Lila Downs
Minimum Wage lyrics with English translation
- Language
- Spanish
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 2008
- Genre
- Cumbia
- Length
- 4:09
Travelled seven hundred miles
'Cross the border to the States
With a plastic bottle running
'Cross the desert in a shake
Come to English-only country
Hiding from the minutemen
Come to make this place my home
Run a long, long way from them
Story of a lifetime
For the minimum wage
Well, they chased me through the desert
Then the agents tracked me down
Then they asked me why in Spanish
"Why you keep on coming back?"
Well, I left my dad in Jersey
And my sisters in Des Moines
They've been working in this country
Picking lettuce, washing floors
Story of a lifetime
For the minimum wage
(Minimum wage)
Well, they raised me to eight dollars
'Cause I washed the dishes fast
Cause I did the dishes quickly
Well, the boss, he got me working
Bueno, el jefe, me tiene trabajando
On the porch and in the bath
Then I wash the dish and rinse it
Then I go home, late, and sleep
Well, I need to be awake now
Bueno, necesito estar despierto ahora
'Cause I walk out in my sleep
When I see that black van coming
Cuando veo venir esa furgoneta negra
Well, I know I'm sure to run
Goddamn, they may just caught me
Caught me on the spot
For the minimum wage
(Minimum wage)
No one forced the boss to hire me
But it's nearly been fifteen
When I left my baby crying
With the promise in my skin
On the outskirts of L.A
I was sired to native corn
Lending hands ten thousand years
It's the season for the crop
It's the season for the harvest
It's my people doing the picking
In the valley of the dolls
It's a decent job to work at
It's a good job to be doing
Any day I'll take this job
Ethiopian, Colombian
Pakistani, Cantonese
Every man that I run into
Every man that I come across
All the kitchens on the strip
And they're plugging in their maos
Smiling with glee
They're a long, long way from home now
But they're looking to be free
California, Alabama
And Missouri, Oregon
They've been working like their fathers do
A long, long time ago
For the minimum wage
(Minimum wage)
For the minimum wage
(Minimum wage)
For, for, for, for the minimum wage
(Minimum wage)
It's a bumpy road to ride it
Es un camino lleno de baches para recorrerlo
But I'll take it anytime
Pero lo tomaré en cualquier momento
It's a bumpy road to take
It's a rough path to tread
But I'll take it any day
Pero lo aceptaría cualquier día
It's a bumpy road to take
Es un camino lleno de baches por recorrer
But I'll take it anytime
Pero lo tomaré en cualquier momento
For the minimum wage
Por el salario mínimo
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Key vocabulary
- he
- I haveA2
- van
- goA2
- travelled
- travel
- hundred
- 100
- come
- eatsA2
- miles
- thousandsA2
- chased
- chase
- jersey
- shirtA1
- des
- de-A1
- moines
- monks
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About this song
Lila Downs is a Mexican-born singer-songwriter and performer. She makes Indigenous Mexican-rooted music that blends North American jazz and Latin American folk, and is known for albums such as Ofrenda and for receiving Grammy and Latin Grammy awards.