Cruz de navajas – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Mecano
• Album: Entre el cielo y el suelo

Lyrics & Translation

Learning Spanish through "Cruz de navajas" offers a unique opportunity to delve into narrative-driven lyrics and rich, metaphorical language. The song's compelling storytelling, with its clear beginning, middle, and tragic end, can help you grasp sentence structure and the use of past tenses. What makes this song special for learners is its sophisticated vocabulary and the use of figurative language, such as the central metaphor of the "three crosses," providing a deeper cultural and linguistic understanding.

[English]

At five, the bar at 33 shuts down

but Mario doesn’t leave until six

And if he’s stuck counting the till, forget it—it’s almost always daylight by the time he’s done

Meanwhile, dawn almost always finds him still there

Meanwhile, Maria has already gotten up

she’s cleaned the house, even made coffee

and waits for him half-naked

Mario arrives tired and barely greets her

He wants to go to bed, but of a different kind

And Maria soaks her desires in the coffee

convex sex muffins

Then off to work in a big department store

When he gets back there’s nothing left but a gloomy bed frame to share in shifts

Crossed knives for a woman

deadly glints break at dawn, blood staining the dawn lilac

But today, since there was a raid at 33

Mario comes back at ten to five

On his empty street, in the distance he sees

a couple making out with kisses

And poor Mario feels like he’s dying

when he approaches to find out

that it’s Maria with a companion

Crossed knives for a woman

deadly glints break at dawn, blood staining the dawn lilac

Lying face down, Mario bears three crosses: one on his forehead, the one that hurt the most

another on his chest, the one that killed him

And another lies in the news report:

"Two addicts in a desperate panic rob and kill Mario Postigo

while his wife watches from the doorway"

instead of crossed knives for a woman

deadly glints break at dawn, blood staining the dawn lilac

(J.M.Cano)

[Spanish]

A las cinco se cierra la barra del 33

pero Mario no sale hasta las seis

Y si encima le toca hacer caja despídete

casi siempre se le hace de día

Mientras María ya se ha puesto en pie

ha hecho la casa, ha hecho hasta café

y le espera medio desnuda

Mario llega cansado y saluda sin mucho afán

Quiere cama pero otra variedad

Y María se moja las ganas en el café

magdalenas del sexo convexo

Luego al trabajo en un gran almacén

Cuando regresa no hay más que un somier taciturno que usar por turnos

Cruz de navajas por una mujer

brillos mortales despuntan al alba sangres que tiñen de malva el amanecer

Pero hoy como ha habido redada en el 33

Mario vuelve a las cinco menos diez

Por su calle vacía a lo lejos sólo se ve

a unos novios comiéndose a besos

Y el pobre Mario se quiere morir

cuando se acerca para descubrir

que es María con compañía

Cruz de navajas por una mujer

brillos mortales despuntan al alba sangres que tiñen de malva el amanecer

Sobre Mario de bruces tres cruces: una en la frente, la que más dolió

otra en el pecho, la que le mató

Y otra miente en el noticiero:

"Dos drogadictos en plena ansiedad roban y matan a Mario Postigo

mientras su esposa es testigo desde el portal"

en vez de cruz de navajas por una mujer

brillos mortales despuntan al alba sangres que tiñen de malva el amanecer

(J.M.Cano)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
cruz /kɾuz/ A2	noun - cross
navajas /naˈβaxas/ B1	noun - razors
brillos /ˈbɾiʎos/ A2	noun - shines
mortales /moɾˈtales/ B1	adjective - deadly
despuntan /desˈpuntan/ B2	verb - they emerge
alba /ˈalba/ B1	noun - dawn
sangres /ˈsaŋɡɾes/ A2	noun - bloods
tiñen /ˈtiɲen/ B2	verb - they dye
malva /ˈmalβa/ C1	noun - mauve
redada /reˈðaða/ B2	noun - raid
somier /soˈmjer/ C1	noun - bed frame
taciturno /tasiˈturno/ C1	adjective - taciturn
magdalenas /maɣðaˈlenas/ B1	noun - madeleines
convexo /konˈβexo/ C1	adjective - convex
noticiero /notiˈθjeɾo/ B2	noun - news program

Key Grammar Structures

• A las cinco se cierra la barra del 33

  ➔ Passive reflexive construction (se + verb in present indicative)

  ➔ The pronoun "se" creates a passive reflexive, so the meaning is that the bar "closes" on its own.

• Mario llega cansado y saluda sin mucho afán

  ➔ Present indicative for consecutive actions; adverbial phrase with "sin" + noun

  ➔ The adverbial phrase "sin" ("without") modifies "afán", meaning he greets "without much effort".

• Y María se moja las ganas en el café

  ➔ Reflexive verb with direct object; prepositional phrase "en" indicating location

  ➔ The reflexive pronoun "se" shows that María is the one who "moistens" her own "ganas" (desires) in the coffee.

• Cruz de navajas por una mujer

  ➔ Prepositional phrase with "por" expressing cause or motive

  ➔ The preposition "por" links the metaphorical "cruz de navajas" (cross of knives) to the reason "una mujer" (a woman).

• cuando se acerca para descubrir

  ➔ Temporal subordinate clause introduced by "cuando"; purpose infinitive clause "para + infinitive"

  ➔ The conjunction "cuando" ("when") starts a temporal clause, and "para descubrir" ("to discover") expresses the purpose of approaching.

• Sobre Mario de bruces tres cruces:

  ➔ Prepositional phrase "sobre"; idiomatic adverbial expression "de bruces" (face down)

  ➔ The phrase "de bruces" (literally "with the face down") functions as an adverbial modifier describing how the crosses fall on Mario.

• la que más dolió

  ➔ Relative clause with pronoun "que"; superlative "más"; past simple "dolió"

  ➔ The relative pronoun "que" introduces the clause "más dolió" ("hurt the most"), describing the most painful wound.

• la que le mató

  ➔ Relative clause with pronoun "que"; indirect object pronoun "le"; past simple "mató"

  ➔ The indirect object pronoun "le" indicates that the wound "killed" someone else (the implied victim), within the relative clause "la que le mató".

• Y el pobre Mario se quiere morir

  ➔ Reflexive pronoun "se" + modal verb "querer" + infinitive; expresses desire/intention

  ➔ The reflexive construction "se quiere" ("wants to") + infinitive "morir" conveys that Mario wishes "to die".