¿Porque Te Tatuatis?

Oh, it can't be
I see it and I can't believe it

After five years
He was back in town
My oldest son who
Had been in the north in prison

We went to the airport
To pick up the absent son
Who, because of the gangs
Was acting like a delinquent

We had the little party
Already prepared at home
So that when he arrived
He could have a good time

Because we were happy
We couldn't believe it
That my son after so long
Was about to come back

But when I saw my boy
Getting off the plane
I didn't recognize him
All crooked and bald

But the worst was at home
When I saw him undressed
Oh, I got mad
Seeing him all tattooed

Why do you get tattooed?
(Just because)
Why do you paint yourself?
(Just because)
Why do you mark yourself?
(Just because)

You've ruined yourself
You are stupid for us

On the back of his neck
An 'l' and an 'a'
And below on his neck
His mother's name

He had a painted cross
On one of his arms
With the name of a friend
Who was shot

Then he has another tattoo
With two faces painted
One of them is crying
And the other is all smiles

On the other arm he has
A colored flag
And a woman with a charro hat
And her breasts out

He's all well painted
From the elbow to the wrist
He has a car, a death
And an Aztec calendar

On his chest he has 'wetside'
Which I think is a neighborhood
And also two hands together
Holding a rosary

He has some Chinese letters
And the head of a dragon
Some dice and among flames
The sacred heart

On his belly he has written
The word 'crazy guy'
On his back my last name
And a tear in his eye

Why do you get tattooed?
(Just because)
Why do you paint yourself?
(Just because)
Why do you mark yourself?
(Just because)

You've ruined yourself
You are stupid for us

(Oh! Oh! Oh!
That's why people get
Illnesses, from those scares
Those sorrows that one goes through
Look at my boy, he came back more marked than a wall of this
Of the angels
And I'm afraid that with those claws and with so many tattoos
Some policeman might mistake him for a-
For a gangster)

I asked him why he paints himself
And he didn't say anything
I feel like bathing him
With pure hydrogen peroxide

I'm going to soak him in bleach
And scrub him with soap
Look at all those letters
He looks like a blackboard

And they talk about him
That gossiping people
Who are more marked than a bathroom
At the bus station

Don't do that to your body
Tell me, what do you gain from it?
Do you think you look good
Walking around full of stripes?

No matter how much I want to, boy
I can't understand you
I think you've tattooed yourself
Even from over there

Why do you get tattooed?
(Just because)
Why do you paint yourself?
(Just because)
Why do you mark yourself?
(Just because)

You've ruined yourself
You are stupid for us