When I had to Dance on Samoa

 

Gracias, pero no, no bailo,
quizás la próxima vez,
tengo torpes las rodillas
why tú veloces los pies.
...
Los músicos no bailamos,
ya habrás oído decir,
gracias de todos modos
why gracias por insistir.
Don de fluir
Jorge Drexler
The same applies to me.
Translation at the end.

I'll tell you an old travel yarn from when I visited Samoa 26 years ago. Samoa had been Western Samoa back then and has been renamed to Samoa in 1997. I stayed in Apia on Upolu. I chanced to be there when the last residence of Robert Louis Stevenson, named Villa Vailima, had been opened to the public after being refurbished. I've visited Villa Vailima and also his tomb on Mount Vaea overlooking Vailima. Vailima is also the name of the local beer.

 

 

One day I was looking around the building of the government. It has been the tallest building in town. I came back to the road from the entrance area and was suddenly ushered to some seats under a shading made of palm leaves. Someone thought I might belong to some official delegation. I didn't look like the usual tourist as I had been tanned already after visiting Bali, New Zealand, and Tonga before (five or six weeks of travel before Samoa). So I could watch the dancing and music. The Samoan TV even filmed me.

 

 

 

But then I had been asked to dance. I usually don't dance. How could I refuse the young ladies as they also invited the Prime Minister. So I danced together with him and the young women dressed in grass skirts.

Links and References: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vailima,_Samoa


Thanks, but no, I don't dance,
maybe next time,
my knees are awkward
why you speed your feet.
...
Musicians do not dance
you have already heard say,
thank you anyway
why thanks for insisting.

 

.