“The Present” Lyrics
Album: MTV Unplugged, 2008
Style: Alternative rock with accordions. Song celebrating the gift of time and the joy of being present with a loved one. It works as a song for one’s lover or one’s child.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Translation:
Ya sé lo que te diga
No va a ser suficiente, ay ya-ya-ya ya,
Y lo que tu me entregues
Dejará pendientes, ay ya-ya-ya ya.
I know that what I tell you
Will not be enough, ay ya-ya-ya ya,
And what you give me
Will leave worries, ay ya-ya-ya ya.
¿Quién nos dice que la vida
Nos dará el tiempo necesario?
Toma de mí lo que deseas
Como si solo quedara…
Who tells us that life
Will give us enough time?
Take from me whatever you want,
As if all that was left was…
El presente es lo único que tengo,
El presente es lo único que hay,
Es contigo, mi vida, con quien puedo sentir
Que merece la pena vivir.
The present is all I have,
The present is all that exists,
It is with you, my love, with whom I can feel
That it is worth living.
Con el mundo como va,
Se nos acaba todo,
La tempestad y la calma,
Casi son la misma cosa.
With the world as it goes,
Everything runs out on us,
The storm and the calm,
They are almost the same thing.
¿Quién nos dice que la vida
Nos dará el tiempo necesario?
Toma de mí lo que deseas
Como si sólo quedara…
Who tells us that life
Will give us enough time?
Take from me whatever you want,
As if all that was left was…
El presente es lo único que tenemos,
El presente es lo único que hay,
Es contigo, mi vida, con quien puedo sentir
Que merece la pena vivir.
(x2)
The present is all I have,
The present is all that exists,
It is with you, my love, with whom I can feel
That it is worth living.
(x2)
Ya sé lo que te diga
No va a ser suficiente consuelo
Por perder este lugar
Que amamos y destrozamos…
I already know that what I tell you
Will not be enough consolation
For losing this place
That we love and we destroy…
El presente es lo único que tengo,
El presente es lo único que hay,
Es contigo, mi vida, con quien puedo sentir
Que merece la pena vivir.
The present is all I have,
The present is all that exists,
It is with you, my love, with whom I can feel
That it is worth living.
Translation Notes:
Toma de mí lo que deseas
Como si solo quedara… el presente…
Take from me whatever you want,
As if all that was left was… the present…
The lyrics say “el presente” once but use it twice, for this bolded line at the end of this stanza and for the beginning of the next:
El presente es lo único que tengo,
El presente es lo único que hay
The present is all I have,
The present is all that exists
Es contigo, mi vida, con quien puedo sentir
Que merece la pena vivir.
It is with you, my love, with whom I can feel
That it [the present] is worth living.
The Spanish affectionate term mi vida (literally, “my life”) is used like the English affectionate term “my love”. In Latin America, mi vida is used for romantic partners of any gender and for one’s children.
This song celebrates being together with a loved one.
Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in both Mexico and the USA. That is tomorrow! Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there!
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