“Préndele Fuego” (Set Fire To It) by Mon Laferte, English translation

“Set Fire To It” or “Set It On Fire” Lyrics
Album: Autopoiética (Autopoietic), 2023
Style: Jazzy pop full of not very subtle sexual euphemisms. Very sensual.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Qué goce cortarte el pelo,
Me encanta que me chupes como caramelo,
Me gusta que estés como roca,
Extraño tanto con la cola taparte la boca.

I rejoice in cutting your hair,
I love it when you suck me like caramel candy,
I love it when you are like a rock,
I really miss shutting your mouth with my tail.

Oh, una promesa romántica,
Oh, me veo como psicópata,
Oh, un desayuno político,
Oh, te extraña la cama, mi amor, que te aparta de mí.

Oh, a romantic promise,
Oh, I look like a psychopath,
Oh, a political breakfast,
Oh, the bed misses you, my love, the one that keeps you from me.

Hay que recuperar nuestro corazón,
Si no te tengo voy a matarte.
Hay que recuperar nuestro corazón,
Préndele fuego a cada cadena,
Préndele fuego.

We must recover our heart,
If I don’t have you then I will kill you.
We must recover our heart,
Set fire to each chain,
Set fire to it.

Te quiero como en Buenos Aires
Metiéndome los dedos en el salón de baile.
¿Te acuerdas, tú y yo, en Puerto Rico?
Tú disparando a matar como los milicos.

I want you like in Buenos Aires
Putting your fingers in my dance hall.
Do you remember, you and me, in Puerto Rico?
You shooting to kill like the military.

Oh, en un perreo unísono,
Oh, nos conocimos caóticos,
Oh, como mafiosos de México,
Oh, te extraña la cama, mi amor, que te aparta de mí.

Oh, grinding in unison,
Oh, we met each other chaotically,
Oh, like mafiosos in Mexico,
Oh, the bed misses you, my love, the one that keeps you from me.

Hay que recuperar nuestro corazón,
Si no te tengo voy a matarte.
Hay que recuperar nuestro corazón,
Préndele fuego a cada cadena,
Préndele fuego.

We must recover our heart,
If I don’t have you then I will kill you.
We must recover our heart,
Set fire to each chain,
Set fire to it.

Mi vida, ¿en dónde estás? (Préndele fuego)
Ay, el otro día te soñé, (Préndele fuego)
Ay, y te cogías a otra, (Préndele fuego)
Fuckboy, me abrazo a ti. (Préndele fuego)

My love, where are you? (Set fire to it)
Ay, the other day I dreamed of you (Set fire to it)
Ay, and you were fucking another girl (Set fire to it)
Fuckboy, I wrap myself around you. (Set fire to it)

Me has mojado mis sábanas blancas, (Préndele fuego)
En mi cama nadie es como tú, (Préndele fuego)
Ay, senté cabeza por ti, mi amor, (Préndele fuego)
Préndele fuego, mamá,
Préndele.

I’ve wet my white sheets, (Set fire to it)
In my bed there is no one like you, (Set fire to it)
I would settle down for you, my love, (Set fire to it)
Set fire to it, mama,
Set fire to it.

Translation Notes:

This song is part of Mon Laferte’s new 2023 album, Autopoiética (Autopoietic). Autopoiesis is a biology term meaning “self-sustaining life” or “self-creating life” that is used to discuss the chemistry of living cells, which they maintain within an enclosed space using the cell membrane. The term was coined by Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela.

Mon Laferte might also be referring to autopoiesis as used by the social sciences, to discuss self-sustaining social systems and group structures.

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Hay que recuperar nuestro corazón,
Si no te tengo voy a matarte

We must recover our heart,
If I don’t have you then I will kill you

One must recover/regain/restore one’s heart,
If I don’t have you then I will kill you

This line could mean that these two lovers need to catch their breath and recover their energy so they can continue, or that the singer (Mon Laferte) needs to get this guy back. The grammar makes it unclear if it is referring to two people or one, but corazón is singular, so I think it is the second meaning. I left it as “We…” temporarily.

“Hay que…” is passive voice “One must…” or “It is necessary to…”

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Ay, senté cabeza por ti, mi amor
I would settle down for you, my love

The idiomatic phrase “sentar cabeza” (literally “to sit your head”) means to settle down. For example, to get married, get a stable job, buy a house, have kids, etc.

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Fuckboy, me abrazo a ti

Fuckboy, I wrap myself around you

This is a newly released song and the official lyrics are not available yet. I couldn’t find any website that had the lyrics for this bold part of the line (it’s hard to hear). The bold is what I think I hear and my translation based on that. I might update it later.

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“Prendele Fuego” by Mon Laferte, song lyrics translation.