HELP :) Betty La Fea Theme: "Se Dice de Mi" por Yolanda Rayo

Could someone help me understand these lyrics? thanks so much

Se dice de mi...
Se dice que soy fea,
que camino a lo malevo,
que soy chueca y que me muevo
con un aire compadrón.
Que parezco un dinosaurio,
mi nariz es puntiaguda,
la figura no me ayuda,
y mi boca es un buzón.

Si charlo con Luis, con Pedro o con Juan,
hablando de mi los hombres están,
critican si ya la línea perdí,
se fijan si voy, si vengo o si fui.

Se dicen muchas cosas,
mas si el bulto no interesa
Por qué pierden la cabeza ocupándose de mi?

Yo sé que muchos que desprecian con mentiras,
y suspiran y se mueren cuando piensan en mi amor
Y más de alguno se derrite si suspiro,
y se queda si lo miro, resoplándo con temor.
Si fea soy, pongámosle,
que de eso ya, yo me enteré.
Mas la fealdad que Dios me dió,
mucha mujer me la envidió,
y no dirán que me creí,
porque modesta siempre fui
yo soy asi

Y ocultan de mi
ocultan que yo tengo unos ojos soñadores
y ademas otros timones que producen sensacion
si soy fea se que en cambio tengo un cutis de muñeca
los que dicen que soy chueca no me han visto en camison
los hombres de mi critican la voz,
el modo de andar la punta la tos
critican si ya la linea perdi se fijan si voy si vengo o si fui

Se dicen muchas cosas,
mas si el bulto no interesa
Por qué pierden la cabeza ocupándose de mi?

Yo sé que muchos que desprecian con mentiras,
y suspiran y se mueren cuando piensan en mi amor
Y más de alguno se derrite si suspiro,
y se queda si lo miro, resoplándo con temor.
Si fea soy, pongámosle,
que de eso ya, yo me enteré.
Mas la fealdad que Dios me dió,
mucha mujer me la envidió,
y no dirán que me creí,
porque modesta siempre fui
yo soy asi.

I love this song, but this song is a Milonga from Argentina, and so Tango and Milonga are full of words from a dialect/slang called "Lunfardo" from here. I do understand all, but I'm not sure how I can translate some of these words to English.... I will try, but I want to show you the original version sung looooong time ago by Tita Merello (one of the tango singer from Argentina)

Tita Merello: "Se dice de mí"

I'm gonna try to translate

Se dice de mi...
They say about me....
Se dice que soy fea,
They say about me that I'm ugly
que camino a lo malevo,
that I walk like a thugs,
que soy chueca y que me muevo
that I have bow-legged and that I move
con un aire compadrón.
like a braggart.
Que parezco un dinosaurio,
That I seem a dinosaur,
mi nariz es puntiaguda,
my nose is pointed,
la figura no me ayuda,
that my shape doesn't help me,
y mi boca es un buzón.
and my mouth is a pillar-box (it's talking about a really big mouth).
Si charlo con Luis, con Pedro o con Juan,
If I talk with Luis, with Pedro or with Juan
hablando de mi los hombres están,
the men are talking about me
critican si ya la línea perdí,
They criticize if I lost my shape/figure
se fijan si voy, si vengo o si fui.
they see if I'm going, I'm comming or I went.

Se dicen muchas cosas,
They say so many things
mas si el bulto no interesa
but if the package doesn't care
Por qué pierden la cabeza ocupándose de mi?
Why do they lose their minds thinking about me?

Yo sé que muchos que desprecian con mentiras,
I know that many of those who criticize with lies (about me)
y suspiran y se mueren cuando piensan en mi amor
they sigh and they die when they think about me
Y más de alguno se derrite si suspiro,
And more than one melts if I sigh,
y se queda si lo miro, resoplándo con temor.
And If I saw them, they stay puffing with fear.

Si fea soy, pongámosle,
If I'm ugly, let's think is true,
que de eso ya, yo me enteré.
I already knew about it,
Mas la fealdad que Dios me dió,
But the ugliness that God gave to me
mucha mujer me la envidió,
was envied for many women
y no dirán que me creí,
And don't say: I'm self-worshiping,
porque modesta siempre fui
because I always was modest
yo soy asi
I'm this way

Y ocultan de mi
And they hide (things) from me...
ocultan que yo tengo unos ojos soñadores
They hide from me that I have got a dreamer eyes
y ademas otros timones que producen sensacion
And a lot of other things that cause sensations
si soy fea se que en cambio tengo un cutis de muñeca
If I'm ugly, I even know that I have got a doll skin
los que dicen que soy chueca no me han visto en camison
And for those who says I'm bow-legged, they haven't seen me in a nightgown
los hombres de mi critican la voz,
Men criticize my voice
el modo de andar la pinta la tos
My way to walk, the look, the cough
critican si ya la línea perdí,
They criticize if I've lost my shape/figure
se fijan si voy, si vengo o si fui.
they see if I'm going, I'm comming or I went.


Se dicen muchas cosas,
They say so many things
mas si el bulto no interesa
but if the package doesn't care
Por qué pierden la cabeza ocupándose de mi?
Why do they lose their minds thinking about me?

Yo sé que muchos que desprecian con mentiras,
I know that many of those who criticize with lies (about me)
y suspiran y se mueren cuando piensan en mi amor
they sigh and they die when they think about me
Y más de alguno se derrite si suspiro,
And more than one melts if I sigh,
y se queda si lo miro, resoplándo con temor.
And If I saw them, they stay puffing with fear.

Si fea soy, pongámosle,
If I'm ugly, let's think is true,
que de eso ya, yo me enteré.
I already knew about it,
Mas la fealdad que Dios me dió,
But the ugliness that God gave to me
mucha mujer me la envidió,
was envied for many women,
y no dirán que me creí,
And don't say: I'm self-worshiping,
porque modesta siempre fui,
because I always was modest,
yo soy asi.
I'm this way.

I have to say something about this sentences bellow:

Si fea soy, pongámosle,
If I'm ugly, let's think is true,
que de eso ya, yo me entere,
I already knew about it,


The original Lyrics says:

Si fea soy, pongámosle,
If I'm ugly, let's think is true,
que de eso aún, no me enteré,
I didn't realize about that yet,


It's strange because it's exactly the opposite meaning !

Haha Thanks so much Mares!

You're really welcome

mares... may I??? no te enojes!!!

Of course, I need someone to correct my mistakes, but mostly it should be someone who understand Lunfardo

Se dice de mi...
They say about me....
Se dice que soy fea,
It is said that I'm ugly
que camino a lo malevo,
that I walk like a thug,
que soy chueca y que me muevo
that I have bow-legged and that I move (chueco = limp)
con un aire compadrón.
like a braggart.
Que parezco un dinosaurio,
That I seem a dinosaur,
mi nariz es puntiaguda,
my nose is pointed,
la figura no me ayuda,
my shape doesn't help me,
y mi boca es un buzón.
and my mouth is a pillar-box (it's talking about a really big mouth).
Si charlo con Luis, con Pedro o con Juan,
If I talk with Luis, with Pedro or with Juan
hablando de mi los hombres están,
men are talking about me
critican si ya la línea perdí,
They criticize if I lost my shape/figure
se fijan si voy, si vengo o si fui.
they see if I'm going, if I'm coming or if I went.

Se dicen muchas cosas,
They say so many things (I'd say: "so many things are said")
mas si el bulto no interesa
but if the package doesn't matter
Por qué pierden la cabeza ocupándose de mi?
Why do they lose their minds thinking about me?

Yo sé que muchos que desprecian con mentiras,
I know that many of those who criticize with lies (about me) (I'd use despise instead of criticize)
y suspiran y se mueren cuando piensan en mi amor
they sigh and they die when they think about my love
Y más de alguno se derrite si suspiro,
And more than one melts if I sigh,
y se queda si lo miro, resoplándo con temor.
And stays, if I stare (at him), puffing with fear.

Si fea soy, pongámosle,
If I'm ugly, let's think is true,
que de eso ya, yo me enteré.
I already knew about it, (I'd say: "about that, I already heard/found out")
Mas la fealdad que Dios me dió,
But the ugliness that God gave to me
mucha mujer me la envidió,
was envied by many women
y no dirán que me creí,
And they won't say: I'm self-worshiping,
porque modesta siempre fui
because I always was modest
yo soy asi
I'm this way (I'd say: "I'm like this" or "this is the way I am")

Y ocultan de mi
And they hide about me... (about her, her qualities; not from her, like playing hide & seek )
ocultan que yo tengo unos ojos soñadores
They hide about me that I have got a dreamer eyes
y ademas otros timones que producen sensacion
And besides other things that cause sensation
si soy fea se que en cambio tengo un cutis de muñeca
If I'm ugly, I know however that I have got a doll skin (I'd say: "the complexion of a doll")
los que dicen que soy chueca no me han visto en camison
And for those who say I limp walk, they haven't seen me in a nightgown
los hombres de mi critican la voz,
Men, about me, criticize my voice
el modo de andar la pinta la tos
My way to walk, the look, the cough
critican si ya la línea perdí,
They criticize if I've lost my shape/figure
se fijan si voy, si vengo o si fui.
they see if I'm going, if I'm coming or if I went.

Se dicen muchas cosas,
They say so many things (I'd say: "so many things are said")
mas si el bulto no interesa
but if the package doesn't matter
Por qué pierden la cabeza ocupándose de mi?
Why do they lose their minds thinking about me?

Yo sé que muchos que desprecian con mentiras,
I know that many of those who criticize with lies (about me) (I'd use despise instead of criticize)
y suspiran y se mueren cuando piensan en mi amor
they sigh and they die when they think about my love
Y más de alguno se derrite si suspiro,
And more than one melts if I sigh,
y se queda si lo miro, resoplándo con temor.
And stays, if I stare (at him), puffing with fear.

Si fea soy, pongámosle,
If I'm ugly, let's think is true,
que de eso ya, yo me enteré.
I already knew about it, (I'd say: "about that, I already heard/found out")
Mas la fealdad que Dios me dió,
But the ugliness that God gave to me
mucha mujer me la envidió,
was envied by many women
y no dirán que me creí,
And they won't say: I'm self-worshiping,
porque modesta siempre fui
because I always was modest
yo soy asi
I'm this way (I'd say: "I'm like this" or "this is the way I am")

well, here are my inputs... I did some lil corrections (typos mostly, your translation was great) those are both in bold and italic, what I changed from your version

between () you'll find my "opinion", your version is correct, just a matter of interpretation

as far as the lunfardo, not many complicated words, but some things can't be translated into english, the same way there are things that can't be translated from that language into spanish, spe idiomatic expressions

the only one I still have doubts about is "me creí". I'm sure there's another way, more colloq, to say "creido" or "me la crei" or something similar... it'll come to me eventually and I'll let you now

Well, thank you

"Malevo", "compadrón", con estas palabras usésinónimos". pero con "me creí" no tengo idea de cómo traducirlo al inglés, más que creo que es algo típico de acá, por eso utilicé "soy un/a ególatra" ... Debe haber un giro idiomático en inglés reflejando lo mismo, pero no tengo idea ..

Muchas gracias señorita!

How about "self-absorbed"? Just an idea...

Hola Lady_A!!! Long time not see you! (because I haven't been here fo rso long )

Well, your word is useful and similar to mine:

self-ab·sorbed (slfb-sôrbd, -zôrbd)
adj.
Excessively self-involved.

Ex: He's self-asorbed

Self´-wor`ship
n. 1. The idolizing of one's self; immoderate self-conceit.

Ex: He's a self-worship

I just realized that I used it like adjetive and it's in fact a noun

Thank you !

yeah, still I'm positive there's an idiomatic expression in english closer to what the song says...
well, as I said, it'll come to me eventually... and I'll be like: "Eureka!"

but your outcome is just as good, I wouldn't have thought of that myself...

Por cierto, me tiraron estas sugerencias en wordreference:

Para "Y no digan que me creí, porque modesta siempre fui"

Hay modismos modernos que significan algo parecido:
And don't say that I thought I was all that, because I've always been modest
And don't say that I thought I was the bomb, because I've always been modest
And don't say that I thought I was the ****, because I've always been modest

También existen expresiones más antiguos:
And don't say that I thought I was the cat's pyjamas, because I've always been modest
And don't say that I thought I was the cat's meow, because I've always been modest

O lo puedes decir sin modismos:
And don't say that I thought a lot of myself, because I've always been modest

think highly of oneself's!!!!

esa era!!!! me acorde por la ultima frase que pusiste