December 2, 2010
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La palomita – The little dove
This song is about a pigeon, but in English we don’t think of pigeons as romantic or poetic (“Oui, my leetle peegeon!”), so I substituted ‘dove’ in the translation. The song is a zamba, an Argentine folk dance (unrelated to the Brazilian samba) with a 6/8 and/or 3/4 rhythm, sung here by Esperanza and Alicia. I don’t know who wrote it.
La canción habla de una palomita, pero en inglés las palomas no se consideran ni románticas ni poéticas, así que la sustituí por ‘tórtola’ en la traducción. Es una zamba, un baile folklórico de Argentina con compás de 6/8 y/o 3/4. Cantan Esperanza y Alicia. Desconozco el autor.LA PALOMITA
Qué bonito que cantaba
la palomita en su nido,
moviendo el pico y las alas
como si hablara conmigo.
Sí, ay, ay, ay, mi palomita
me ha robado toda el alma,
todita todititica, la golosa palomita.
Que bonito corre el agua
debajo de los almendros.
Así corriera mi amor
si no hubiera malas lenguas.
Sí, ay, ay, ay, mi palomita
me ha robado toda el alma,
todita todititica, la golosa palomita
Igual que la palomita
que se voló de su nido,
así me dejó tu amor
y hoy me atormenta el olvido.
Sí, ay, ay, ay, mi palomita
me ha robado toda el alma,
todita todititica, la golosa palomitaTHE LITTLE DOVE
How sweetly the little dove
sang in its nest
moving its beak and wings
as if it were talking to me.
Yes, ay ay ay, my little dove
has stolen all of my soul
every single bit, greedy little dove.
How sweetly the water flows
under the almond tree
just as my love would flow,
if it weren’t for vicious tongues.
Yes, ay ay ay, my little dove
has stolen all of my soul
every single bit, greedy little dove.
Just as the little dove
flew away from its nest,
so your love has left me
and now loneliness haunts me.
Yes, ay ay ay, my little dove
has stolen all of my soul
every single bit, greedy little dove.
Comments (17)
beautiful song … i think doves are romantic … they mate for life … i always see them together …
@windupherskirt - Do they really? I didn’t know that. They’ve been used in romantic poetry going back at least to Song of Songs.
@Roadkill_Spatula - yes indeed … when i see one alone, i feel the mate died. 8~(
I hear the word “palomita” and I think of popcorn. It was the Honduran word for popcorn.
Very beautiful! I think of doves this time of year…peace, love…they have a softness and sweetness in their face that always makes me pause. I don’t know why they are here so late in the year…’cause it’s been cold…but I counted 15 dove on a walk I took yesterday afternoon. They were sunning on some rocks. I stopped to watch them for awhile.
palomitas for popcorn. I don’t think they do in South America.
@adamswomanlost - I asked an Arabic translator today whether doves or pigeons were considered more poetic/romantic in his culture, and he said pigeons were. I don’t know why our culture looks down on pigeons. Maybe because they’re pushy beggars and they poop on statues? Doves are pleasant, though, with their quiet calls and meek appearance. In Colombia the pigeons and the doves I saw were dark gray, not white the way they tend to be here.
@Roadkill_Spatula -
I’ve always thought pigeons were pretty…they have a pretty iridescent color an shine. But, I think they do have a bad rep here because they hang around on dirty city streets and poop everywhere. Poor pigeons. Yes, the calls of the dove are so pleasant to listen to.
I absolutely adore pigeons, but they have silly faces. I can see why they would be considered romantic.
@BunnyBliz -
“Paloma” is a more poetic word than “pigeon”. It’s “columba” in Latin, which is also poetic. Their faces aren’t that different from doves, are they?
@sonnetjoy -
My earlier response got truncated. They use ‘palomitas’ throughout Central America and Mexico, but I don’t think they do in South America.
Very nice. I bet it makes you homesick when you hear them sing.
@Roadkill_Spatula -
No, the main difference is in the colour of the eyes. I believe doves usually have black or brown eyes, whereas the pigeons I’ve met have orange. It makes a large difference in the appearance.
@BunnyBliz -
I never looked at them that close. I have a dove photo from Medellín (it was acting like a pigeon); I’ll put it on Facebook soon.
@ata_grandma -
Yeah, quite a bit.
Lovely
@grannyinboxers - I’m glad you enjoyed it. I like your new profile pic, although it looks like you could use a shave.