La Cumparsita

I ask for permission gentlemen
That this tango speaks for me
And my voice among its sounds will say
Will say why I sing like this

Because when I was a kid
Because when I was a kid I was cradled
In tango, the maternal song
To call sleep

And I heard the grumble of the bandoneons
Under the grapevine of my old patio
Because I saw the parade of the hardships
With my poor, teary and open eyes

And in the sad room of my good old folks
I sing poverty its winter song
And I became in tangos
I was shaped in mud, in misery

In the bitterness that poverty brings
In a mother's cries
In the rebellion of the strong
Who have to fold their arms

When hunger comes
And I became in tangos because
Because tango is manly!
Because tango is strong!

It smells of life
It tastes of death
Because I loved a lot, and because I was deceived
And I spent my life chewing dreams

Because I am a tree that never bore fruit
Because I am a dog without an owner
Because I have hatreds that I never express
Because when I want, because when I want I bleed in kisses
Because I loved a lot, and I was not loved
That's why I sing, so sad
That's why!