Buenos Dias Amigos,
I'm learning Spanish because I want to know what the people in the Mexican restaurants are saying about me.
Maybe I should go back to work instead?

Hola Don, ¿cómo estás?
Or you could take a trip to sunny Spain and entertain while practice the spanish language.

Work is a four letter word!

Gary (The retired one.)

The only phrase I know is "Donde esta el bano? ha ha Sometimes that phrase comes in handy especially when you've been drinking a lot of fluids.

Que bueno mi amigo. Me da mucho gusto.

I took Spanish throughout college which helped a lot with the grammar and writing but I really gained fluency when I started playing in a norteña band in all the cantinas on the north side of Fortworth, Texas. After that I played drums on a cruise ship that sailed from Los Angeles, CA down to Baja California. Also I got to work with a salsa band in Los Angeles at a night club called "Caché" Most the guys in that band were Cuban and Puerto Rican which got me more exposed to the Caribbean style Spanish. Eventually I took a 3 month Spanish course in Cuernavaca, Mexico where I lived with a family. It is there I met my wife of 22 years, and it has been
a continuous Spanish lesson everyday since!

I too only know one phrase,'EL TORO POO POO', which pretty much describes most of Donny's posts speculating on new unannounced arranger keyboards .

chas

I have a Puerto Rican sister in law, whom I have known long before she married my brother. I had to learn Spanish when I was around her family, otherwise I wouldn't have known if they were talking bad about me or not. Also learned a fair amount while in the US Navy and stationed in the Mediterranean Sea area, stopping in many Spanish ports of call. Learned there were dozens of different dialects, and some folks in the same country had trouble understanding those in other areas of the same country.

Now that my sister in law has long since moved to Florida, I rarely get to Speak or hear Spanish, therefore, I have lost a lot of my old ability to utilize the language. Still recall how to find the local bars and how to order a beer. Also still sing a few songs in Spanish, but mostly by phonetics - same as the songs I sing in Italian. It's a sad thing when the mind goes, and Carol told me it was the second thing to go - I don't remember what the first was.

All the best, Don,

Gary

Hola Jonny, muy bein, gracias! I would love a trip to Spain! My son played professional basketball over there for several years, so he is fluent in Spanish.

El trabajo es una palabra sucia. That means work is a dirty word. Or at least I think that what it means.

It gives me great pleasure too Paul!
I didn't take Spanish in high school or college, but I wish I had. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant this evening and the receptionist asked "how many". I said, "Cinco, por favor." And she looked at me like I was from another planet and said, "Huh?" Evidently she was English.

I guess if you could only learn one phrase, that would be the one to learn!

Sólo digo' (Just sayin')

Cerveza, por favor! Had a glass of dos equis tonight!
I only do La Bamba, Quando, Quando, Quando, and Before The Next Teardrop Falls in Spanish, but at least now I know what I'm saying! I'm not a sailor, I'm the damned CAPTAIN!

Hola Don,

I just heard a commentary on the NPR show " The Texas Standard"
The segment was called " Lingo for Gringos: Ten Spanish Words Every Texan Should Know" Both my wife and I thought it was funny, and I thought you. You can read or hear the commentary here;

http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/lingo-for-gringos-ten-spanish-words-all-anglos-should-know/

One of the best reasons to learn Spanish is to be able to sing the song that sound great in the language, like La Bamba.

John C.

Orale! Muchas gracias amigo! Muy interesante.

Yes it is. I've done La Bamba, from memory, for at least 40 years, but only knew what a few of the words meant. In is more meaningful now!

John, when translated, the words of La Bamba really don't make a lot of sense, but they sure fit together well in Spanish. Same with I'll Be There Before The Last Teardrop Falls by Freddie Fender. That Spanish verse is absolutely beautiful in Spanish and flows extremely well, but when translated to English, well, it kinda fall short.

Same holds true with some of the Italian songs I used to perform regularly. Never really learned much Italian when I was in the Navy or from my Italian relatives, but the songs performed by Dean Martin always sounded so romantic that I had to learn them in order to keep my music job in Baltimore's Little Italy. Phonetics worked out well for me and I really had no idea what the words I was singing actually meant.

All the best,

Gary

I did sing Italian, German and Jewish songs on the job; like Dom, I memorized the words. Well at least I memorized how the words sounded.

After a time it was an awakening to find my lyrics were being sung with an American flavor; the original pronunciation of the words was gone. That’s why I feel learning the language is a good idea – you can sing the song with feeling because you know what it is you are saying/singing.

John C.
PS, It’s nice to record yourself from time to time.

Both songs make sense. Here is a good way to analyse La Bamba:
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/r/ritchie_valens/la_bamba.html

Teardrop:

Si te quire de verdad
Y te da felicidad
Te deseo lo mas bueno pa' los dos
Pero si te hace llorar
A mi me puedes hablar
Y estare contigo cuando triste estas

It means something like this, as nearly as I can tell:

If he really wants you
And it gives you happiness
I wish you both the best
But if it makes you cry
You can talk to me
And I'll be with you when you're sad.

John, I often record myself for critiquing purposes ...
I have not learned to sing any songs in Spanish, although I keep promising myself to do so ... There are several songs I do in Italian, and one in particular - Mala Femmena - I sang for years without knowing the full translation, although some words were evident to me and I knew it was about a woman who mistreated her lover ... then I heard a version where the vocalist sang the lyrics "te voglio bene e t'odio" differently than how I had heard them sung previously, so I looked up the translation and found that it meant "I love you and I hate you" ... it gave the line a whole knew meaning and I have sung it differently ever since ...
When I sing "Mala Femmena", I also do an English 'version' to the same melody called "Always You" which I actually learned from my mother ... funny thing is, I can't find that song on the I'net