“There It Goes” Song Lyrics
Album: Fíjate Bien (Pay Attention), 2000
Style: Rock song about embracing your life, valuing your time on Earth, and working towards your own goals. Your time here is limited, so make the most of it. Happy New Year!
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Translation:
Chorus:
———————————————–
No le huyas más al tiempo
Que la vida es una sola.
No le saques más a el cuerpo
Que la vida se te agota.
Do not continue fleeing time
Because you only have one life.
Do not continue sapping your body
Because your life wears out.
No le pares bola al ciego
Que te dice que no es cierto.
No le saques más a el cuerpo
Que la vida no es eterna.
Do not pay attention to the blind
Who tell you what isn’t true.
Do not continue sapping your body
Because life is not eternal.
———————————————–
Al indiferente, ahi le va,
Al que no cree en nada, ahi le va,
Al que vive aburrido, ahi le va,
Al que vive afligido, ahi le va.
To the indifferent, there it goes,
To the one who doesn’t believe in anything, there it goes,
To the one who lives in boredom, there it goes,
To the one who lives afflicted, there it goes.
Al que no se comprende, ahi le va,
Al que no se valora, ahi le va,
Al que no vive el día, ahi le va,
Al que no ve la vida, ahi le va.
To the one who no one understands, there it goes,
To the one who does not value themselves, there it goes,
To the one who does not live the day, there it goes,
To the one who does not see their life, there it goes.
[Chorus: “No le huyas más al tiempo…”]
Al que no se respeta, ahi le va,
Al que no se despierta, ahi le va,
Al que no ve la gloria de seguir siendo una historia.
To the one who does not respect themselves, there it goes,
To the one who does not wake up, there it goes,
To the one who does not see the glory of continuing being a story.
Al que no espera nada, ahi le va,
Al que no tiene nada, ahi le va,
Al que no hace nada por vivir mucho mejor.
To the one who does not wait for anything, there it goes,
To the one who has nothing, there it goes,
To the one who does nothing to live much better.
[Chorus: “No le huyas más al tiempo…”]
Translation Notes:
Ahi le va = There it goes
I was very tempted to translated the title as “So it Goes” instead of “There it Goes” because the repetition throughout the story reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, an anti-war novel that deliberately repeats “so it goes” to mark every death throughout the book. The repetition forces the reader to pause and notice each death.
Juanes’ music career also includes a lot of anti-war and anti-violence themes. He might be familiar with Kurt Vonnegut’s book. However, I am not certain of that and this song is specifically about life, and encouraging listeners to live their lives to the fullest. I decided to translate “ahi le va” as a new phrase and not assume that it is a reference to “so it goes”.
No {le huyas} [más] <al tiempo>
Que la vida es |una sola|.
Do not [continue] {fleeing} <time>
Because you only have |one| life.
Literal word-for-word:
Do not {flee} <time> [anymore]
Because life is |only one|.
The concept of “fleeing time” suggests “fleeing the clock” or “ignoring the clock” or “trying to dodge Father Time“. Juanes is telling us to stop ignoring the clock and the truth that our time is limited. We have just our one life. Instead of fearing that truth, that knowledge should inspire us to use our time as best as possible, to not waste it.
No le saques más a el cuerpo
Que la vida se te agota.
Do not continue sapping/wearing down the body
Because your life wears out.
Do not continue avoiding/dodging the body
Because your life wears out.
I looked in several dictionaries for alternative or colloquial meanings of verb sacar or phrase “sacarle a” because I understand this in two ways:
sacar (literal): sap, take out, pull out; use and take its energy
sacar (colloquial): dodge, avoid
I can’t find a source for my colloquial understanding which makes me think it’s a Mexican-only regional meaning, so I am putting it in the notes instead of the main translation. I interpreted that line as “Do not continue ignoring your body’s needs” or “Do not continue ignoring that your body has limits”.
If there is a Colombian colloquial meaning of sacar that applies here, or if the Mexican meaning is used there also, comment below.
No le pares bola al ciego
Que te dice que no es cierto.
Do not pay attention to the blind
Who tell you what isn’t true.
Per Collins Dictionary, parar bola(s) is used in Colombia and Venezuela to mean “to pay attention.”
Al que no se comprende, ahi le va,
Al que no se valora, ahi le va
To the one who no one understands, there it goes, [1]
To the one who no one values, there it goes [2]
To the one who does not understand themselves, there it goes, [3]
To the one who does not value themselves, there it goes [4]
The Spanish lyrics use passive voice and reflexive verbs here, so there is a little ambiguity. I interpreted the first line as translation #1 and the second line as translation #4.
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