Las Cuarenta

With the smoke of life clenched between my lips,
the gaze murky and cold, a bit slow on my feet,
I turned the corner of the neighborhood and, already drunk on memories,
it sounded like I was spilling poison as I accused.

Old street of my neighborhood where I took my first steps,
I return to you, my deck worn out from useless shuffling,
with a wound in my chest, with my dreams shattered,
that broke in an embrace that revealed the truth.

I learned all the bad, I learned all the good,
I know about the kiss you buy, I know about the kiss you give;
about the friend who’s a friend only when it suits him,
and I know that with a lot of cash, you’re worth a whole lot more.

I learned that in this life you gotta cry if others cry
and, if the band laughs, you better know how to laugh;
don't think or you'll be wrong... What for, if you live anyway!
And besides, you run the risk of being called a fool!

The time I tried to be good, they laughed in my face;
when I shouted about injustice, the power made me shut up;
experience was my lover; disillusionment, my friend...
Every card has a counter and every counter gets played!

Today I don’t even believe in myself... Everything’s a group, everything’s fake,
and that one, the one on top, is just like the rest...
So don’t be surprised if, one night, drunk,
you see me walking arm in arm with someone I shouldn’t be with.