Chonqui – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Willie Colón
• Album: El Malo

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the evocative world of early salsa with Willie Colón's "Chonqui," a powerful narrative masterfully delivered by Héctor Lavoe. This song offers a unique opportunity to explore conversational Spanish through its compelling story of social judgment and tragic consequences. You'll encounter vocabulary related to emotions, social interaction, and a classic example of Nuyorican salsa storytelling that defined an era. The raw emotion and narrative depth make "Chonqui" a special piece that transcends language barriers, inviting listeners to connect with its universal themes.

[English]

Chonqui the crazy one killed himself

Because of the shame he went through

Chonqui the crazy one killed himself

Because of the shame he went through

He spent a morning on the subway

In the Rockaway wind

Listening to people's laughter

He looked at his shoes and they were different

Chonqui the crazy one killed himself

Because of the shame he went through

Chonqui the crazy one killed himself

Because of the shame he went through

Poor Chonqui didn't know what to do

And he tried to hide his shoes

That trick didn't work for him

And everyone loosened his shoes

...

Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui killed himself

Hey, look, look dude, Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui killed himself

Because of the critics, Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui killed himself

Oh look, come and come and come and come, Chonqui died

Chonqui the crazy one killed himself

Because of the shame he went through

Chonqui the crazy one killed himself

Because of the shame he went through

Oh poor, poor, poor Chonqui

Chonqui, but Chonqui killed himself

Chonqui the crazy one killed himself

Because of the shame he went through

...

[Spanish]

Chonqüi el loco se mató

Por la vergüenza que pasó

Chonqüi el loco se mató

Por la vergüenza que pasó

Él pasó una mañana en el subway

En vienty de Rockaway

Oyendo la risa de la gente

Miró a sus zapatos y eran diferentes

Chonqüi el loco se mató

Por la vergüenza que pasó

Chonqüi el loco se mató

Por la vergüenza que pasó

Pobre chonqüi no supo qué hacer

Y sus zapatos trató de esconder

Ese truco no le trabajó

Y todo el mundo sus zapatos relajó

Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi se mató

E mira, mira pollo, Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi se mató

Por culpa de los criticones, Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi se mató

Ay mira, ven y ven y ven y ven Chonqüi se murió

Chonqüi el loco se mato

Por la vergüenza que pasó

Chonqüi el loco se mató

Por la vergüenza que pasó

Ay pobre, pobre, pobre Chonqüi

Chonqüi pero Chonqüi se mató

Chonqüi el loco se mató

Por la vergüenza que pasó

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
mató maˈto A1	verb - killed
vergüenza berˈɣwen.sa A2	noun - shame
pasó paˈso A1	verb - happened
loco ˈloko A1	adjective - crazy
subway ˈsʌb.weɪ A1	noun - subway
risa ˈri.sa A1	noun - laughter
zapatos θaˈpa.tos A1	noun - shoes
diferentes di.feˈren.tes A2	adjective - different
esconder es.konˈder A2	verb - to hide
trabajó tra.βaˈxo A2	verb - worked
relajó re.laˈxo B1	verb - relaxed
criticones kɾi.tiˈko.nes B1	noun - critics
pobre ˈpo.βɾe A1	adjective - poor
pollo ˈpo.ʎo A1	noun - chicken

Key Grammar Structures

• Chonqüi el loco se mató

  ➔ Past tense with reflexive verb

  ➔ The verb 'mató' is in the past tense and reflexive, indicating an action done by the subject to themselves ('se' is the reflexive pronoun).

• Por la vergüenza que pasó

  ➔ Prepositional phrase with past tense

  ➔ The phrase 'por la vergüenza que pasó' uses the preposition 'por' to indicate cause, followed by a relative clause 'que pasó' in the past tense.

• Él pasó una mañana en el subway

  ➔ Past tense with location

  ➔ The verb 'pasó' is in the past tense, and 'en el subway' indicates the location where the action took place.

• Miró a sus zapatos y eran diferentes

  ➔ Past tense with conjunction

  ➔ The verbs 'miró' and 'eran' are both in the past tense, connected by the conjunction 'y' (and).

• Pobre chonqüi no supo qué hacer

  ➔ Past tense with negation

  ➔ The verb 'supo' is in the past tense and negated by 'no', indicating that the subject did not know what to do.