Parao
Rubén Blades
Standing Up
Some see the light at the end of their tunnel
And build a new tunnel, so as not to see,
And they stay in the dark, and they consume themselves,
Regretting what never came to be.
I wasn't the best example and I admit it,
It's easy to judge the night the next day;
But I was sincere, and that I shout out,
That I have never mortgaged my soul!
If I have lived standing up, oh bury me standing up;
If I paid the price that the one who doesn't live on his knees pays!
Life has rubbed me down, but it has never ironed me.
In good times and bad, I go with my teeth bared!
Smiling and standing: always standing up!
Misfortunes strengthen the feeling
If it assimilates every blow it has endured.
Memory becomes a sustenance,
Celebrating every river that has been crossed.
I wonder, how can one believe they are alive,
The one who exists to blame others?
Let them be silent and get out of the way,
And let the rest of the world walk!
They bury me standing up.
Oh, bury me standing up!
There I leave you my smile and all that they have taken from me.
What I lost I haven't cried over, if I have lived abundantly,
Giving thanks for the things
That I have found on the road.
Adding and subtracting in my own flesh,
Embraced by my conscience.
Standing up! even if I have made mistakes,
Even if they have pointed fingers at me,
Standing up! soaked in moonwater,
Enjoying the memory of the rivers I have crossed,
Even if I almost drowned, I continue standing up!
Standing up!