El Chore

• By: Junior H, Gael Valenzuela

Lyrics:

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[English]

Perdón por las rayas de mi cuerpo

Forgive the lines on my body

Ellas marcan lo que soy por dentro

They mark who I am inside

A la calle yo me fui metiendo

I started getting into the streets

Y a los cholos yo les fui aprendiendo

And I learned from the cholos

Las mañas, también la marihuana

The tricks, also the marijuana

La fumaba toda la semana

I smoked it all week long

Quince años, ya quería ganar lana

Fifteen years old, I already wanted to earn money

De morro siempre anduve en mi baica

As a kid, I was always on my bike

Repartiendo bolsitas poco a poco, fui creciendo

Delivering little bags little by little, I grew up

En el barrio como "El Chore" me fueron conociendo

In the neighborhood, they started knowing me as "El Chore"

Al cien con los que desde morro siempre aquí estuvieron

One hundred percent with those who have always been here since we were kids

Y la disculpa es pa mis padres por todo lo que he hecho

And my apologies to my parents for everything I've done

Tampoco quise ir a la escuela, nunca me gustó

I didn't want to go to school either, I never liked it

Preferí andar en la vagancia junto a mi clicón

I preferred to be a bum with my clique

Que mi madre se me angustiara, no me preocupó

I didn't care that my mother was worried about me

Miro el dolor que le causaba y sí, me arrepiento

I see the pain I caused her and yes, I regret it

Pero todo lo hice por ella

But I did it all for her

Pa que nunca le faltara nada

So she would never lack anything

Y hoy que dio vuelta la moneda

And now that the tables have turned

Tiene todo lo que un día soñaba, ¡uh!

She has everything she once dreamed of, uh!

Ahí le va compa Gael

Here you go, buddy Gael

Así nomás, compa Junior

Just like that, buddy Junior

Puro $ad Boyz, viejo

Pure $ad Boyz, man

Gente con la gente siempre he sido

I've always been down to earth with people

Aunque sea de muy pocos amigos

Even if I only have a few friends

Y al que me tache de presumido

And whoever calls me conceited

Es porque nunca me ha conocido

It's because they've never known me

Ahora ya me visto diferente

Now I dress differently

Ahora ya resalto entre la gente

Now I stand out among the people

A mí no me ha cambiado el billete

Money hasn't changed me

Sigo siendo el mismo desde siempre

I'm still the same as always

Repartiendo bolsitas poco a poco, fui creciendo

Delivering little bags little by little, I grew up

En el barrio como "El Chore" me fueron conociendo

In the neighborhood, they started knowing me as "El Chore"

Al cien con los que desde morro siempre aquí estuvieron

One hundred percent with those who have always been here since we were kids

Y la disculpa es pa mis padres por todo lo que he hecho

And my apologies to my parents for everything I've done

Tampoco quise ir a la escuela, nunca me gustó

I didn't want to go to school either, I never liked it

Preferí andar en la vagancia junto a mi clicón

I preferred to be a bum with my clique

Que mi madre se me angustiara, no me preocupó

I didn't care that my mother was worried about me

Miro el dolor que le causaba y sí, me arrepiento

I see the pain I caused her and yes, I regret it

Pero todo lo hice por ella

But I did it all for her

Pa que nunca le faltara nada

So she would never lack anything

Y hoy que dio vuelta la moneda

And now that the tables have turned

Tiene todo lo que un día soñaba

She has everything she once dreamed of

...

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
cuerpo /ˈkweɾpo/ A1	noun - body
calle /ˈkaʎe/ A1	noun - street
cholos /ˈtʃolos/ B2	noun - gang members/subculture
mañas /ˈmaɲas/ B2	noun - habits, tricks
marihuana /maɾiˈwana/ B1	noun - marijuana
años /ˈaɲos/ A1	noun - years
lana /ˈlana/ B2	noun - money (slang)
morro /ˈmoro/ B2	noun - kid, young boy (slang)
baica /ˈbajka/ N/A	noun - bike (slang)
barrio /ˈbarjo/ A2	noun - neighborhood
padres /ˈpadɾes/ A1	noun - parents
escuela /esˈkwela/ A1	noun - school
vagancia /baˈɣansja/ B2	noun - idleness, loitering
madre /ˈmadɾe/ A1	noun - mother
dolor /doˈloɾ/ A2	noun - pain, sorrow
moneda /moˈneða/ B1	noun - coin, currency
gente /ˈxente/ A1	noun - people
billete /biˈʝete/ B1	noun - bill, banknote
raya /ˈraʝa/ B1	noun - line, stripe

Grammar:

• Perdón por las rayas de mi cuerpo

  ➔ Use of "por" indicating reason or cause.

  ➔ Here, "por" explains the reason for asking for forgiveness: because of the stripes on his body. It explains the reason for the apology.

• A la calle yo me fui metiendo

  ➔ Use of reflexive verb "meterse" with "ir" for gradual process; emphatic "yo".

  ➔ "Me fui metiendo" indicates a gradual process of getting involved with the streets. "Yo" is used for emphasis.

• Quince años, ya quería ganar lana

  ➔ Use of imperfect tense ("quería") to describe a past desire.

  ➔ The imperfect "quería" shows that at fifteen, he had the ongoing desire to earn money. It was a state of being.

• Repartiendo bolsitas poco a poco, fui creciendo

  ➔ Gerund ("repartiendo") to describe an ongoing action; progressive tense with "ir" + gerund (fui creciendo).

  ➔ "Repartiendo" describes the ongoing action of distributing small bags. "Fui creciendo" is a progressive tense showing a gradual increase in age and involvement.

• Y la disculpa es pa mis padres por todo lo que he hecho

  ➔ Informal shortening of "para" to "pa"; use of present perfect ("he hecho") to describe past actions with present relevance.

  ➔ "Pa" is a colloquial shortening of "para." "He hecho" signifies actions completed in the past that still affect the present, hence the apology.

• Tampoco quise ir a la escuela, nunca me gustó

  ➔ Use of "tampoco" to negate a previous negative statement; use of preterite ("quise") and imperfect ("gustó") tenses.

  ➔ "Tampoco" adds another negative point after the previous one. "Quise" is a completed action, whereas "gustó" is an ongoing feeling/state in the past.

• Pa que nunca le faltara nada

  ➔ Use of "para que" + subjunctive to express purpose.

  ➔ "Para que" introduces a clause expressing the purpose or intention of the previous action, followed by a subjunctive verb ("faltara").

• Y hoy que dio vuelta la moneda

  ➔ Use of "dar vuelta la moneda" as an idiom, meaning "the tables have turned"; "que" introducing a subordinate clause.

  ➔ "Dar vuelta la moneda" is a common idiom to signify a reversal of fortunes. "Que" introduces the clause explaining *when* his mother has everything she dreamed of.