Consejo de Oro (Golden Advice)
Lyrics & Music: Arquímedes Arci 1933
Translation: Felipe & Ayano
Recorded by Osvaldo Pugliese with Roberto Chanel in 1946
Español
Entonces era un pibe cuando murió mi padre;
fue tanta la miseria, que mi viejita y yo
comíamos llorando el pan amargo y duro
que en esas horas tristes mi mano mendigó.
Mi pobre madrecita lavando ropa ajena
pasábase las horas al pie del piletón,
por míseras monedas con que calmaba apenas
las crueles amarguras de nuestra situación.
Fui creciendo a tropezones,
y a mis años juveniles
galopé por el camino que mejor me pareció…
En las vueltas de la vida,
me faltaba la experiencia,
la experiencia sana y noble
que ninguno me enseño
De engreído me hice el guapo;
me encerraron entre rejas
y de preso ni un amigo me ha venido a visitar,
sólo el rostro demacrado y adorado de mi madre
se aplastó contra las rejas para poderme besar.
(Instrumental)
A usted, amigo, que es tan joven,
le daré un consejo de oro:
Un consejo santo y bueno
no tiene que olvidar
cuide mucho de su madre,
que ella siempre es un tesoro;
un tesoro que al perderlo
otro igual no encontrara
English
Back then I was a kid when my father passed away
It was such a misery that my mother and I
Used to eat crying the bread bitter and hard
that in those sad hours I begged
My poor mother washing other people’s clothes
Spent the hours at the washing bucket,
for little pennies that barely calmed
the cruel bitterness of our situation.
I grew up in fits and starts,
and in my juvenile years
I took the path that seemed the best to me...
In the twists and turns of life,
I lacked the experience,
the experience right and noble
that nobody taught me
Being bigheaded I acted like a big shot;
they locked me up behind bars
and in prison not even a friend came to visit me,
only the emaciated face of my mother I adored
was pressed against the bars to give me a kiss.
(Instrumental)
To you my friend, since you are so young,
I’ll give you a golden advice
An advice sacred and good
that you should not forget
Take good care of your mother
because she is always a treasure
A treasure that if you lose
you wouldn’t find another one like that