Why do the instructions rhyme in English?

The notes on the map to One-Eyed Willy's treasure are all in Spanish.

When the Goonies get to the organ trap/puzzle, Mouth reads the instructions:

To move on, play the tune......as each note is said. If you make too many mistakes... ...ye will surely be...

Be what?

...muerto.

What is that? Come on.

Dead.

But the Spanish translation of the instructions as read by Mouth would have been

Para seguir adelante, toca la melodía...cuándo toque cada nota. Si cometes demasiados errores...seguramente estarás muerto

Do any of the supplemental materials explain why the English translation mysteriously rhymes when it was originally written in Spanish?

the-goonies

Best Answer

First of all, though I'm sure it's not the answer you'd be most pleased to hear, but it's The Goonies. This movie is primarily intended as a light-hearted entertaining adventure. The fact that the words magically rhyme in English is just a minor logical flaw sacrificed for the movie's atmosphere, since the movie is originally done and supposed to make sense and completely unfold its entire effect in English.

If you really want some kind of in-universe answer, you also have to keep in mind that you don't necessarily need to translate everything literally, especially poetry. We could thus assume that the original Spanish words rhymed, too, and Mouth did not only translate the actual words, but also their rhyming scheme to keep up the intended impression of the words, sacrificing some exactness in translation for the sake of style and atmosphere. I agree that it is very far-fetched for Mouth to be able to do that (though, he isn't particularly bad in Spanish) and do it right on the fly in this moment (especially since his surprise over "dead" implied that he hadn't read it in full beforehand), but nearer you won't get to an actual in-universe answer for this, I guess.