Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“Let Me Connect You”
Style: Alternative/psychedelic rock, trippy music video.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
No me pidas que llore por ti,
Alguna vez te vi sometido,
Tus ojos caen y flotan en la obscuridad,
Alumbrame, que estoy bien perdido.
Do not ask me to cry for you,
At one point I saw you submerged,
Your eyes fall and float in the darkness,
Light my way, because I am completely lost.
“Love”
Album: Rocanlover (Rockin’ Lover), 2003
Style: Alternative/psychedelic space-travel love song that sounds like it was inspired by The Beatles.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
En tu planeta me quedé,
Fue por un tiempo
Y nunca fue mi plan.
I stayed in your planet,
It was for a time
And it was never my plan.
“It May Be”
Album: A Contracorriente (Against the Current), 2002
Style: Mellow pop rock, romantic duet, emphasis on vocals, few instruments. El Canto del Loco is a former Spanish pop rock band that I do not know very well yet. Amaia Montero is the former lead singer for the band La Oreja de Van Gogh (singing for them 1996-2007). I have translated several of LOVG’s songs. Amaia left LOVG to launch a solo career.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
No sé si quedan amigos,
Ni si existe el amor,
Si puedo contar contigo
Para hablar de dolor.
I don’t know if friends remain,
Nor if love exists,
(Nor) if I can count on you
To talk about pain.
“Hear My Love” Lyrics
Album: Eclípse (Eclipse), 2003
Style: Upbeat rock with flutes and drums
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Tú sabes cómo te deseo.
Tú sabes cómo te he soñado.
Si tú supieras que me muero
Por tu amor y por tus labios.
You know how I desire you.
You know how I have dreamed you.
If you knew that I die
For your love and for your lips.
“Our Vow” (1956) Lyrics
Composer: Benito de Jesús, famously sung by Julio Jaramillo.
Style: Pasillo, waltz-like originally. Many covers in different styles.
Country: Ecuador originally, but popular across Latin America.
Listen: Julio Jaramillo (Ecuador), José Feliciano (Puerto Rico), Javier Solis (Mexico), Vicente Fernández (Mexico) La Santa Cecilia (Mexican-American), Juanes (Colombia).
“Nuestro Juramento” is a well-known romance song across Latin America and arguably Julio Jaramillo’s most famous song. It is about human mortality and passion. It is two lovers who declare to continue loving each other forever, and to be devastated should the other die. The verb jurar means “to swear, to vow” and a juramento is an oath or a vow.
“When My Guitar Weeps”
Composer: Augusto Polo Campos
Album: El Ruiseñor de América (Julio Jaramillo), 1962
Style: Early 20th century pasillo. Melancholy romance song calling out to a lost lover through music.
Country: Peru
Listen: YouTube has renditions by Los Morochucos, Julio Jaramillo (my favorite), Tania Libertad, Eva Ayllon, Juan Diego Florez, and more.
Cansado de llamarte,
Con mi alma destrozada,
Comprendo que no vienes porque no quiere Dios.
Tired of calling you,
With my spirit shattered,
I understand that you do not come because God does not wish it.
“Silence”
Group: Ojos de Brujo (Wizard Eyes)
Album: Techari, 2006
Style: Hip hop/flamenco fusion.
Country: Barcelona, Spain
Listen: YouTube. If you liked this song, you might also like “Papeles Mojados” by Chambao.
Silencio.
Cuando llama uno a la suerte
No comparece en ese momento,
En silencio.
Silence.
When one calls on luck
It doesn’t present itself in that moment,
In silence.
“The Black Shirt” Song Translated
Album: Mi Sangre (My Blood), 2004
Style: Rock, grieving/bitter. Juanes mourns a bad relationship and how it affected him. The black shirt symbolizes mourning. This song has lots of wordplay explained in the notes.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
(No por pobre y feo, pero por antojado…)
(Not for being poor or ugly, but for longing…)
Tengo la camisa negra.
Hoy mi amor está de luto.
Hoy tengo en el alma una pena [*pena, f. = pain (emotional); regret]
Y es por culpa de tu embrujo.
I wear the black shirt.
Today my love is mourning.
Today I have a regret weighing my soul
And it’s the fault of your witchcraft.
“I Am Leaving You Madrid”
Album: Laundry Service, 2001
Style: Pop/rock, upbeat
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Sí, ya es hora de esconder
Del mundo, el dolor
Bajo la piel.
Más sé que estaré bien.
Los gatos como yo caen de pie.
Yes, the time has come to hide
From the world, the pain
Under my skin.
But I know I’ll be fine.
Cats like me fall on their feet.
“The Peace of Your Eyes” Lyrics
Album: Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías La Dormida (What I Told You When You Pretended to Sleep), 2003
Style: Pop with piano, about wanting to feel secure in a relationship and trying to allow oneself to do so.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
No he podido esta vez,
Vuelvo a no ser,
Vuelvo a caer.
I have not been able this time,
I return to not being [*alt. not existing],
I fall again.
“We Can Cause Each Other Harm” Lyrics
Album: Fíjate Bien (Pay Good Attention), 2000
Style: Pop rock, about the potential of new relationships
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Ya es tarde para que te vea
Igual que lo hacía
En los días lejanos de mi cotidiano eterno.
It is late now for me to see you
The (same) way I used to
In those far away days of my everyday eternity.
Mira que ya todo es tan distinto,
Estamos explotando,
Uno tan cerca del otro y de pronto mi amor —
Look, see that everything is so different now,
We are exploding,
One so close to the other and all of a sudden, my love —
“Paris” Lyrics
Album: El Viaje de Copperpot (Copperpot’s Voyage), 2000
Style: Pop, reminiscent of a romantic relationship.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
Ven, acércate.
Ven y abrázame.
Vuelve a sonreír, a recordar París,
A ser mi angustia.
Déjame pasar… una tarde más.
Come, draw near me.
Come and hug me.
Return to smiling, to remembering Paris,
To being my anguish.
Let me spend… one more afternoon.
Songlations 
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