Él era un hombre de campo
He was a country man (farmer)
Oriundo de Nuevo León
Native (hailed) of Nuevo León
Tenía apenas 19 años
He was barley 19 years old
Su nombre: José Pérez León
His name: José Pérez León
Tenía un primo lejano
He had a distance cousin
Que de mojado se fue
Who had crossed over illegally (Mojado translates to "wet" but in this case it's referring to some who is a "wetback". The direct translations is *who wet, left*.)
Al poco tiempo le envió un telegrama diciendo ven pronto José
Shortly he (the cousin) sent a telegram saying "come quickly José"
Pues un trabajo le había ya encontrando piscando algodón como él
For he had found him a job picking cotton like him
Y se fue, y se fue
And he left, and he left
Ahogando el llanto en el adiós con su mujer
Snuffing out the wail of his goodbye with his woman
Se fue, sin saber que de ese viaje ya jamás iba a volver
He left, without knowing that from that trip he would never return
Pobre José
Poor José
Cuando llegó a la frontera
When he arrived at the border
Con Willy se entrevistó
With Willy he interviewed
Era el pollero más afamado y astuto de la región
He was the coyote (the guide that smuggles people across the border) most famous and intuitive of the region
Le dijo, Pepe, hoy estás de suerte, mañana te cruzo yo
He (the coyote) said, "Pepe today is your luck day, tomorrow I'll be the one that crosses you over (through the border)
La madrugada de un viernes
The early morning of a Friday
En una vieja estación
At an old train station
30 inocentes pagaban su cuota, entre ellos José Pérez León
30 innocents paid their fee (coyotes aren't free and are definitely not cheap), amongst them, José Pérez León
Y sin dudarlo, a todos metieron en el interior de un vagón
And without a doubt, everyone was put in the interior of a railway carriage
El tren cruzó al otro lado
Inside the train, they crossed to the other side
Casi 7 horas después
Almost 7 hours later
Fue cuando el aire empezó a terminarse, y ya nada pudieron hacer
Was when the air started to run out, and by then nothing could be done
Nadie escuchó aquellos gritos de auxilio, y la puerta no quiso ceder
No one heard those screams for help (S.O.S.), and the door would not budge
Uno por uno se fueron cayendo y así falleció el buen José
One by one they started falling and that's how the good José died
Y se fue, y se fue
And he left, and he left
A cruzar el cielo con sus ansias de crecer
To cross into heaven taking with him his excitement to grow (his hopes and dreams for the future
Se fue, sin saber
He left, without knowing
Que ya su esposa un hijo suyo iba a tener
That his wife was with his child (it's implied that their goodbye is the reason she's pregnant)
Pobre, José
Poor José
Así termina la historia, no queda más que contar
This is how his story ends, there is nothing left to tell
De otro paisano que arriesga la vida y que muere como ilegal
Just another fellow countryman that risks his life and dies as an illegal
De aquel José, que mil sueños tenía y que a casa
The story of José, who had a thousand dreams and back to his home
Jamás volverá
He'll never return