Lamento de la Sala de Espera

Ay... ay, ay, ay...

At nine o'clock I arrived, ay, so full of hope
With my insurance card and my little envelope
They said, "Siéntese, señor, you're next in line"
That was the morning... and now look at the time

Ay, ay, ay, la espera
Another room, another chair
Ay, ay, ay, mi corazón
I wait here, and then I wait there
"Just a few more minutes," they tell me
Sweet little lies floating in the air
Ay, la espera... it follows me everywhere

In the front room the television weeps
The same smiling doctors, the same facts it keeps
"Did you know...?" Yes, I know, I have seen it all
Forty times the same photos crawl across the wall
And a magazine that promises, señor
The hottest new look of nineteen ninety-four

Ay, ay, ay, la espera
Another room, another chair
Ay, ay, ay, mi corazón
I wait here, and then I wait there
"Just a few more minutes," they tell me
Sweet little lies floating in the air
Ay, la espera... it follows me everywhere

They brought me back, I cried, "¡Gracias a Dios!"
But a small, cold room, only the clock and us two
Then the drops, the drops, my eyes are full moons
To the dilating room — "The doctor sees you soon"
Then another room to wait for the doctor again
Then a test, then the counselor... ¿cuándo? When?

"We had an emergency add-on," she whispers, so sad
"And the machine is down," the saddest news I have had
She gives me a gas card — but I cannot drive!
With these owl eyes I am lucky to be alive
She writes in my chart, "No wait time next time"
Ay, qué bonita mentira, so sweet, so sublime

"Would you like to be rescheduled for another day?"
No, señorita... I have come too far to walk away
Olé... I am still waiting... olé