I want no weeping there

quiero para mi ventura

I want, for my greater fortune

que al darme la sepultura

that as I am laid to the ground

se entone un dulce canto

a sweet chanting is intoned.

Yo soy el son cubano

I am the Cuban rhythm

todos me bailan contentos (bis)

and everyone sings me happily.