Paroles et traduction Joan Manuel Serrat - La Bella y el Metro

La Bella y el Metro

Entre el infierno y el cielo,
Galopando entre tinieblas
De la periferia al centro
Del centro a la periferia,
El metro.
Con ojos de sueño viene
Cruzando la madrugada;
Regresará a medianoche
Con el alma fatigada,
El metro.
Cargando arriba y abajo
íntimos desconocidos,
Amaneceres y ocasos
Con dirección al olvido.
Por sus arterias discurre
Presurosa humanidad,
El alimento que engorda
La ciudad.
De reojo se miran,
De lejos se tocan,
Se huelen, se evitan,
Se ignoran, se rozan;
Y en el traqueteo
Del vagón hipnótico
Cada quien se inventa
La suerte del prójimo.
El escritor ve lectores,
El diputado, carnaza;
El mosén ve pecadores,
Y yo veo a esa muchacha
Del metro.
Los carteristas ven primos,
Los banqueros ven morosos,
El casero ve inquilinos
Y la pasma, sospechosos
En el metro.
El general ve soldados;
Juanetes, el pedicuro;
La comadrona, pasado;
El enterrador, futuro.
La bella ve que la miran,
Y el feo ve que no está
Solo en este mundo que
Viene y va.
La bella se deja
Mirar mientras mira
La nada que pasa
Por la ventanilla.
Distante horizonte
De cristal de roca,
Ajena y silente
Flor de mi derrota.
El revisor ve billetes;
El sacamuelas ve dientes,
El carnicero, filetes;
Y la ramera, clientes
En el metro.
Los avaros ven mendigos,
Los mendigos ven avaros;
Los caballeros, señoras;
Las señoras, tipos raros
En el metro.
El autor ve personajes,
El zapatero ve pies;
El sombrerero, cabezas;
El peluquero, tupés.
Los médicos ven enfermos,
Los camareros, cafés;
Yo sólo la veo a ella:
La bella,
La bella,
La bella que no me ve.

The Belle and the Subway

Between hell and heaven,
Galloping through the darkness
From the outskirts to the center
From the center to the outskirts,
The subway.
With sleepy eyes he comes
Crossing the dawn;
He will return at midnight
With a weary soul,
The subway.
Carrying up and down
Intimate strangers,
Sunrises and sunsets
With a destination to oblivion.
Through its arteries rushes
Hasty humanity,
The nourishment that fattens
The city.
They look at each other sideways,
They touch from afar,
They smell each other, they avoid each other,
They ignore each other, they brush against each other;
And in the clatter
Of the hypnotic car
Each one invents
The fate of his neighbor.
The writer sees readers,
The deputy, carrion;
The priest sees sinners,
And I see that girl
From the subway.
The pickpockets see relatives,
The bankers see defaulters,
The landlord sees tenants
And the police, suspects
In the subway.
The general sees soldiers;
Juanetes, the podiatrist;
The midwife, the past;
The undertaker, the future.
The beautiful woman sees that she is looked at,
And the ugly man sees that he is not
Alone in this world that
Comes and goes.
The beautiful woman lets herself
Be looked at while she looks at
The nothingness that passes
By the window.
Distant horizon
Of crystal rock,
Alien and silent
Flower of my defeat.
The ticket inspector sees tickets;
The dentist sees teeth,
The butcher, fillets;
And the prostitute, clients
In the subway.
The misers see beggars,
The beggars see misers;
The gentlemen, ladies;
The ladies, weirdos
In the subway.
The author sees characters,
The shoemaker sees feet;
The hatter, heads;
The barber, toupees.
The doctors see patients,
The waiters, coffees;
I only see her:
The beautiful,
The beautiful,
The beautiful woman who does not see me.