Translation of the song La cançó del soldadet artist Manel

Escolteu la cançó del soldadet

Listen to the song of the little soldier,

Que a través d'un ull de bou

who through an œil de bœuf

Veu que volen uns falciots!

sees some swifts flying!

I no és que hi entengui molt, el soldadet,

He is not an expert on that, the little soldier,

Però, que volin els falciots,

but the fact that swifts are flying

Deurà voler dir que la terra és a prop.

must mean that the land is close.

I tan a prop deu ser que baixa el capità

It is so close that the captain comes down

I intenta no semblar nerviós

he tries not to look nervous

Mentre acaba la instrucció:

while he finishes the commands:

Concentreu-vos, soldadets, sigueu prudents

Concentrate, little soldiers, be careful,

I arrapeu-vos a la vida

and cling to your life

Amb les ungles i amb les dents.

tooth and nail

Ja a coberta, els homes resen.

In the deck, men pray

Ja a coberta, els homes resen.

In the deck, men pray

I fa un amén, poc convençut, el soldadet,

He says amen, little convinced, the little soldier

I acaricia el seu fusell,

and he caresses his rifle,

Intentant no pensar en res.

trying not to think in anything.

Des de proa es van fent grossos els turons,

From the bow the hills look bigger and bigger

soldadet, valor, valor,

little soldier, courage, courage,

Que depèn de gent com tu la sort del món.

the fate of the world depends on people like you

Però si una bala enemiga creua el vent

But what if an enemies' bullet crosses the wind

I em travessa el cervell,

and goes through my brain

Es planteja el soldadet,

thinks the little soldier,

les onades m'arrossegaran

waves will drag me

I mil peixos de colors

and one thousand coloured fishes

Lluitaran per devorar la meva carn.

will fight to devour my flesh.

I és quan pensa jo m'amago;

Then he thinks I'll hide;

Quan no mirin, jo m'amago.

when nobody can see me I'll hide

Però sempre miren, i el vaixell s'està aturant,

But they're always looking, and the ship is slowing down,

Les comportes s'han obert

the doors have been opened

I, en un segon, s'inunda el mar

and in one second, the sea gets inundated

De soldats disparant a l'infinit

with soldiers shooting to the horizon

Amb un soldadet al mig,

with a little soldier in the middle of them,

Que carrega mentre insulta a l'enemic.

shooting while insulting the enemy.

I entre bomba i bomba tot li va prou bé

And between bomb and bomb everything goes pretty good

Fins que una cau just al costat.

until one of them falls next to him

Primer es diu sort, de què t'ha anat…,

At first he thinks How lucky! it was so close...,

Però després sent a l'esquena un dolor estrany

but then he feels a strange pain in his back

I en tocar-se-la li queda tot el braç tacat de sang.

and when he touches it his whole arm gets stained with blood.

Gira el cap a banda i banda.

He turns his head one way and the other

Seu a la sorra i descansa.

He sits in the sand and rests.

I mentre arriba el coi de metge, el soldadet

And while waiting the fucking doctor, the little soldier

Es tranquil·litza repetint

reassures himself repeating

Què farà, on anirà, si sobreviu:

what he will do, where he will go, if he survives:

Aniré a ma mare ben vestit

I'll go to my mother's place nicely dressed

I, abans que res, li hauré de dir

and first of all, I'll have to ask her

Que em perdoni per tractar-la sempre així;

to forgive me to treat her always that way;

Aniré a la Margarida a fer-li un fill

I'll go to Margarida to have a son

Per, només veure'l, intuir

so that when I see him I realise

Que l'estimo més del que m'estimo a mi.

that I love him more than I love myself