The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Pintor nacido en mi tierra
Con el pincel extranjero
Pintor que sigues el rumbo
De tantos pintores viejos
Aunque la Virgen sea blanca
Píntame angelitos negros
Que también se van al cielo
Todos los negritos buenos
Pintor, si pintas con amor
Por que desprecias su color
Si sabes que en el cielo
También los quiere Dios
Pintor de santos de alcoba
Si tienes alma en el cuerpo
Porque al pintar en tus cuadros
Te olvidaste de los negros
Siempre que pintas iglesias
Pintas angelitos bellos
Pero nunca te acordaste
De pintar un ángel negro
Pintor de santos de alcoba
Si tienes alma en el cuerpo
Por que al pintar en tus cuadros
Te olvidaste de los negros
Siempre que pintas iglesias
Pintas angelitos bellos
Pero nunca te acordaste
De pintar un ángel negro
Con el pincel extranjero
Pintor que sigues el rumbo
De tantos pintores viejos
Aunque la Virgen sea blanca
Píntame angelitos negros
Que también se van al cielo
Todos los negritos buenos
Pintor, si pintas con amor
Por que desprecias su color
Si sabes que en el cielo
También los quiere Dios
Pintor de santos de alcoba
Si tienes alma en el cuerpo
Porque al pintar en tus cuadros
Te olvidaste de los negros
Siempre que pintas iglesias
Pintas angelitos bellos
Pero nunca te acordaste
De pintar un ángel negro
Pintor de santos de alcoba
Si tienes alma en el cuerpo
Por que al pintar en tus cuadros
Te olvidaste de los negros
Siempre que pintas iglesias
Pintas angelitos bellos
Pero nunca te acordaste
De pintar un ángel negro
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I'm mexican, so I know this song.
This is a mexican song, theme for the movie from the same name: Angelitos Negros, from 1948, an adaptation to the novel "Imitation of Life", about a white racist woman giving birth to a black girl, his husband is white, but she blames him for it, guessing he has some black blood on his veins, 'cause he is a strong supporter for the black people. She rejects her daughter for several years, and in some fury instant, mixed with some kind of insanity for not comprehending why this happens to her, she struggles with her maid who's defending the little girl, a black woman who has been with the family for many, many time, and who was very appreciated by the father of the little black girl, who in fact has always known the truth. When they struggle, the maid falls by the stairs, and is then when her husband screams the truth: the black maid is her mother. When she knows the truth it's too late, cause the maid dies because of the fall The maid gave her daughter to the family she worked for, who cared very much for her, so she cuold have a better life than living with her mother, a black - poor rejected because of her color - woman. She was born from an adventure from a white guy who simply wanted to have sex whith her and abandonned after knowing she's pregnant.
The translation is:
Tittle: Little Black Angels
Painter born in my land, with the foreign brush, painter who keeps the course, of so many ancient painters.
Even the Virgin is white, paint her little black angels, that also go tho heaven, all the good little blacks.
Painter if you paint with love, why reject their color? If you know in heaven, God loves them too.
Bedroom saints painter, if you have a soul in your body, why when painting your canvas, you forgot the black ones.
Everytime you paint churches, you paint beautyfull little angels, but you never remembered, to paint a black angel.
Lyrics: A.Eloy Blanco Music: M. Alvarez Maciste
The father of the little black girl sang it to her one day she was very sad because of being rejeted by her mother, and she had painted her face with white makeup, so her mother could accept her.
By the way, this movie is one of the so many ones performed by Pedro Infante, probably the most popular mexican actor from the so called "golden age of mexican cinema", that had place in the 40's.
Hi, It`s actually a VENEZUELAN poem from Andres Eloy Blanco (venezuelan poet)