Cumbia de salvación from Razor Edges of My Tongue

Cumbia de salvación

Cumbia sabrosa cumbia
para ti yo bailo hasta amanacer*

Legs
wrapped around each other
on the floor where wood and skin meet
caderas to the right, caderas to the left
and what it is that en realidad manda en mi país
no es
el ritmo sabrosón de El Salvador
it's el dólar, el peso, el colón,
los pedacitos de hueso that you find on the floor
keeping us in need of salvation
and that painful inflamation in my hips, my feet
isn't from dancing
but from scrubbing the greed from the corners of the room
from the plates we use to eat

watch
my body move through all kinds of beats
but first, I gotta go to el 99c and then to the carnicería
shiny dishes new towels red juice of tripas bowels yummy
are you watching
as I take lessons in how to make deals that will keep me sweeping
7 days a week
I save my pennies here, so that before I visit my peeps
I can stop by the neon lit duty free store
tommy hillfiger striped american feel
it's what everyone fiends

pa pa ra ra pa rap cu cu cumbia
yes girl it's the remix
I used to think that meant the record skipped
now it reminds me of how my shoes
pass over the same places on the concrete
stains on the street left
from people tripping over how and what to acquire
sellers nod their heads, open their shoulders for people who
need want desire
plenty
of clients dancing right into their arms
deseos de El Salvador trailing after them

Es dinero el que manda en mi país
Es el ritmo sabrosón de El Salvador

para allá, para acá, y para qué
ay, you don't need to buy
another useless thing
hey did you hear about fulanita
heard she's out of work
and never goes dancing anymore

¿y eso ?

es que,
she danced right into the store
and choked
on her debt

Cumbia de mis amores

*Words in italics are sung, most are samples or twists of the song Sabrosa Cumbia by Marito Rivera y su Grupo Bravo.