El mundo al revés [English translation]

This is the story,

The true story

Of the upside-down world.

Red grass, green poppies,

Wire flowers floating in the pond,

They don't let me see what happens outside.

There's a fish chasing a fisherman,

If he doesn't take the bait I will.

This is the story of the upside-down world,

My heart is a race car

And it will never get there.

This is the story, the crazy story,

Of the upside-down world.

Red grass, green poppies.

If the world is roaming like a giant iceberg:

What does it matter if it goes forwards or backwards?

There's a cat running away from a mouse,

Who will bell the rat? 1

This is the story of the upside-down world,

My heart is a race car

And it will never get there, my heart, my heart.

Today the tail caught its own dog 2

Truths seem to be lies.

I'm younger for each year that passes,

Eventually I'll become a newborn.

This is the story of the upside-down world,

My heart is a race car

But it will never, never get there.

In this track, the grove of a disc

The A side, the B side, it's the same old story,

But it will never, never get there.

My heart, my heart.

1. In the original, this is a play on expression that, in Spanish, means to 'stick one's neck out.' Apparently we have a similar expression in English ('to bell the cat' - to do the impossible) but I think it means something slightly different in Spanish. Something along the lines of 'to stick one's neck out' or 'to do something really brave/dangerous'. I would suggest the alternative translation "Is everyone here a scardy-rat?" which offers a similar play on a familiar expression as well as getting across more or less the same meaning (though by a different means).2. In the original, this is another play on an expression which we allegedly have in English but I'm sure I have never heard ("the young hake that bites its own tale") but I thought something more common would be better.

• Artist:Amaral
• Album:Una pequeña parte del mundo