Clandestino – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Manu Chao
• Album: Baïonarena (Live)

Lyrics & Translation

[Spanish]

[English]

Solo voy con mi pena

I only go with my sorrow

Sola va mi condena

My sentence goes alone

Correr es mi destino

Running is my destiny

Para burlar la ley

To outrun the law

Perdido en el corazón

Lost in the heart

De la grande Babylon

Of great Babylon

Me dicen "el clandestino"

They call me "the clandestine"

Por no llevar papel

For not carrying papers

Pa' una ciudad del norte

To a northern city

Yo me fui a trabajar

I went to work

Mi vida la dejé

I left my life

Entre Ceuta y Gibraltar

Between Ceuta and Gibraltar

Soy una raya en el mar

I'm a line in the sea

Fantasma en la ciudad

A ghost in the city

Mi vida va prohibida

My life is forbidden

Dice la autoridad

Says authority

Solo voy con mi pena

I only go with my sorrow

Sola va mi condena

My sentence goes alone

Correr es mi destino

Running is my destiny

Por no llevar papel

To outrun the law

Perdido en el corazón

Lost in the heart

De la grande Babylon

Of great Babylon

Me dicen "el clandestino"

They call me "the clandestine"

Yo soy el quebra ley

I'm the lawbreaker

Mano Negra clandestina

Black Hand clandestine

Peruano clandestino

Peruvian clandestine

Africano clandestino

African clandestine

Marihuana ilegal

Illegal marijuana

Solo voy con mi pena

I only go with my sorrow

Sola va mi condena

My sentence goes alone

Correr es mi destino

Running is my destiny

Para burlar la ley

To outrun the law

Perdido en el corazón

Lost in the heart

De la grande Babylon

Of great Babylon

Me dicen "el clandestino"

They call me "the clandestine"

Por no llevar papel

For not carrying papers

Argelino clandestino

Algerian clandestine

Nigeriano clandestino

Nigerian clandestine

Boliviano clandestino

Bolivian clandestine

Mano Negra ilegal

Illegal Black Hand

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
con /kon/ A1	preposition - with
pena /ˈpena/ A2	noun - sorrow, grief
va /ba/ A1	verb - he/she/it goes
mi /mi/ A1	possessive adjective - my
correr /koˈreɾ/ A2	verb - to run
destino /dɛsˈtino/ B1	noun - destiny, fate
ley /lei/ A2	noun - law
condena /kondeˈna/ B1	noun - sentence, punishment
burlar /burˈlaɾ/ B2	verb - to escape, to evade
ley /lei/ A2	noun - law
clandestino /klandesˈtino/ B1	adjective / noun - clandestine, illegal, clandestine person
perdido /peɾˈðiðo/ B2	adjective / noun - lost, a lost person
ciudad /θjuˈðað/ (Spain) or /sjuˈðað/ (Latin America) A2	noun - city
trabajar /tɾaˈβa.xaɾ/ A2	verb - to work

Key Grammar Structures

• Solo voy con mi pena

  ➔ Present tense for expressing current actions.

  ➔ The phrase "Solo voy" means "I go alone" indicating a current state.

• Correr es mi destino

  ➔ Infinitive used as a subject.

  ➔ In this line, "Correr" (to run) acts as the subject of the sentence.

• Me dicen 'el clandestino'

  ➔ Indirect speech construction.

  ➔ The phrase "Me dicen" translates to "They tell me," indicating reported speech.

• Por no llevar papel

  ➔ Prepositional phrase indicating reason.

  ➔ The phrase "Por no llevar papel" means "For not carrying papers," explaining the reason for being clandestine.

• Mi vida va prohibida

  ➔ Present tense with a passive meaning.

  ➔ The phrase "va prohibida" translates to "is prohibited," indicating a passive construction.

• Soy una raya en el mar

  ➔ Metaphorical expression.

  ➔ The phrase "Soy una raya en el mar" means "I am a ray in the sea," symbolizing insignificance.

• Mano Negra clandestina

  ➔ Adjective-noun agreement.

  ➔ In this phrase, "Negra" agrees with "Mano" in gender and number.