"Mejor Morir En Pie" by Tierra Santa, English translation of lyrics

"Better to Die Standing"

Album: Mejor Morir En Pie, 2006
Style: Heavy metal rock, anthem
Country: Spain
Listen:
This song is about fighting for your rights, your freedom, and your way of life. Hear it at YouTube here.
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Sorry for the scarce updates last month. I am busy with real life deadlines. February will probably be like this,
too.
Translation:
No he de rendirme aunque caiga al andar.
No estar vivo si he de huir.
Si por vivir, no he de ser dueo de m,
Mejor en pie morir.
I must not give up even if I fall as I march.
I will not be alive if I have to flee.
If in order to live, I am not to be the owner of myself,
Better to die standing.
S que nadie elige tropezar
En las piedras que estn en el camino.
S que cuando empiece a caminar,
He de labrar yo mi propio destino.
I know that no one chooses to trip
Over the rocks on the road.
I know that when I begin to walk,
It must be I who cultivates my own destiny.
Ser quien decida cuantos pasos he de dar,
Ser libre para elegir;
Si por vivir, no he de ser dueo de m,
Mejor en pie morir.
To be the one who decides how many steps I am to take,
To be free to choose;
If in order to live, I am not to be the owner of myself,
Better to die standing.
S que en esta vida hay que vivir
Con el dolor que dan las heridas.
S que al caminar he de sufrir
Y cada vez ser ms dura la cada.
I know that in this life one must live
With the pain the wounds give us.
I know that as I walk I shall suffer
And every time the fall will be harder.
No he de rendirme aunque caiga al andar.
No estar vivo si he de huir.
Si por vivir, no he de ser dueo de m,

Mejor en pie morir.

I must not give up even if I fall as I march.
I will not be alive if I have to flee.
If in order to live, I am not to be the owner of myself,
Better to die standing.
[Instrumental break]
Nunca nadie habr de doblegar
El valor que alimenta mi vida.
Nunca harn mi pierna arrodillar
Aunque el dolor atormente mis heridas.
Never will there be anyone to defeat
The valor that feeds my life.
They will never make my legs kneel
Even if the pain torments my wounds.
No habr quien pueda mi espritu quebrar,
Vencer mi alma ni mi fe.
Si he de caer, antes elijo poder
Mejor morir en pie.
There will be no one able to break my spirit,
Defeat my soul nor my faith.
If I am to fall, before then I choose:
Better to die standing.
Translation Notes:
Tierra Santa (the group's name) means "Holy Land."
--The title of this song calls back to a famous quote from Emiliano Zapata, a general from the Mexican
Revolution:
"Es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas."
It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.
--Ser quien decida cuantos pasos he de dar
To be the one who decides how many steps I am to take
[Ser] {quien} [decida] (cuantos pasos) ((he de dar))
[To be] {who, the one who} [decides] (how many steps) ((I am to take))
In this line, the verb dar [lit. to give] is used where in English we would use use the verb "to take" instead.
Spanish uses dar pasos [lit. to give steps] with the meaning of the English "to take steps."