El Consentido Lyrics in English by Joan Sebastian
Joan Sebastian writes a classic Mexican corrido, a ballad that tells the story of one man, here called "el compa" (the buddy, the pal). He opens by saying real men are born "De Chiapas hasta Tijuana" (from Chiapas to Tijuana, so the whole length of Mexico), and that he could name a dozen, but "me reservo los nombres" (I'll keep the names to myself). That discretion is part of the genre's charm.
The hero was born in Guerrero, is "Muy valiente, nada chueco" (very brave, nothing crooked, meaning honest), and is "de Dios un consentido" (one of God's favourites, literally God's spoiled one, which gives the song its title). He rides a good horse, romances his sweetheart and enjoys a life that is "a veces amenazada" (sometimes threatened). The middle verse is the song's opinion: money is nice, but "Es mejor tener amigos" (it's better to have friends) and to wear "bien puestos los pantalones" (your trousers firmly on), a Mexican idiom for having courage and backbone.
Watch for "buen pelao", a Mexican colloquial way of saying a good, down-to-earth guy, and "óiganme" (listen to me), a plural command used to grab the crowd's attention.
