“Drops of Sweet Water” or “Drops of Freshwater” Lyrics
Album: La Vida… es un Ratico (Life… Is a Moment), 2007
Style: Pop/rock, love song about a person being a breath of fresh air and important for life, like freshwater, like rays of sunshine.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Translation:
Hace mucho tiempo no me enamoraba
De unos ojos tan bonitos,
Comunes de lozano brillo.
It has been a long time since I fell in love
With a pair of eyes so beautiful,
So ordinary, with healthy brightness.
Era lo que menos en mi plan estaba
Aunque te admito que a veces soñaba
Con la belleza de tu mirada.
It was what was least in my plans
Though I admit to you that sometimes I dreamed
With the beauty of your gaze.
Chorus:
———————————————————-
Quiero llevar el ritmo de tu corazón
Para bailar entre los dos esta canción.
La verdad me estoy volviendo a enamorar.
La verdad quiero que sepas que…
I want to carry the rhythm of your heart
To dance this song between the two of us.
Honestly, I am falling in love again.
Honestly, I want you to know that…
Lo que yo siento por ti… es amor,
Ganas que me hacen útil… el corazón,
Droga que me hace inmune… ante el dolor,
Gotas de agua dulce… rayo de sol.
What I feel for you… is love,
Yearnings that make it useful… my heart,
Drug that makes me immune… against pain,
Drops of sweet water… ray of sunshine.
———————————————————-
(x2)
Llévame, de ser preciso,
Por la semblanza de tu sombra.
Yo sé que tú prendes la luz.
Take me, if necessary,
By the profile of your shadow.
I know that you turn on the light.
Si en mi vida te asomas,
Como las blancas palomas
Cuando la plaza se toman
Con vuelo inmortal.
For you show up in my life
Like the white doves
When they take the plaza
With their immortal flight.
[Chorus: “Quiero llevar el ritmo de tu corazón…”, x2]
Es lo que siento por ti… (x3)
It is what I feel for you… (x3)
Translation Notes:
agua dulce, m. noun = freshwater; lit. sweet water
The more common translation of agua dulce is “freshwater” (as opposed to “sea water” for example). Here, I translated the individual words literally since Juanes intends the word play. Note that “sweet water” is also a term used in English to refer to freshwater, though not as common.
{Hace mucho tiempo} <no> [me enamoraba]
{It has been a long time since} [I fell in love]
{It has been much time} [I] <didn’t> [fall in love] *more literal
La verdad me <estoy volviendo a> enamorar.
La verdad quiero que {sepas que}…
Honestly, I am falling in love <again>.
Honestly, I want you to {know that}…
More literal:
The truth, I <am going back to> falling in love.
The truth, I want that {you know that}…
Llévame, de ser preciso,
Por {la semblanza} de [tu sombra].
Take me, if necessary,
By {the profile} of [your shadow].
Take me, if necessary,
Into {the outline} of [your shadow].
These lines were more difficult to translate because I didn’t immediately understand them or know where to put the commas. I initially understood it as starting with “llévame de” (take me away from) which made “ser preciso” confusing to me (noun, precise being? huh), but then I realized “de ser preciso” was a specific phrase. I am not used to hearing it here in the United States. It may be more common elsewhere.
Also, I notice that a lot of Spanish-English dictionaries only translate “la semblanza” as “a biographical sketch”, but that is not the only meaning and definitely not the correct meaning here. It can also mean a profile (like your image created by a shadow on a wall), or a semblance or resemblance (like how children look like their parents). I found this meaning in the Royal Spanish Academy’s dictionary but it was labeled “desusado” (out of use). I am surprised by that. It isn’t a common word, but it might be more common in Latin American Spanish, or at least songs and poems.
Si en mi vida te asomas,
Como las blancas palomas
For you show up in my life
Like the white doves
For you appear in my life
Like the white doves
The verb asomarse means: to show up, to appear, to poke your head out, to come out. It has the connotation of previously being out of sight or hidden, or otherwise unaccounted for, and then appearing. Look at Collins Dictionary for more examples.
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