“Ojos Marrones” (Brown Eyes) by Lasso, English translation

“Brown Eyes” Lyrics
Album: Eva, 2023
About: Pop song about a new relationship that seems perfect, but the singer can’t commit because he is not over his ex.
Country: Venezuela
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Es la primera vez
Que invito a alguien desde que te fuiste
Y estoy bien.

It’s the first time
That I ask someone out since you left
And I’m fine.

El mismo restaurante
Pero a ella sí le dan risa mis chistes.
Estoy bien.

The same restaurant
But she does laugh at my jokes.
I’m fine.

Ella sí se lleva bien con mis amigos,
Nunca discutimos,
Es lo que siempre he querido…

She does get along with my friends,
We never argue,
It’s everything I ever wanted…

Pero cuando la miro a los ojos
Veo que no son
Tus ojos marrones.

But when I look her in the eyes
I see that they aren’t
Your brown eyes.

Nada es igual, nada es igual, nada,
Sin tus ojos marrones.
(x2)

Nothing’s the same, nothing’s the same, nothing,
Without your brown eyes.
(x2)

El cielo azul parece gris
Desde que ya no estás aquí.
Todo el color ahora es blanco y negro.

The blue sky looks gray
Ever since you left.
All the colors are now white and black.

Y como no te puedo hablar
Ni regresar el tiempo atrás,
Mejor al sol lo tapo con un dedo.

And since I cannot speak to you
Nor return to previous times,
It’s better if I just cover the sun with my thumb.

Sus labios lucen de rojo,
Nos vemos bien de la mano,
Y me gusta el verde en sus ojos
Si no los comparo
Con tus ojos marrones.

Her lips light up in red, *Her lips look good in red
We look good holding hands,
And I like the green in her eyes
If I don’t compare them
With your brown eyes.

Nada es igual, nada es igual, nada,
Sin tus ojos marrones.
Nada es igual, nada es igual, nada,
Sin tus ojos marrones,
Sin tus ojos marrones.

Nothing’s the same, nothing’s the same, nothing,
Without your brown eyes.
Nothing’s the same, nothing’s the same, nothing,
Without your brown eyes,
Without your brown eyes.

Ella sí se lleva bien con mis amigos,
Nunca discutimos,
Es lo que siempre he querido…

She does get along with my friends,
We never argue,
It’s everything I ever wanted…

Pero cuando la miro a los ojos
Veo que no son
Tus ojos marrones.

But when I look her in the eyes
I see that they aren’t
Your brown eyes.

Nada es igual, nada es igual, nada,
Sin tus ojos marrones.
(x4)

Nothing’s the same, nothing’s the same, nothing,
Without your brown eyes.
(x4)

Translation Notes:

Es la primera vez
Que invito a alguien desde que te fuiste

It’s the first time
That I ask someone out since you left [*literal enough]
That I invite someone since you left [*more literal]

I translated it the way we would say this in English, but I added the literal word-for-word translation here for Spanish learners. The song begins at the start of a new relationship with the first date, then later we see that the relationship is technically doing well (from an outsider’s perspective) but the singer is not over their ex.

---

Pero a ella sí le dan risa mis chistes.

But she does laugh at my jokes. [*literal]
But SHE does laugh at my jokes. [*literal and with emphasis from sí]
But SHE does get laughter from my jokes. [*too word-for-word literal]

The sí (“yes”) in the Spanish lyrics is adding emphasis to ella, indicating that his ex did not laugh at his jokes but this new girl does. Spanish dar risa (“to give laughter”) means to make someone laugh.

---

El cielo azul <parece> gris
Desde que {ya no} estás aquí.
Todo el color ahora es blanco y negro.

The blue sky <looks> gray
Ever since you left.
All the colors are now white and black.

More literal:

The blue sky <appears> gray
Ever since you are {no longer} here.
All the color is now white and black.

A few minor extra-literal edits for Spanish learners. The word ya here indicates an abrupt change in a situation. The sky looked blue before she left, and now looks gray since she left. Ya is a very versatile word in Spanish and can be translated differently depending on context, but it always indicates a time point difference. Other translations may be: now, already, anymore, yet.

¡Ya! as an exclamation means “Enough!” or “No more!”

¡Ya basta! means “Stop!” or more literally “Stop now!”

---

Mejor al sol lo tapo con un dedo.

It’s better if I just cover the sun with my thumb. [*literal]

Better, the sun, I will cover it with a finger. [*extra literal]

The singer’s ex is the sun, shining brightly in his memory, and he is trying to forget her in order to be happy in this new relationship.

---

Sus labios lucen de rojo,
Nos vemos bien de la mano

Her lips light up in red,
We look good holding hands

Her lips look good in red
We look good holding hands

I didn’t want to say “look good” twice, but it could be translated that way. The verb lucir (“to shine”) is used in makeup and fashion to indicate highlighting features or looking good in certain feature: lucir de [color] means “to look good in [color]”.