Marta [English translation]

Singing on Florida Street,1

a stranger in Buenos Aires,

I discovered that life

is a game of chance

where the winner loses.

For luggage a backpack,

a guitar, and some verses by Borges.2

It was that moonlit night

that a lady in blue

asked me for one by Silvio.3

I obliged her with "Rabo de Nube",4

she corresponded by putting in the hat

a tip in australs,5

the same(tip) with which I would later be inviting

her to coffee.

How can I forget about Marta,

that girl from the Recoleta?6

She left me a couple of marks

on my neck and in my life.

How can I forget about Marta?

I became an expert in sweet-talking,

she fumigated me with her gaze and told me,

"Boy, you should be careful".

I told her": "Of what?",

she told me: "Of me".

A taxi was waiting for her on the corner.

Without asking he took us to a strip joint.

I asked her: "Are you sure?"

She told me: "Asshole, this is where I work".

I was in Istanbul and in Cairo,

in the Tepuis,7 in Paris and Malaysia.

All that beauty wasn't much

after seeing Marta on the dance floor without clothes.

How can I forget about Marta,

that stripper from the Recoleta?

She left me a couple of marks

on my neck and in my life.

How can I forget about Marta?

I followed her up to Rio,

we worked in the same bar.

She sold her silhouette,

I played the guitar

in a blues band.

One day we got as far as Mexico.

I sang in a bar of the Zona Rosa8

and she continued with her desire,

and that was to become

a great model.

I lost track of her in Las Vegas.

Uncle Sam even changed her personality

and added to the madness

that ranged from the powder9

to the pills.

How can I forget about Marta,

that stripper from the Recoleta?

She left me a couple of marks

on my neck and in my life.

How can I forget about Marta?

The last time I saw her

she was in a damned comatose state.

I sang to her "Rabo de Nube".

She reacted instantly and told me:"What are you doing?".

How can I forget about Marta,

that stripper from the Recoleta?

Besides being my lover,

she was also my best friend.

How can I forget about Marta?

1. Florida Street is an elegant shopping street in Downtown Buenos Aires2. Jorge Luis Borges - he was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator3. Silvio Rodríguez - a Cuban musician, and a leader of the Nueva Trova movement.4. The title of song by Silvio Rodriguez5. The austral was the currency of Argentina between June 15, 1985 and December 31, 19916. Recoleta - a downtown residential neighborhood in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina7. A geographical region of rugged mountain plateaus in the Guayana shield located in the Northeast part of South America8. Zona Rosa is one of the most frequented areas of Mexico City known for its nightlife.9. Cocaine

• Artist:Ricardo Arjona