Julia Engelmann: Eines Tages (One day), baby

"And the words of the Prophet were written on the subway walls..."

Simon & Gartfunkel, "The Sound of Silence"

Doesn't matter how many times I fall, how many times I get upset or dissappointed, be sure I will raise again. Because I am not yet the old I will one day be.

And I don't care if it often seems that I am preeching on desert soil; as one teacher once said to some of us, "if you make two or three of your pupils love Music out of every classroom, you'll be changing the society". And I figure she was right. Only that such a task is so difficult...

'Cause, even though it may seem that I get upset, or angry, or whatever, I do not. I know you give me a lot. I thank you for the good and for the bad moments, as not so long, the girl who changed my life for ever told me (I can feel lucky to hear that). I have always risked in life. Still everyday, if I have the chance, I enjoy doing it. I put everything at stake. As long as I can, I will keep on doing. Perhaps is my rebellious side, the trait that I once showed off, or maybe is just because "living on the edge" makes your life much more intense. 

I know one day I may not be doing most of the things I have done up to now, and baby, I am aware that will hurt. I also hope by then to be able to say "I did the right thing", as Hana Hegerová in her version of "My way" that always tears my heart into pieces. 

And I'll be happy for that, because I already know that I have hundreds of stories to share. I don't regret almost anything. And that day is yet to come. 

I am sure most of you will be able to say the same thing, just in a different way. Just believe in yourselves and make a change, as Michael sung on "The Man in the Mirror". 

https://learngermanwithg.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/one-day-baby-well-be-old-slam-by-julia-engelmann-in-german-and-translated-into-english/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmGHW4b2OVY

The book: 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/A1TsQ7jK2jS.pdf

And the poem in English, with some help for the difficult words:

ONE DAY – Julia Engelmann One day, baby, when we’ll be old, oh baby when we’re old and think of all the stories  that we could have told. I, I am the master of pranks (bromas) when it comes to self-deception. (autoengaño)

I’m a toddler at its best  (bebé grande) when I face tasks.

I’m a decelerated particle,  (not sure about this bit), let myself be enthused for recklessness  (entusiasmado por la osadía) when it lived by someone else

and I think too much,  I wait too much, I take too much in my hands  and I do too little of it.

I often hold back, (me contengo) I doubt everything, I wish I was smart, but even that is stupid.

I would like to say so much,  but stay quiet most of the time, because if I said everything it would be way too much. (demasiado)

I would like to do so much, my list is so long, but I’ll never get around everything, (me da tiempo a hacer todo) so I don’t even begin.

Instead, I’m on my smartphone  without plan,  waiting for next Friday, “uh, I’ll do that later”   is the baseline of my daily routine. (referencia)

I’m so horribly lazy,  like a pebble on the ocean bed, (guijarro en el lecho del océano)  I’m so horribly lazy, my patronus is a bastard. (mi padrino es un cabrón)

My life is a waiting room, no one calls me up, (me da un telefonazo) I always save my dopamine in case I need it later.

And one day, baby, I’ll be old, oh baby I’ll be old and think of all the stories  I could’ve told.

And you, you loyally mutter (fielmente pronuncias) every year  anew (de nuevo) on New Year’s Eve  the same old resolutions into your champagne glass

and at the end of December you realize that you’re right  when you say  that you forgot/missed it again this year.

And yet, 2015 should’ve been the first year of the rest of your life.

You wanted to lose weight, get up earlier, get out more often, tackle your dreams, (te enfrentas a tus sueños) watch the news more often,  for more small-talk and general knowledge (cultura general)

but like every year, although you didn’t expect it, everyday Life intervened.

Our life is a waiting room, no one calls us up. (nos da un toque)

We save our dopamine in case we’ll need it later

and we are young and we have plenty of time, why should we risk, we don’t want to make mistakes, we don’t want to lose anything.

And there remains so much to do, our lists stay long, and so day after day pass into unknown lands

and one day, baby, we’ll be old, oh baby we’ll be old and think of all the stories we could have told

and the stories we’ll tell instead will be sad conjunctives, like (creo que es un error, debería ser "conditionals")

“Once, I almost ran a marathon, and almost read the Buddenbrooks,(famosa y recomendable novela alemana de Thomas Mann) and once I almost stayed up until the clouds turned purple again, and almost, we almost demasked and saw that we were the same, (nos desenmascaramos) and then we almost told each other how much we meant to another”, we’ll say

and we’ll keep it a secret that we were nothing but lazy and coward, and we’ll wish in secret to stay here just a little bit longer.

Then when we’re old and our day’s numbered – and that will definitely happen – only then we’ll realize that we had nothing to lose

because the life that we want to lead (conducir, llevar) can only be chosen by us, so let us write stories that we’ll enjoy telling later.

Let’s stay up late, climb up the highest roof in the city, laughing and singing the best songs out of rhythm

let’s throw parties like confetti, (organizar fiestas) see how they travel to the ground and celebrate the fallen parties until the clouds have turned purple again, (juego de palabras entre "throw parties y throw confettis)

and let’s believe in ourselves, I don’t care whether that’s crazy, (aunque parezca una locura) and whoever looks can see that courage is just another anagram for fortune

and whoever we used to be,  let’s become who we want to be.

We’ve already waited far too long,  let’s waste some dopamine

the sense of life is living,  Casper said that already

Let’s make the most of the night,  Kesha said that already

let’s make plenty of mistakes and learn a lot from them

let’s seed Good already now,  so that we can harvest Good later

let’s do everything because we can and not because we have to

because now we’re young and alive,  as anyone can know.

And our time will end,  that will happen in any case

and until then we’re free  and there’s nothing to lose

let’s take out our mask, and see, we’re still the same, and then we can tell each other that we mean a lot to each other, because we can choose  the life we want to lead.

So let’s go, let’s write stories that we’ll like to tell later

and one day, baby, we’ll be old, oh baby we’ll be old and think about all the stories that will always be ours.