Blackbird singing

[aleCcowaN]

The other days a zorzal (Turdus pilaris), local version of the blackbird (Turdus merula)wake me up 4 a.m. (summer time) during the first globally warmed night of late Spring. While I was trying to get to sleep again I remembered the old song and realized I may got something wrong about it. I am curious about the way English speakers perceive this:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
....

I always assumed 'singing' works there as a sort of verbal adjective, so I always translated it to:

Mirlo que cantas en lo profundo de la noche,
...

My question is, for the English speaker, is the blackbird actually singing when that phrase is said? or it's just a reference to the bird's habits? or both? Knowing the rest of the lyrics changes the way 'singing' is perceived?

Maybe this looks like a silly question to ask but it has to do with the way the brains process the information, and I'd be grateful for any feedback given in this subject.

Thanks in advance.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

My question is, for the English speaker, is the blackbird actually singing when that phrase is said?

Yes, definitely. If you are describing something habitual but not actually happening, you would always say something like Blackbird which sings in the dead of night.

[aleCcowaN]

Thank you. It seems I was lost in translation. "Que cantas ..." is ambiguous because the bird can be singing at the moment or not. A more exact -and horrible- translation would be "Mirlo que estás cantando en la quietud de la noche".