It´s All Right = (Todo) Está Bien

It´s All Right by Marlango

This is one of my favorite songs by a Spanish group.   The lead singer of Marlango is Leanor Watling who you might know more as an actress from movies like Hable Con Ella, My Life Without Me and many, many more. 

The first thing that I would like to point out   (destacar) is that the term "all right" is commonly confused by natives and students with the word "already" (ya) when it comes to the spelling.   Because of this many people write "alright" which is NOT CORRECT ACCORDING TO THE GRAMMAR POLICE."  You will see "alright" in many places, especially dialogue, but if you are taking an official examination I recommend that you use "all right" which is still the "most correct" form.   All right" (todo bien) is a great way of saying "Todo está bien."  Or you might use the more colloquial "It´s/That´s cool." or "It´s/That´s OK." when saying "Está bien." as in "No problem." BTW (by the way/por cierto), Americans actually DO say "no problemo" and some might really think that they are speaking Spanish. ;)

Another interesting piece of vocabulary for English learners in this song is the term "weird" which is a more colloquial form of "strange" used a lot, especially by Americans.  There is also the term "weirdo" which is like a "friki".   For example, "He looks like a weirdo with those sunglasses and that crazy hair." 

Spanish speakers can also learn a fine point of English grammar from this song.   Notice (fíjate en) the words "Tigers know their stripes" which translates to Spanish as "Los tigres conocen sus rayas."   I have my theories about what they mean (ellos quieren decir) with this sentence (see my comments at the end) but the important thing for students is to realize (darse cuenta) that in English when we TALK ABOUT SOMETHING IN GENERAL we DON´T USE THE ARTICLE.  I would say, "I like pizza."  NOT "I like THE pizza."  This is not a big error, most people will understand you anyway (de todas formas), but for those of you who want to speak as correctly as possible, try to remember the rule.  

Finally, in the song you will find the term "to screw" which means "to have sex with" or the more vulgar "to fuck" (DANGER, OFFENSIVE TO MANY PEOPLE).   Nowadays saying "Screw you!" isn´t really too offensive.   A possible equivalent in Spanish would be: "Vete a la porra!" 

OK, here are the lyrics:

It´s All Right by Marlango 

Tigers know their stripes
Los tigres conocen sus rayas
Tigers know their game
Los tigres conocen su juego
But we are all so busy
 Pero todos estamos tan ocupados
Thinking people look at us
 Pensando que la gente nos mira
We miss the miracle in their eyes
Perdemos el milagro en sus ojos

And tigers also do a little act
Y los tigres también montan su numerito
When they know they are being checked out
Cuando se dan cuenta de que los están mirando
But you are not being studied
 Pero no te están observando
No, you are not being judged
 No, no te están juzgando
There is no BBC crew waiting for you to screw*
No hay nadie de la BBC esperando (a que les jodas/ a que les impresiones/a que les seduzcas)
(*this is a very ambiguous expression that could have numerous interpretations)

So come on and do your little dance
Así que venga, haz tu numerito
Do your little dance for me
Baila un poquito para mi
There's everything you need to do
Hay todo lo que necesitas para hacer
A little, little, little dance for me
Un pequeño, pequeño baile para mí**
(**I know you would probably never say this in Spanish but I want to show the literal meaning in English)


There is choreography in traffic jams
Hay coreografía en los atascos
A weird poetry in people walking by
Una poesía rara en la gente que camina/pasa andando
There is music in the streets
Hay música en las calles
And harmony in machines
Y armonía en las máquinas
There's every thing I need to do
 Hay todo lo que necesitas para hacer
A little dance for me
Un pequeño, pequeño baile para mí


So come on and do your little dance
Así que venga, haz tu numerito
Do your little dance for me
Baila un poquito para mi
There's everything you need to do
Hay todo lo que necesitas para hacer
A little, little, little dance for me
Un pequeño, pequeño baile para mí

And tigers also stop at traffic lights
Los tigres también se paran en los semáforos
Tigers know their game
Los tigres conocen su juego
But we are all so busy
 Pero todos estamos tan ocupados
Thinking people look at us
 Pensando que la gente nos mira
We miss the miracle in their eyes
Perdemos el milagro en sus ojos

So come on and do your little dance
Así que venga, haz tu numerito
Do your little dance for me
Baila un poquito para mi
There's everything you need to do
Hay todo lo que necesitas para hacer
A little, little, little dance for me
Un pequeño, pequeño baile para mí

There is choreography in traffic jams
Hay coreografía en los atascos
A weird poetry in people walking by
Una poesía rara en la gente caminando (por la calle)
There is music in the streets
Hay música en las calles
And harmony in machines
Y armonía en las máquinas
There's every thing I need to do
Hay todo lo que necesitas para hacer
A little dance for me
Un pequeño, pequeño baile para mí

So come on and do your little dance
Así que venga, haz tu numerito
Do your little dance for me
Baila un poquito para mi
There's everything you need to do
Hay tienes todo lo que necesitas para hacer
A little, little, little dance for me
Un pequeño, pequeño baile para mí

There is choreography in traffic jams
Hay coreografía en los atascos
A weird poetry in people walking by
Una poesía rara en la gente que camina
There is music in the streets
Hay música en las calles
And harmony in machines
Y armonía en las máquinas
There's every thing I need to do
Hay todo lo que necesitas para hacer
A little dance for me
Un pequeño, pequeño baile para mí


Song notes:
The main idea in this song is much more interesting to me than a lot of your standard pop songs.   There are a lot of songs about being cool (ser guay) or being in love.  This one is a little different. 

Speaking in front of a group is one of the most common fears people have.   It is more difficult than many people think to act naturally in front of a group or even in front of another person.   In fact (de hecho), "acting" and "being natural" are really opposites if you think of acting as playing a role (interpretando un papel) so (así que)  this is one of those phrases that some might call an oxymoron (an expression that seems to contradict itself). Anyway, this song is a good reminder to everyone that the more we worry about how we look to others the harder it is for us to truly appreciate the present moment.   So if we really want to "seize the day" (carpe diem/aprovecha el día/aprovecha el momento) we have to try to concentrate on the present moment and quit thinking about (dejar de pensar en) what people are thinking of us.   I know, it´s  easier said than done (más facil decirlo que hacerlo).