Lyrics & Translation
We endure what has come and we endure what is to come
We endure even if we have only seconds left
Our body can withstand being choked for up to fifteen minutes
We endure lashes, having both arms cut off
Fractures in any bone, three weeks with a cast
We endure the urge to go to the bathroom all the time
To see Halley's comet, you have to endure seventy years
We endure school, college, the institute
At dinner time, we hold back our burps
The people of Burundi continue to endure hunger
We endure three days to reach the Moon
We endure the cold of the Arctic, the heat of the Tropics
We endure with antibodies against microscopic viruses
We endure storms, hurricanes, bad weather
We endured Nagasaki, we endured Hiroshima
Even if we don't want to, we endure new laws
We endure today that there are still kings
We punish the humble and endure the cruel
We endure being slaves because of our skin color
We endure capitalism, communism, socialism, feudalism
We endure even the foolishness
We endure the guilty when they play innocent
We endure every year our p--- president
For what was and for what could have been
For what there is, for what may be missing
For what is to come and for this moment
To toast to endurance
For what was and for what could have been
For what there is, for what may be missing
For what is to come and for this moment
Raise your glass and toast to endurance
To toast to endurance
We endure any kind of pain even if it hurts us
We endured Pinochet, we endured Videla
Franco, Mao, Ríos, Mon, Mucabe, Hitler, Idi Amin
Stalin, Bush, Truman, Ariel Sharon, and Hussein
We endured more than twenty concentration camps
When you swim underwater, you hold your breath
To build a wall, we endure the bricks
Those who don’t smoke endure the smell of cigarettes
We endure Monsanto infecting our food
We endure Agent Orange and pesticides
When we sail, we endure seasickness
We endure the minimum wage and unemployment
We endure the Falklands and the British invasion
In the city of Pompeii, we endured volcanic lava
And within the logic of our humanity
We believe the lie and no one can bear the truth
For what was and for what could have been
For what there is, for what may be missing
For what is to come and for this moment
Raise your glass and toast to endurance
To toast to endurance
We endure the atheist, the Mormon, the Christian
The Buddhist, the Jew, we endure the pagan
We endure the one who sells bullets and the one who fires them
We endure the death of Lennon, that of Víctor Jara
We endure many wars: Vietnam, the Cold War
The Hundred Years' War, the Six-Day War
Let them endure the revenge, we come for the payback
Today our liver endures whatever the bar invites
For what was and for what could have been
For what there is, for what may be missing
For what is to come and for this moment
To toast to endurance
For what was and for what could have been
For what there is, for what may be missing
For what is to come and for this moment
Raise your glass and toast to endurance
To toast to endurance!
Key Vocabulary
| Vocabulary | Meanings |
|---|---|
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aguantar /a.ɣ̞wanˈtaɾ/ B1 |
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cuerpo /ˈkweɾ.po/ A1 |
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tiempo /ˈtjem.po/ A1 |
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pueblo /ˈpwe.β̞lo/ A2 |
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frío /ˈfɾi.o/ A1 |
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calor /kaˈloɾ/ A1 |
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dolor /doˈloɾ/ A2 |
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agua /ˈa.ɣ̞wa/ A1 |
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guerra /ˈɡe.ra/ B1 |
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verdad /beɾˈdad/ A2 |
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vaso /ˈba.so/ A1 |
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leyes /ˈleʝes/ B1 |
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presidente /pɾe.siˈðen.te/ A2 |
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hígado /ˈi.ɣ̞i.ð̞a.o/ B1 |
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salario /saˈla.ɾjo/ B1 |
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Key Grammar Structures
-
Nacimos para aguantar lo que el cuerpo sostiene
➔ Purpose clause with "para" + infinitive; relative clause with "lo que"
➔ "Para" expresses the purpose. "Lo que" acts as a relative pronoun meaning 'what' or 'that which'. The sentence means: 'We were born to endure what the body holds'.
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Aguantamos lo que vino y aguantamos lo que viene
➔ Preterite vs. Present tense for past and future events; use of "lo que" as a relative pronoun
➔ "Vino" (came) is in the preterite tense, referring to something that already happened. "Viene" (comes) is in the present tense, referring to something that is coming. "Lo que" refers to 'that which'. The sentence means: 'We endured what came and we endure what comes'.
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Pa ver el cometa Halley, hay que aguantar setenta años
➔ Impersonal "hay que" + infinitive to express obligation; "pa" as colloquial for "para"
➔ "Hay que" expresses a necessity or obligation. "Pa" is a colloquial shortening of "para". The sentence means: 'To see Halley's comet, one has to endure seventy years'.
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Pa construir una pared, aguantamos los ladrillos
➔ Purpose clause with "pa" (colloquial "para") + infinitive; direct object pronoun implied (los ladrillos)
➔ "Pa construir" (to build) is a shortened version of "para construir". "Los ladrillos" is the direct object of "aguantamos", though the pronoun is not explicitly stated. The sentence means 'To build a wall, we endure [carrying] the bricks'.
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Por lo que fue y por lo que pudo ser
➔ Use of "por" + "lo que" + past tenses (preterite and conditional) to express reasons or considerations about past events
➔ "Por lo que" means 'because of what'. "Fue" (was) is in the preterite tense, and "pudo ser" (could have been) is in the conditional perfect tense. The phrase means: 'For what was and for what could have been'.
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Aguantamos Pinochet, aguantamos a Videla
➔ Use of the personal "a" before a direct object that is a person (Videla)
➔ The personal "a" is required before human direct objects in Spanish. It doesn't have a direct translation to English. 'We endured Pinochet, we endured Videla'.
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Nos creemos la mentira y nadie aguanta la verdad
➔ Reflexive verb "creerse" (to believe in oneself / to consider oneself); contrasting "nadie" (nobody) with affirmative verb
➔ "Creerse" in this context means 'to believe in oneself'. "Nadie" means nobody, but is used with a positive verb. The sentence means: 'We believe the lie and nobody endures the truth'.
