Amarillo no me pongo ( ?)
In my collection of Mexican corridos and other folk music I came across this verse in the corrido Dos Amigos (Cadetes de Linares):
Amarillo no me pongo amarillo es mi color he robado trenes grandes y maquinas de vapor
The song is about two guys who like to rob trains. Am I correct to assume that 'amarillo' in this context is the same as the English meaning of 'yellow' as cowardly? These are macho guys. 'Amarillo no me pongo' seems an odd construction but maybe it sounds okay to a Spanish speaker. The second line is curious when he says, 'amarillo es mi color'. the letra here I got off the internet, not my own shaky transcription, so I suppose the transcriber got it right, though I could imagine the singer is actually saying 'amarillo NO es mi color' and it was not transcribed correctly.
Maybe I'm making too much of this because in songs there's all kinds of weird constructions and slang. But I do think about things like that. Thanx.
2 Answers
My guess is:
I don't wear yellow, I am yellow.
could it be:
I am not cowardly but yellow is my colour. I rob steam trains big and small.
I am presently reading some pocket books by Marcial Lafuente (western themes in spanish) and I have the same difficulty translating some of the expressions. I have worn out two dictionaries thumbing through the pages. I have since purchased a Franklin electronic dictionary.
