Spanish to English Art/Literary Music Songwriting

Hi all,

I'm translating a Spanish-language song that was sung by Ronnie Drew/The Dubliners many moons ago. It is their version of the song "Ojos Negros" or "Yo vendo dos ojos negros".

To cut a long story short, this will be the official translation of the song for a new tribute-like formation of the Dubliners in collaboration with another singer, who want to record an English-language version of the song in memory of the late, great Ronnie.

I have been instructed to keep all meaning/tone/style as close as possible to how Ronnie Drew would have rendered this song in English, had he done a version in that language (which he didn't) - a tall order, I know! Basically, the singer in this new formation doesn't speak Spanish, hence the English version. Plus there is a lot of interest in the Spanish-language recordings of Ronnie Drew, which a lot of English-speakers are interested in understanding.

I'm interested in any Ronnie Drew/Dubliners fans out there who might be able to help me with this rendition.

I've been provided with a version of the song in Spanish, which is a variation of the original - but is the version they sung. You can take a listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqWN-xXSgbE

I've been working on the translation, which it's far from finished, and I'm having problems with the two opening lines.

Here's the first verse, chorus and second verse to give you an idea of the route I've been taking with the rendition:

SPANISH
Que vendo dos ojos negros,
¿Quién me los quieren comprar?
Que los venden por embusteros,
Porque me han pagados mal.

A veces dan confianza,
a veces me hacen dudar,
a veces dan esperanza,
y no sé cómo se acertar.

Yo más quisiera,
más te amo yo,
y todas las noches la paso,
suspirando por tu amor.

ENGLISH
Two eyes of black I sell them,
Will anyone take them from me?
On sale for being deceitful,
they weren’t good to me.

At times they made me trust them,
at times they made me doubt,
at times they made me hopeful,
I just never got it right.

For me my greatest dream is,
to love you forever more,
but nights I spend a-wonderin’,
a-longin’ for your love.

It's crucial I get the tone/style of the translation just right. It has to reflect the tone/style that Ronnie Drew would have used. And has to fit comfortably with the rhythm of the original Spanish version, so that people can directly relate to the new version.

Are there any creative thinkers out there that A: understand the task in hand, based on the works of Ronnie Drew, and B: that can help me think of a better way of putting these two opening lines??