The new season starts and that means a bunch of new collegues from all over Europe (around 3000 this summer!) One of them is Pedro from Spain. Another camerero loco ! (maybe even more loco than me :)) Specially dedicated to him this song from 2002.
The song tells the story of a pimp-like “afro-gipsy, rastafari” character named Diego who walks into a crowded nightclub at midnight, and the DJ, as he sees Diego walk in, plays the “twelve-o’clock anthem”, “the song he desires most”, which happens to be the 1979 rap hit “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. The first verse of Rapper’s Delight: “I say the hip hop, the hippie…”, pronounced phonetically in Spanish the way it would sound to someone who does not understand English, becomes the chorus of The Ketchup Song. Although technically meaningless and sometimes referred to as gibberish, the chorus is a more-or-less phonetic pronunciation of the first verse almost in its entirety.
- I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie
- Aserejé ja de jé de jebe
- do the hip hip hop, a you don’t stop
- tu de jebere sebiunouva
- the rockin’ to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie
- majabi an de bugui
- to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat
- an de buididipí
(source)
The video is the Spanglish version, with these lyrics (and the Spanish words translated by me). The Spanish lyrics and translation can be found here
Friday night it’s party time
feeling ready looking fine,
viene diego rumbeando – Diego Rumbeano comes
with the magic in his eyes
checking every girl in sight,
grooving like he does the mambo
And he’s the man allí en la disco, there in the disco
playing sexy feeling hotter,
he’s the king bailando el ritmo ragatanga, dancing the ragatanga rhythm
and the DJ that he knows well,
on the spot always around twelve,
plays the mix that diego mezcla con la salsa, mixes with the salsa
y la baila and he dances y la canta and he sings and he dances
[Chorus:]
aserejè ja de jè de jebe tu de jebere seibiunouva,
majavi an de bugui an de buididipi,
aserejè ja de jè de jebe tu de jebere seibiunouva,
majavi an de bugui an de buididipi
Many think it’s brujería, witchcrafted
how he comes and disappears,
every move will hypnotize you,
some will call it chulería, natural charm
others say that its the real,
rastafari afrogitano rastafarian afrogypsy
And he’s the man allí en la disco,
playing sexy feeling hotter,
he’s the king bailando el ritmo ragatanga,
and the DJ that he knows well,
on the spot always around twelve,
plays the mix that diego mezcla con la salsa,
y la baila and he dances y la canta
[Repeat Chorus]
