"La Camisa Negra" by Juanes, English translation of lyrics

"The Black Shirt"

Album: Mi Sangre (My Blood)
Style: Rock, grieving/bitter
Country: Colombia
Listen:
Juanes mourns a bar relationship and how it affected him. Watch the video at YouTube here.
[Expand embedded musiv video]
Translation:
{No por pobre y feo, pero por antojado...}
{Not for being poor or ugly, but for longing...}
Tengo la camisa negra.
Hoy mi amor est de luto.
Hoy tengo en el alma una pena [*pena, f. = pain (emotional); regret]
Y es por culpa de tu embrujo.
I wear the black shirt.
Today my love is mourning.
Today I have a regret weighing my soul
And it's the fault of your witchcraft.
Hoy s que t ya no me quieres
Y esto es lo que ms me hiere
Que tengo la camisa negra
Y una pena que me duele.
Today I know that you do not love/want me anymore
And this is what hurts me most
(So much) that I have a black shirt
And a regret that pains me.
-CodaMal parece que solo me qued
Y fue pura todita tu mentira.
Qu maldita mala suerte la ma
Que aquel da te encontr.
Sadly, it looks like I was left alone
And it was purely, completely all your lie.
What damned bad luck, mine,
To find you on that day.
Por beber del veneno malevo de tu amor,
Yo qued moribundo y lleno de dolor.
Respir de ese humo amargo de tu adis
Y desde que t te fuiste yo slo tengo...
For drinking from the evil venom of your love,
I was left dying [lit. moribund] and full of pain.
I breathed of that bitter smoke from your goodbye
And since you left all I have left is...
Tengo la camisa negra,

Porque negra tengo el alma.

Yo por ti perd la calma
Y casi pierdo hasta mi cama.
I wear the black shirt,
Because black (is how) I have my soul.
I lost my calm because of you
And I almost even lost my bed.
Cama cama caman baby, [*Spanglish :) ]
Te digo con disimulo,
Que tengo la camisa negra
Y debajo tengo el difunto.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon baby,
I tell you furtively,
Because I wear the black shirt [*for mourning]
And beneath (it) I have the deceased. [*he mourns for himself!]
{Pa' enterrartelo cuando quieras, mamita.}
{To bury it for you whenever you want, little mama.} [*alt. To bury it into you whenever you want, little mama.]
{Asi como lo oyes, m'hija.}
{It's just as you hear it, sweetie.}
Tengo la camisa negra.
Ya tu amor no me interesa.
Lo que ayer me supo a gloria,
Hoy me sabe a pura (mier-)
I have the black shirt.
Your love doesn't interest me anymore.
What tasted of glory to me yesterday,
Today tastes to me of pure (shi-)
Mircoles por la tarde y t que no llegas,
Ni siquiera muestras seas,
Y yo con la camisa negra,
Y tus maletas en la puerta.
Wednesday by the afternoon and you that doesn't appear,
(You) don't even show signs,
And me with my black shirt,
And your suitcases by the door.
[Repeat from coda]
[Repeat "Cama cama caman..." stanza]
Translation Notes:
No por pobre y feo, pero por antojado...
Not for being poor or ugly, but for longing...
Not for being poor or ugly, but for lusting...
This is a paraphrasing a line from Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garca Mrquez, but I don't have a
copy of the book in Spanish to find the right quote. It is in the second half of the book somewhere. At one point,
someone says something very similar to the main character.
---

Tengo la camisa negra

I have the black shirt [lit.]
I wear the black shirt [alt.]
I am wearing a black shirt [alt.]
Black is for funerals.
tener = to have
tener puesto/a = to have on, to be wearing
--Hoy mi amor est de luto
Today my love is (in) mourning
estar de luto = to be visibly mourning (a death), usually means wearing black for a period of time
--Y es por culpa de tu embrujo
And it's the fault of your witchcraft
por culpa de = lit. by fault of
--Mal parece que solo me qued
Sadly, it looks like I was left alone
It looks (badly, unfortunately) that alone I was left [lit.]
Also meant to suggest the word malparido to the listeners.
malparido/a [noun] = bastard; son of a bitch; bitch; lit. badly born (compound of mal and parido)
--Y casi pierdo hasta mi cama
And I almost even lost my bed
And I almost even lose my bed [tense, lit.]
Said as if telling a story.
--Pa' enterrartelo cuando quieras, mamita.
To bury it for you whenever you want, little mama.
To bury it into you whenever you want, little mama. [*alt.]
The first meaning is literal, offering to bury a body. The second meaning is a lewd comment offering to bury
something else.
--Asi como lo oyes, m'hija.
It's just as you hear it, sweetie.
This line is said in the background. It is teasing the listeners, telling them to believe their ears. This song has
several lines that suggest profanity or indecent thoughts without explicitly saying them.
---

Hoy me sabe a pura mier- [pause]

-coles por la tarde...
Today tastes to me of pure shiWednesday by the afternoon...
mierda = shit (merde in French!)
Mircoles = Wednesday
--slo vs. solo
just/only vs. alone
When I first started translating long ago, this difference confused me because both words have the emphasis
on the first vowel. I didn't see why the accent even needed to be there. This page explains the difference.
Something to memorize!
Tags: juanes
Posted on Aug. 29th, 2008 at 06:58 pm | Link | Leave a comment | 82 comments | Share

Comments

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on_earth
Yes, it's another comment, but I love how you describe things! Just your explanations and just the little
distinctions from the literal and having those particular details in explaining... It makes a lot of sense. I
know it probably comes from being a native spanish speaker AND a great communicator but it's those tiny
things that make translating all the better.
Posted on Aug. 30th, 2008 02:56 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Thanks! :D I think some of it probably comes from studying French in high school. Spanish helped somewhat,
but it was always the little things that got me. I'm guessing that's true for most language learners (those
darn little things), so that's why I put in the detail.
Posted on Aug. 30th, 2008 03:56 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Expand | Reply
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on_earth - Posted on Aug. 30th, 2008 04:07 am (UTC) | Expand

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cairaguas - Posted on Aug. 30th, 2008 04:21 am (UTC) | Expand

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on_earth - Posted on Aug. 30th, 2008 07:05 pm (UTC) | Expand

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cairaguas - Posted on Aug. 31st, 2008 06:56 am (UTC) | Expand

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on_earth - Posted on Aug. 31st, 2008 03:05 pm (UTC) | Expand

angryazngirl6
Thanks for the translation! As a Spanish student, I think that the notes at the end really do help.
p.s. Can you translate Mala Gente?
Posted on Nov. 11th, 2008 07:07 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Watcha! Here's "Mala Gente":
http://community.livejournal.com/songlations/20118.html
The translation notes were fun to write for this one. I had lots to comment on. :)
Posted on Nov. 15th, 2008 07:30 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

haliriz
ola cairaguas.como estas?tu habla espanol.bravo.de donde eres?
Posted on Apr. 12th, 2009 03:06 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Hola Haliriz. Estoy bien, gracias. Yo soy de los Estados Unidos, y t?
Posted on Apr. 19th, 2009 10:10 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

glamour_pixie
thanks so much! this is great!

Posted on Sep. 23rd, 2009 12:10 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
You're welcome! :D
Posted on Sep. 25th, 2009 02:35 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

Thank you for the translation - and notes

From a non-Spanish speaker, it helps me appreciate the song more.
I do realize the effort you must have expanded doing it.
Again, thank you.
Jason
Posted on Mar. 22nd, 2010 02:14 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: Thank you for the translation - and notes

You're welcome! Thanks for appreciating the effort. Usually, the middle part of translating is fastest. It's the
editing before and after that take the longest time.
Posted on Mar. 23rd, 2010 02:43 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

tengo the la camisa negra

Hey I just stumbled on here and I wanted to point out that "tengo la* camisa negra" --> I have a black shirt.
Although its a small detail, it actually makes sense for the the chorus "I have a black shirt on, because black
is how my soul is". You're very literal in your translations, but sometimes its best to lose things in
translation. It helps retain the fluidity in the lyrics.
Posted on Jun. 10th, 2010 07:40 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: tengo the la camisa negra

That's more of a preference thing rather than a right/wrong thing. I was imagining that he had a bunch of
shirts in his closet and he was wearing The Black Shirt. The song title adds emphasis, so I'm leaving it "the."

I'm going to switch the current very literal main line with the alternative in the translation notes, though.
That will make it sound better.
"I have the black shirt" <==> "I wear the black shirt"
I am leaving "have a black shirt" here, though, for parallelism:
...tengo la camisa negra / Y una pena que me duele
...I have a black shirt / And a regret that pains me
Posted on Jun. 28th, 2010 06:14 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)
hi guys in this song theres some bad words hidden in lyrics, that's why is funny for us (spanish speakers)
for example when he says "MAL PARECE que solo me quede" it sounds like malparido/a that's an insult (badly
born)
or in "Y FUE PURA todita tu mentira" it sounds like hijueputa (son of a bitch)
i hope this is helpful for non spanish speakers
Posted on Jul. 31st, 2010 08:02 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
THANK YOU! I didn't catch those. Sneaky Juanes.
Posted on Aug. 22nd, 2010 09:13 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

Bonito
Can you do a translation for Bonito by Jarabe de Palo, por favor? (See I asked in espanol!)
Posted on Aug. 31st, 2010 12:13 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: Bonito
I put it on my list of songs to find later! :-)
Posted on Sep. 30th, 2010 04:19 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Expand | Reply
Re: Bonito -

cairaguas - Posted on Jan. 16th, 2011 03:44 am (UTC) | Expand

robochicky

Ah, this helps soooo much with my Spanish class! We have to translate the song, and I'm only a bit fluent to
put the pieces together. XD Muchas gracias!
Posted on Sep. 23rd, 2010 02:10 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
You're welcome! I'm glad I can be a reference.
(You're not copying and pasting, though, right? That would be plagiarism!)
Posted on Sep. 30th, 2010 04:05 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

comeonghost
amazing translation and excellent notes. thank you so much for all your work. it really helped me to love
this song even more!
Posted on Dec. 20th, 2010 03:14 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
You're welcome! Thanks for your nice words. I love it when people comment.
Posted on Jan. 16th, 2011 05:10 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Expand | Reply

Love the enthusiasm in these posts! - (Anonymous) - Posted on Mar. 17th, 2011 06:10 am (UTC) | Expand
Re: Love the enthusiasm in these posts! -

cairaguas - Posted on Apr. 10th, 2011 07:16 pm (UTC) | Expand

(Anonymous)

thankuou thankyou thankyou

I cant say how much I enjoy your translation for a song that has captured my heart...anise
Posted on Apr. 9th, 2011 04:02 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: thankuou thankyou thankyou

You're welcome. I am very glad that you enjoyed it!
Posted on Apr. 10th, 2011 08:23 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

Thx
Wonderful translation!!! The lyrics are sad and depressing I always thought it was a happy song about a guy
and his black shirt cause that's the only words I understood lol. The music is soo upbeat for such a sad
song!!!
Posted on Apr. 13th, 2011 04:13 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: Thx
Hahaha, yup. Juanes makes it catchy and yet sings about unhappy subjects. It's a good juxtaposition and
makes the song more interesting, so more popular.
Posted on Apr. 13th, 2011 05:48 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra"

Tengo la camisa negra.
Hoy mi amor est de luto.
Hoy tengo en el alma una pena, [*pena, f. = pain (emotional); regret]
Y es por culpa de tu embrujo.
I wear a black shirt.
Today I mourn my love,
My soul is in torment
Because you cast a spell on me.
Hoy s que t ya no me quieres
Y esto es lo que ms me hiere
Que tengo la camisa negra
Y una pena que me duele.
Today I know that you no longer want me
And it hurts me so much
That I wear this black shirt
And I'm in torment
-CodaMal parece que solo me qued
Y fue pura todita tu mentira.
Qu maldita mala suerte la ma
Que aquel da te encontr.
Sadly, I find myself alone
All because of your lies.
What rotten luck I had

To meet you that day.

Por beber del veneno malevo de tu amor,
Yo qued moribundo y lleno de dolor.
Respir de ese humo amargo de tu adis
Y desde que t te fuiste yo slo tengo...
Because I drank from your poisonous love
You left me dying and full of pain.
Breathing-in the acrid fumes you left behind
Since you left all I have left is...
Tengo la camisa negra,
Porque negra tengo el alma.
Yo por ti perd la calma
Y casi pierdo hasta mi cama.
The black shirt I wear
Because my soul is black.
I have no peace because of you
And I almost lost my desire.
Cama cama caman baby, [*Spanglish :) ]
Te digo con disimulo,
Que tengo la camisa negra
Y debajo tengo el difunto.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon baby,
I tell you evasively,
That I wear a black shirt
Over my dead body
I don't want you anymore.
What yesterday felt like glory
Today tastes like pure (shi-)
Mircoles por la tarde y t que no llegas,
Ni siquiera muestras seas,
Y yo con la camisa negra,
Y tus maletas en la puerta.
It's Wednesday afternoon and where are you?
There's not a trace of you,
I feel stupid with my black shirt,
And the suitcases you left by the door.
[Repeat from coda]
[Repeat "Cama cama caman..." stanza]
Posted on Apr. 17th, 2011 01:23 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra"

Thanks. Did you translate this or is there a source?

Posted on Apr. 24th, 2011 09:14 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Expand | Reply
Re: Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra" - (Anonymous) - Posted on May. 2nd, 2011 11:14 am (UTC) | Expand
Re: Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra" - (Anonymous) - Posted on Apr. 28th, 2011 11:32 pm (UTC) | Expand
Re: Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra" - (Anonymous) - Posted on May. 2nd, 2011 10:53 am (UTC) | Expand
Re: Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra" -

cairaguas - Posted on May. 5th, 2011 05:35 am (UTC) |Expand

Re: Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra" -

cairaguas - Posted on May. 5th, 2011 06:03 am (UTC) | Expand

Re: Alternate Translation of "La Camisa Negra" - (Anonymous) - Posted on Apr. 28th, 2011 11:46 pm (UTC) | Expand
(no subject) - (Anonymous) - Posted on Jan. 20th, 2012 12:59 pm (UTC) | Expand
(no subject) - (Anonymous) - Posted on Feb. 1st, 2012 09:25 pm (UTC) | Expand
(no subject) - (Anonymous) - Posted on Feb. 1st, 2012 09:55 pm (UTC) | Expand

eru_a
I got to know this song recently and totally love it, but wouldn't have understood a word if it wasn't for your
translation. Thanks so much - now I know it by heart and have learned my first Spanish words. ;o)
Posted on May. 13th, 2011 08:45 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
That's awesome! I'm glad you found my translation. ^_^

Posted on May. 14th, 2011 04:49 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)

La Camisa
La Camisa is a word taken from another language, in French they say: La Chemise but in Arabic they say: Al
Camis
Posted on May. 30th, 2011 11:55 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas

Re: La Camisa

I thought this was interesting, so I looked it up. My sources say the etymology is the Celticlatino word (an
originally Celtic word incorporated into Latin) camisia, which turns up as "shirt" when I plug it into a LatinEnglish dictionary. I tried finding al camis in Arabic dictionaries, but I did not have any luck. I don't know if
this is because I am searching a transliteration and not the original Arabic script or if al camis is not a word.
If you have a legitimate source (not just this forum post I found), that'd be awesome. Here are my sources:
Spanish Etymology dictionary (has the most details):
http://etimologias.dechile.net/?camisa
Royal Spanish Academy dictionary (very well-established dictionary):
http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltConsulta?TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=camisa
ElCastellano.org (another Spanish dictionary I had bookmarked):
http://www.elcastellano.org/cgi-bin/diff.pl?palabra=camisa
Latin-English dictonary (says that camisia means "shirt"):
http://www.latin-dictionary.org/camisia
Posted on May. 31st, 2011 01:05 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply
Re: La Camisa - (Anonymous) - Posted on Jun. 3rd, 2011 12:27 pm (UTC) | Expand
Re: La Camisa -

cairaguas - Posted on Jun. 4th, 2011 04:48 am (UTC) | Expand

(Anonymous)
I do appreciate this along with everyone else lmao though I did think it was happy song till this :(
Posted on Apr. 20th, 2012 06:33 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
You're welcome and thanks for commenting. Yeah, it sounds cheerful until you realize what it's about!
Posted on Jun. 4th, 2012 02:00 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

allelsegone
Thank you for your work! Who would have thought a song with such a beat would actually be about, well,
being dumped :)
Posted on May. 24th, 2012 05:46 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
You're welcome! Yes, I think people like the bitter lyrics to a catchy beat. This song got very popular.
Posted on Jun. 4th, 2012 02:04 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

spookykat
This is a song that is performed by Mark Salling in an episode of Glee called Acafellas. I was wondering if I
could quote you for an essay I'm working on. It deals with the way music is used to reveal things about
characters, and reading your translation made SO MUCH SENSE when it comes to Puck's characterizations. I
would give you credit for it of course, but I'd be grateful if I could quote it directly in my essay with your
permission.
Thanks in advance!
~SK
Posted on Jun. 18th, 2012 06:45 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Quote away! I love it when the translation and notes are useful to people. :-)
Posted on Jun. 19th, 2012 03:21 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)
Thx you for the translation. I never knew that the meaning of this song is just like how I am right now. Just
got dumped by a girl I love so much.
Posted on Jul. 7th, 2012 02:47 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
That's so sad! I hope music can help heal your heart. :-(
Posted on Jul. 22nd, 2012 07:55 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)
Great job!

Posted on Nov. 30th, 2012 03:54 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Thanks!

Posted on Dec. 2nd, 2012 09:16 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)
Hey y'all! I do not really know spanish, but somehow, I thought the lyrics are quite predictable! I love this
song, so thanx for translating it because I wasnt sure about most of the words. I think it is funny how the
swearing is indicated..... I wish i was Spanish! LOL
SHOW THIS SONG TO ALL YA FRIENDS!
Love, Anonymous peep
Posted on Jan. 2nd, 2013 06:01 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
I am glad you like the song and translation! No need to be Spanish, just learning the language helps you take
in the culture. :-)
Posted on Jan. 7th, 2013 11:11 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)
thank you so much for this, we looked at this song today in my as spanish class but my teacher didn't even
bother to go into the grammar or meaning of the song. Such a shame, because i love this song and also think
that it can teach me so much in terms of spanish!
Posted on Feb. 1st, 2013 05:42 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
You're welcome! I am happy that you found my post and that you are using it for your Spanish learning. It's a
good song. :-)
Posted on Feb. 5th, 2013 04:32 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

pasific
Cairaguas, thanx for a very detailed translation!
But I have a question: In this wonderful video two vultures say some phrases. Could you add them to your
lyrics?
Posted on Feb. 24th, 2013 12:01 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
I added the line to the beginning. I couldn't hear it the first time, but I was able to find it in Spanish online
today. The vultures in the video are Juanes mumbling to explain why he is wearing the black shirt.
Posted on Mar. 16th, 2013 09:10 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Expand | Reply

(no subject) -

cairaguas - Posted on Mar. 16th, 2013 09:11 pm (UTC) | Expand

(no subject) -

pasific - Posted on Mar. 17th, 2013 11:15 am (UTC) | Expand

(no subject) -

cairaguas - Posted on Mar. 19th, 2013 03:45 am (UTC) | Expand

(no subject) -

pasific - Posted on Mar. 20th, 2013 06:37 pm (UTC) | Expand

(no subject) -

cairaguas - Posted on Mar. 30th, 2013 11:39 pm (UTC) | Expand

(Anonymous)
wow thanks! we have to listen to this song in my spanish class every day, so it will be more enjoyable now
that i know what juanes is talking about.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!
Posted on Mar. 29th, 2013 03:12 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
You're welcome! I love enthusiastic comments. :-)

Posted on Mar. 30th, 2013 11:40 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

(Anonymous)
The term "lyrical dissonance" is used to describe catchy beats with heavy lyrics! (Just a little fun fact for
those who didn't know!) I did a music video to this song for my Spanish class back in high school. Picked it
because of how happy-go-lucky and catchy it sounded! I wish I had found your translation back in '09,
because I would have appreciated the lyrics way more that way ^_^
- julipatootie

Posted on Jul. 1st, 2013 07:04 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

cairaguas
Thanks for the term. I see this a lot. I wonder if there is a term for cheerful songs with dark music videos.
Calle 13's "Muerte en Hawaii" (Death in Hawaii) has a dark title, but the lyrics are nothing but cheerful, all
about love and bragging for a girl. It isn't until you see the bloody and violent music video that you
understand the title.
I am happy that you like my translation. :-)

Posted on Aug. 14th, 2013 04:07 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply