L'Via L'Viaquez Lyrics

Lyric discussion by omrx 

Cover art for L'Via L'Viaquez lyrics by Mars Volta, The

This is my traduction. I hope this help something to understand the song.

L'via, hija de miranda Tu apellido se cambió L'via, sin ojos me quieres dar Una historia sin mi madre Solo tengo que decirte El dolor de noche dice Solo se quedó el vestido Le lavé la sangre

Elvia, daughter of Miranda Your last name has changed Elvia, without eyes you want to give me A history without my mother I only have to tell you The pain at night says Only the dress was left I washed it off the blood

L'via, no dejes de descansar En la calle caminas ¿quien te va a perseguir? L'via, te quieren matar Dientes de machete, cabezas de gallo L'via, durmiendo en paz Abre los ojos, todo cambiará L'via, sonando de venganza Yo te lo juro Lo van a pagar

Elvia don’t leave to rest (I don´t know how exactly write it, but it means that Elvia is resting and Cedric(?) or the "song voice", the character who is talking, don´t want that she leave that action) In the street you´re walking Who is going to chase you? Elvia they want to kill you Teeth of machete (some kind of great knife or sickle that the mexican countrymen use), heads of a rooster. Elvia, sleeping at peace Open your eyes, everything will change Elvia, dreaming of vengeance (perhaps Cedric can´t pronounce the "ñ" and that´s why this word is misinterpreted, "soñando" means "dreaming" but "sonando" means "sounding" or "ringing") I swear to you They are going to pay

Solo tengo una hora Y me duermo terminado Por veinte cinco años pasaron Siguen los cuerpos aquí temblando Bebí la sangre, comí el cuerpo Mis lágrimas...quiebra el espejo

I only have an hour And I sleep finished For twenty-five years have past Still the bodies are shaking here I drank the blood, I ate the body (It means to the catholic belief of "the last supper" and the body of Jesus represented by bread, and his blood represented by wine) My tears...Break the mirror

This is by far the best translation I've seen of this song. The liner notes don't include the accent marks, so if you're a native speaker you know how what it means by context. Or you could spend a whole day looking it up on Wiktionary.

@omrx

At the risk of introducing errors, I have attempted to convert your excellent translation into more idiomatic English.

Elvia, Miranda's daughter, Your last name has changed. Elvia, eyeless, you want to give me A history without my mother. I only have to tell you: The pain at night says. Only the dress was left, I washed the blood off it.

Elvia, do not stop to rest* In the street you´re walking, Who is going to chase you? Elvia they want to kill you. Machete teeth, rooster heads. Elvia, sleeping at peace Open your eyes, everything will change. Elvia, dreaming(resounding?) of vengeance, I swear to you They are going...

  • "L'via, no dejes de descansar". I'm actually pretty stuck here, but I didn't understand the previous translation. I'm pretty sure that "no dejes" is the negative imperative, although it also seems a little like a subjunctive? It seems like "no dejes de" generally translates to "don't stop", so I'd be tempted to say this is "don't stop resting!" but that seems to make less sense than "don't stop to rest", given the context. Any native speakers able to clarify?
  • ** There is a possible double meaning here in that quiebra is both "break! (2nd person informal imperative)" and "he/she/it breaks" (3rd person present indicative). "lágrimas" is not the subject here since it is plural. The line I think translates to both a command "(you) break the mirror!" and the statement "The mirror breaks". Native speakers may be able to provide further guidance?