By Mike Sain't Louis ·
Ni un pimiento: crying over the past isn't worth it
Why does it feel like nothing matters anymore? The question opens Ni un pimiento (Not Worth a Pepper) with an almost philosophical air, and the song quickly brings it down to earth with a very kitchen-like measure: the suffering is no longer worth even a pinch of salt.
I really like how the lyrics jump between tones. It starts with a partner who promises total devotion and leaves everything to chance, continues with a cupid who shoots and misses, with people who cross their fingers and pray to the neighbour, and reaches an unexpectedly upbeat conclusion: if something bad comes, don't be scared, because you're a fallen angel, a good Samaritan.
Expired and second-hand
The chorus is the central advice: crying over the past isn't worth a pepper, better to laugh out loud, because what you've been left with is a tattooed lesson. Up to that point, almost a self-help song. But on the second round things take a turn, for the better. It turns out the past, on top of everything, was expired, second-hand and pawed over. And the narrator, like a good Samaritan, saved it when it had already been thrown on the floor and was about to be crushed under someone's boots.
That image of rescuing something nobody wanted feels very copla to me, very much like someone who gives too much and later realises what they've picked up.
And then comes my favourite moment, which is pure domestic comedy. You'll be happier, the lyrics say, walking hand in hand with a portable freezer and a vacuum bag sealer. I find it a marvellous image: preferring appliances to certain company, preserving food instead of preserving certain people.
The ending holds nothing back. It calls him a thief of years and finishes with a line of total disgust that I won't reproduce here, but that makes it clear there won't be any reconciliation kiss.
It's a song for the day after you realise you wasted too much time on someone. Listen to it while you tidy the freezer, for example. You'll feel in better company than you think.
The full lyrics are below. Listen on Spotify
Lyrics · Ni Un Pimiento
¿Por qué parece que nada importa ya?El sufrimiento no vale ni una pizca de salUna pareja que promete devoción totalSe olvida del mundo y deja todo al azar
Si cupido dispara pero falla el destinoSe cruzan los dedos se reza al vecinoPero si algo malo viene no te asustes mi hermanoEres un ángel caído un buen samaritano
No vale un pimiento llorar por el pasadoMejor ríe alto que el mundo está marcadoLo que te han dejado es lección tatuadoEres un guerrero listo para lo inesperado
Que No vale un pimiento llorar por el pasadoSi es que encima estaba caducado y era de segunda mano, estaba toqueteadoY yo como soy el buen samaritanoLo salvé cuando lo habían descartado,Le habían tirado al suelo y estaban a punto de aplastarlo con las botas del malo de naturaleza violenta, las muertes son buenas sí, pero que lenta.Mejor ríe alto que el mundo está marcadoQue la estafa emocional ya te la han dadoQue No vale un pimiento llorar por el pasadoSerás más feliz con un congelador portátil paseando de la mano y un sellador de bolsas al vacíoNi un pimiento,como si fueras con un ladrón de añosinfectoun elemento, preferiría comerme un excremento de un bocado a darte un beso.
Lyrics as published with the official music video, on the MIKE SAIN'T LOUIS label.