This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
auto de procedimiento abreviado
sin necesidad de requerimiento

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Como ayer contigo fui, hoy contigo también voy;

English translation:

Just as yesterday I was by your side, today again I\'m with you

May 23, 2011 16:45
12 yrs ago
Spanish term

Como ayer contigo fui, hoy contigo también voy;

Spanish to English Social Sciences Poetry & Literature
The first two sentences of a Rafael Alberti's poem. The whole paragraph is
Como ayer contigo fui, hoy contigo también voy; que no sería quien soy
si no te siguiera a ti…
It is from 1963 and I cannot find a translation.
Thank you
Proposed translations (English)
4 Just as yesterday I was by your side, today again I'm with you
4 +2 As I went with you yesterday, I go again with you today.
3 +2 Yesterday I was at your side , I'll be there again today
5 Since I was with you yesterday, I'll be with you today as well.
4 +1 As in the past I was with you, today I remain by your side;
4 as I was with you yesterday, I am with you today
4 "As yesterday with you I went, today too with you I go"
3 Since I was with you yesterday, so today I will go with you;
3 -1 As yesterday I went with you, with you today too I will go
3 -1 As I went with you yesrerday, so I will again today;

Discussion

Carol Gullidge May 23, 2011:
@ Martha re contigo does "tigo" refer to a person or something more abstract like a nation or a country, a community or an ideal?
Marian Vieyra May 23, 2011:
In verse? Just as I followed you yesterday, so I follow today.
For I could not be who I want to be,
Without following you, all the way.
Martha CF (asker) May 23, 2011:
Hi Simon, I would prefer it it is in verse. Thanks
Carol Gullidge May 23, 2011:
D Lyons and I was being a bit pernickety, as I tend to get with this sort of thing, having spent a huge chunk of my MA on poetry translation!
DLyons May 23, 2011:
@Carol Of course! I was thinking in the past tense. Or more accurately, not really thinking.
Carol Gullidge May 23, 2011:
D Lyons re missing combination surely that's because of "voy"??
DLyons May 23, 2011:
The missing combination "As I went with you yesterday, so I will be with you again today;"

Interesting that the others seem possible but this one doesn't :-)
Simon Bruni May 23, 2011:
Does it need to be in verse? Or is it just the meaning you want?

Proposed translations

28 mins
Selected

Just as yesterday I was by your side, today again I'm with you

Just as yesterday I was by your side,
today again I'm with you

But of course it will all depend on whether you are using a certain meter or other devices like rhyme.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : 'so' before today
32 mins
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you Simon and Oliver for the comment"
10 mins

as I was with you yesterday, I am with you today

sugg
Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : Needs 'so' in the middle to link the two clauses
41 mins
Something went wrong...
-1
13 mins

As yesterday I went with you, with you today too I will go

-
Peer comment(s):
disagree Andrew Bramhall : It's supposed to be artistic, not autistic, sorry, no native would say this. Sorry if it upsets you, no personal offence intended,but your answer, unusually for you, is linguistic dross.Think about it.//Sadly it is.
2 mins
Just 'no'? Any reason why??? // Your comment is unjustified, highly insulting and rude!! You badly need classes in social skills.// "No personal offence intended" when you've just referred to my answer as 'autistic' and 'linguistic dross'???
neutral Carol Gullidge : the use of inversion in EN poetry went out ages ago (don't ask me when, but it sounds archaic!) even though it is still used by other European poets. And I think this is (at least!) a double inversion :) Whatever, the 2nd half does sound awkward :(
1 hr
Something went wrong...
-1
13 mins

As I went with you yesrerday, so I will again today;

...for I would not know who I was if I didn't follow you along.'

Doubt there is an official translation somehow.Bur this covers the meaning and flows naturally IMHO.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Lisa McCarthy : You can´t even spell 'yesterday'. Even a non-native could manage that!
10 mins
Ha ha ha
neutral Carol Gullidge : re yr explanation: isn't it "I would not BE who I am if..."?// "No SERIA..." = "I would not know"? Surely that would be "sabría..."
59 mins
No, sorry, correct as it stands
Something went wrong...
28 mins

Since I was with you yesterday, so today I will go with you;

Como ayer contigo fui,
hoy contigo también voy,
que no sería quien soy
si no te siguiera a ti.

Mi mano y mi corazón,
¡contigo!, que Asturias grita,
como ayer:¡Viva el Nalón
y viva la dinamita!
Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : Needs 'as well' at the end, or 'also' after 'so,' to sound natural.
24 mins
Something went wrong...
+2
38 mins

As I went with you yesterday, I go again with you today.

If we try too hard to make language sound beautiful, we inevitably screw it up.



Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : You said it.If you put 'Just' before 'as', and 'so' before 'I go again', it would make sense.
18 mins
agree Carol Gullidge : I'd move "again" immediately before "today", but that's only nitpicking perhaps. Also, I'd omit Oliver's "Just" and "so", which make it sound more like an essay than a poem. However I disagree that language shouldn't be made to sound beautiful in a poem
2 hrs
Thanks Carol! I just meant that sometimes the simplest language sounds the most beautiful.
agree Salloz : Yep, "again" immediately before "today". It sounds very nice to me.
3 hrs
Thank you!
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr

Yesterday I was at your side , I'll be there again today

ir con - to accompany

Thanks to DLyons for posting more of the poem. This seems to be about regional patriotism. Literal isn't very poetic and poetic licence isn't very accurate.
Peer comment(s):
agree Carol Gullidge : My favourite so far. Also/Especially yr rhyming vsn in the Discussion box. But I'd remove "Just" for the sake of (a) metre, and (b) to prevent it sounding too heavy. And it's almost inevitable, when rhyming, to sacrifice a certain amount of accuracy
2 hrs
Thanks, Carol. Agree re 'just' also needs extra 'you' - so I follow you today. My version makes the Spanish look good!
agree Charles Davis
3 hrs
Thanks, Charles
Something went wrong...
1 hr

"As yesterday with you I went, today too with you I go"

Another option.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Carol Gullidge : nice rhythm, but those inversions (with you I went/with you I go) went out in English poetry a long time ago, even though they seem to be used in the poetry of other languages. The overall effect is rather archaic even for the 1960s :(
13 mins
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

Since I was with you yesterday, I'll be with you today as well.

The poem seems to talk about loyalty in relationships.
Something went wrong...
+1
2 hrs

As in the past I was with you, today I remain by your side;

My stab at it. I find yesterday to clumsy in there.

Como ayer contigo fui,
hoy contigo también voy;

As in the past I was with you,
today I remain by your side;
Peer comment(s):
agree Suzanne Donnelly
1 day 3 hrs
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search