On Translation vs. Covering

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The Question

Someone asked me yesterday: "Why not just call these covers?"

Fair question. Most of these songs are well-known classics. But calling them "covers" doesn't quite capture what we're doing.

Translation

When you translate a poem from Spanish to English, you're not just swapping words. You're making choices about:

  • Rhythm and meter (does it flow in the new language?)
  • Cultural references (does this metaphor work here?)
  • Emotional tone (what's lost, what's gained?)

A good translation honors the original while acknowledging it's been relocated.

Musical Translation

That's what we're doing with these arrangements. "Gimme Three Steps" isn't a Southern rock song anymore—it's a New Orleans second-line parade. The original DNA is there (the melody, the narrative, the swagger), but the cultural and rhythmic context has shifted.

It's not "better" or "worse" than the original. It's just... relocated.

Why This Matters

My kids asked for these songs. But they're growing up in a different musical landscape than I did. A straight cover would be nostalgic—for me. A translation lets the song meet them where they are, in the musical world they inhabit now.

That's the whole project: making these songs feel both familiar and new, honoring their history while letting them live in the present.