“Ella” (She) by Joel Nava, English translation

“She”
Album: Joel Nava (Joel Nava), 1995
About: Soft, slow melancholy song about accepting the end of a relationship. Acoustics and vocals only, very raw. It would be a good song for students to sing. It’s slow enough and will let you practice pronunciation.
Country: USA (Texas)
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Me cansé de rogarle,
Me cansé de decirle que yo sin ella
De pena muero.

I got tired of begging her,
I got tired of telling her that I, without her,
Of grief would die.

Ya no quiso escucharme,
Si sus labios se abrieron,
Fue para decirme que ya no te quiero.

She refused to hear me anymore,
If her lips opened,
It was to tell me, “I no longer love you.”

Yo sentí que mi vida
Se perdió en un abismo
Profundo y negro como mi suerte…

I felt that my life
Was lost in an abyss
Profound and black like my luck…

Quise hallar el olvido al estilo Jalisco
Pero aquellos Mariachis y aquel tequila
Me hicieron llorar.

I wanted to find oblivion in the style of Jalisco
But those Mariachis and that tequila
Made me cry.

[Musical interlude]

Me cansé de rogarle,
Con el llanto en los ojos alcé mi copa y
Brindé por ella.

I got tired of begging her,
With the tears in my eyes I raised my cup and
Toasted for her.

No podía despreciarme;
Era el ultimo brindis de un bohemio con una reina.
Los Mariachis callaron,
De mi mano sin fuerza
Cayó mi copa sin darme cuenta.

She could not hate me;
It was the last toast of a bohemian with a queen.
The Mariachis quieted,
From my tired hand,
Fell my cup, without me noticing.

Ella quiso quedarse cuando vio mi tristeza,
Pero ya estaba
Escrito que en aquella noche
Perdiera su amor.

She wanted to stay when she saw my sadness,
But it was already
Written that on that night
She would lose her love.

Translation Notes:

Quise hallar el olvido al estilo Jalisco
Pero aquellos Mariachis y aquel tequila
Me hicieron llorar.

I wanted to find oblivion in the style of Jalisco
But those Mariachis and that tequila
Made me cry.

The lyrics “the style of Jalisco” refer to drinking tequila and listening to mariachi, both common in bars in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

Tequila is an alcoholic drink made from the Blue Weaver agave (Agave tequilana) plant and can only come from Jalisco, just as Champagne only comes from specific wine grapes from a specific region of France. Other Mexican states make mezcal which can come from various agave species.

The couple is in a bar with live music from a mariachi band. Mariachi is a folk musical style from Mexico characterized by string instruments and themes of love, breakup, challenges, and joys.

Example mariachi songs:

• “Tú y Las Nubes” (You and the Clouds) by José Alfredo Jiménez
• “Hermoso Cariño” (Beautiful Beloved) by Vicente Fernández
• “Ya No Insistas Corazón” (Stop Insisting, Heart) by Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernández
• “Como Quien Pierde Una Estrella” (Like How One Loses a Star) by Alejandro Fernández
• “Te Solté La Rienda” (I Let Go of Your Reign) by José Alfredo Jiménez

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Con el llanto en los ojos alcé mi copa y
Brindé por ella.

With the tears in my eyes I raised my cup and
Toasted for her.

This toast includes the singer’s goodbye and breakup with his ex. He is saying goodbye and also wishing her well at the same time.

---

No podía despreciarme;
Era el ultimo brindis de un bohemio con una reina.

She could not hate me;
It was the last toast of a bohemian with a queen.

The toast was too kind and sad. She, who had already told him she didn’t love him in private, did not expect such a public farewell. “Despreciar” (verb) means “to despise, to scort, to hate, to reject”. She could not show any of those negative feelings in public. The toast seems to have caught her off-guard.

---

Los Mariachis callaron,
De mi mano sin fuerza
Cayó mi copa sin darme cuenta.

The Mariachis quieted,
From my tired/strengthless/weakened hand,
Fell my cup, without me noticing.

Mariachi bands tend to do a lot of audience interaction, taking song requests and responding to the crowd energy. Here, the toast threw off the joyful energy of the bar so the mariachi band got quiet.

---

Ella quiso quedarse cuando vio mi tristeza,
Pero ya estaba
Escrito que en aquella noche
Perdiera su amor.

She wanted to stay when she saw my sadness,
But it was already
Written that on that night
She would lose her love.

“Ya estaba escrito” (it was already written) is another way of saying it was fated, destined, unchangeable in the book of life. This breakup was meant to happen.