Uses of Subjunctive in "Chantaje"

Question

¡Hola!

¿Me podrían decir si he traducido correctamente algunas frases que utilizan el subjuntivo en la canción "Chantaje" por Shakira?

Pregúntale a quien tú quieras ---------- Ask whom you (might) love

Yo te quiero aunque no quieras---------- I love you even though you may not love

No vaya* a enderezar lo que no se ha torcido ------------- I am not going to straighten what is not twisted
*¿Alguien me puede explicar porque se utiliza el subjuntivo en este caso?

Y una cosa no relacionada - ¿qué significa esta letra: "Pa-pa'qué te digo na', te comen el oído"? Creía que significa algo como "I tell you they eat your ear."

¡Gracias!

Thanks a bunch for your questions on Shakira's lyrics. As a huge fan of Shakira I take an interest in this too. I don't know much about Maluma but he's good too in the video. - Sassette, Jan 1, 2017

¡De nada! Me encanta la música de Shakira también. Y muchas gracias por responder. - KRavishankar19, Jan 2, 2017

Answer 1

No vaya* a enderezar lo que no se ha torcido ------------- I am not going to straighten what is not twisted

If this sentence is exactly copied, and there is no significant context previous, your translation is incorrect.

No vaya, (when it starts a sentence like this) is a negative command. Don't go

So as it stands, I would translate it like this:

Don't go and straighten out what isn't twisted. This is much like the English: **If it ain't broke don't fix it. **

Your other sentence beginning "Pa-pa qué" is Sort of a musical way of saying (with repetition of the the first syllable:

Para qué ("pa" is a slangy shortened form of "para".)

So the translation would go: Why do I tell you nothing? They are chewing/eating your ear (off)

Your first two sentences appear to be correct.

Thanks for answering! But in the same stanza, Shakira sings "No pares bola a toda esa mala propaganda," which is a negative informal command. Isn't "vaya" the formal version? Why would she switch between the formal and informal versions? - KRavishankar19, Dec 31, 2016

I think in the first sentence it's a general saying, and the second one is directed personally. "Don't pay attention to all this bad news/propaganda" I'm guessing at the meaning of "parar bola" I think it's a regionalism from Colombia. - Daniela2041, Dec 31, 2016

Ojaláque algún colombiano me pueda ayudar en eso. - Daniela2041, Dec 31, 2016

Ojalá que (typo) - Daniela2041, Dec 31, 2016

I just happened to think! Sometimes colombianos don't pronounce the final "s" of words. That could be the case with "vaya." - Daniela2041, Dec 31, 2016

Okay! ¡Muchas gracias! - KRavishankar19, Jan 1, 2017

Answer 2

I'm still confused about te comen el oído the following lyric:

Pa, pa' que te digo na, te comen el oído

These are the translations that I found:

Translation #1: Pa, pa I'm telling you no, they're trying to fool you

Translation #2: Why I tell you anything if they cheat you

Daniela's interpretation sounds spot on. The translations I found don't make sense to me. The only thing I can figure is that te comen el oído is an idiom that means being fooled or cheated. That would be strange because it would clash with the English idiom eating your ear off which means talking at length, having nothing to do with if there is any cheating or fooling going on.

Thank you for answering! I found this link that might help: http://spanish.stackexchange.com/questions/12389/qué-quiere-decir-comer-la-oreja-a-alguien. It says that the phrase means to convince someone of something. - KRavishankar19, Jan 2, 2017

So in this context, it might refer to their convincing him of the "mala propaganda." - KRavishankar19, Jan 2, 2017

Thank you for the info. I feel I have a better understanding of the term. It sounds like a person who has his/her ear eaten off better be careful with the information that was given to them. - Sassette, Jan 2, 2017

Translating lyrics I think can be very difficult but rewarding in that it gives special insight into the Spanish language. Sometines, I can't even figure out English lyrics and I'm a native English speaker. lol - Sassette, Jan 2, 2017