“Fotografía” (Photograph) by Juanes ft. Nelly Furtado, English translation of lyrics

“Photograph”
Album: Un Día Normal (A Normal Day), 2002
Style: Soft rock, nostalgic, about long-distance love whether romantic or platonic. The love is there but they have a hard time getting in touch, so they look at photographs instead.
Country: Colombia (Juanes), Canada (Nelly Furtado)
Listen: YouTube

Translation:

Cada vez que yo me voy,
Llevo a un lado de mi piel
Tus fotografías para verlas cada vez
Que tú ausencia me devora entero el corazón
Y yo no tengo remedio más que amarte.

Every time that I leave,
I carry by my skin [*lit. I carry to the side of my skin]
Your photographs, to see them every time
That your absence eats my heart whole
And I have no other choice but to love you.

---

Chorus:

Y en la distancia te puedo ver,
Cuando tus fotos me siento a ver.
Y en las estrellas tus ojos ver,
Cuando tus fotos me siento a ver.

And in the distance I can see you,
When your photos I sit down to see.
And in the stars (I) see your eyes,
When your photos I sit down to see.

Cada vez que te busco te vas,
Y cada vez que te llamo no estás,
Es por eso que debo decir que
Tú sólo en mis fotos estás.
(x2)

Every time I look for you, you leave,
And every time I call you, you are not there,
It is because of that that I must say,
You are only in my photographs.
(x2)

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Cuando hay un abismo desnudo
Que se opone entre los dos,
Yo me valgo del recuerdo taciturno de tu voz,
Y de nuevo siento enfermo este corazón
Que no le queda remedio más que amarte.

Where there is a naked abyss
That puts itself between the two of us,
I put stock in the taciturn memory of your voice,
And once again I feel this heart sick,
With no other cure but to love you. [*idiom taken literally: remedio = choice, lit. cure]

[Chorus: “Y en la distancia te puedo ver,
Cuando tus fotos me siento a ver…”]

Cada vez que te busco te vas,
Y cada vez que te llamo no estás,
Es por eso que debo decir que
Tú sólo en mis fotos estás.
(x2)

Every time I look for you, you leave,
And every time I call you, you are not there,
It is because of that that I must say,
You are only in my photographs.
(x2)

Translation Notes:

This song has a lot of syntax shifted for poetic rhythm. A lot of the lines had their verbs moved to the end. I briefly considered leaving the syntax in English, but it sounded too awkward.

Examples:

Y en las estrellas tus ojos ver.
And in the stars (I) see your eyes.
And in the stars your eyes to see. [lit.]

Tú sólo en mis fotos estás.
You are only in my photographs.
You only in my photographs are. [lit.]

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“Fotografia” by Juanes ft. Nelly Furtado, English translation of Spanish lyrics