“Clavado En Un Bar” (Nailed to a Bar) by Maná, English translation

“Nailed to a Bar (In Love)”
Album: Sueños Líquidos (Liquid Dreams), 1997
Style: Latin Rock song about someone pining for the love of a specific woman, drowning his sorrow in drinks.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

¡Oye!
Aquí me tiene
Bien clavado,
Soltando las penas en un bar,
Brindando por su amor.

Hey!
Here she has me
Really nailed down (madly in love),
Letting my regrets out at a bar,
Toasting for her love.

Aquí me tiene abandonado,
Bebiendo tequila pa’ olvidar
Y sacudirme así el dolor.

Here she has me abandoned,
Drinking tequila to forget
And shake off the pain like this.

¿Dónde estás, bendita?
¿Dónde te has metido?
Abre un poco el corazón,
Deja amarte corazón,
Ven y sácame de este bar.

Where are you, blessed?
Where have you hidden yourself?
Open your heart a bit,
Let me love you, sweetheart,
Come and take me out of this bar.

Estoy clavado, estoy herido,
Estoy ahogado en un bar.
Desesperado en el olvido, amor.
Estoy ahogado en un bar.
¡Hey!

I am nailed, I am injured,
I am drowned in a bar.
Desperate in my oblivion, love.
I am drowned in a bar.
Hey!

Sé que te buscan demasiados,
Que te pretenden cantidad,
Pero eso no es felicidad.
Y mi amor nunca se raja,
Y mi amor nunca jamás te va a fallar,
Nunca jamás.

I know that many look for you,
That they court you in quantity,
But that is not happiness.
And my love never gives up,
And my love will never ever fail you,
Never ever.

¿Dónde estás, maldita?
¿Dónde te has metido?
Abre un poco el corazón.
Deja amarte, corazón.
Ven y sácame de este bar.

Where are you, damned woman?
Where have you hidden yourself?
Open you heart a bit.
Let me love you, sweetheart.
Come and take me out of this bar.

Estoy clavado, estoy herido,
Estoy ahogado en un bar.
Desesperado en el olvido, amor.
Estoy ahogado en un bar.

I am nailed, I am injured,
I am drowned in a bar.
Desperate in my oblivion, love.
I am drowned in a bar.

Muy desesperado,
Muy en el olvido, amor.
Estoy ahogado en un bar.
(x2)

Very desperate,
Very far into oblivion, love.
I am drowned in a bar.
(x2)

Déjate querer, amor.
Quiero ser tu todo
Y tu corazón.

Let yourself be loved, love.
I want to be your everything
And your sweetheart.

Ven a rescatarme, amor,
Yo quiero ser tu sol,
Yo quiero ser tu mar, no…

Come and rescue me, love,
I want to be your sun,
I want to be your sea, no…

[Guitar solo]

Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh, oh oh
Eh eh

Aquí me tiene embriagado,
Llorando de rabia en un bar,
Brindando por su amor.

Now here you have me inebriated,
Crying from rage in a bar,
Toasting for your love.

Aquí me tiene
Bien clavado,
Bebiendo tequila
Pa’ olvidar todo.

Here she has me
Really nailed (madly in love),
Drinking tequila
To forget it all.

No es justo amor.
Muy desesperado, muy en el olvido,
Estoy ahogado en un bar.
Muy desesperado, muy en el olvido,
No, no, no, no, no.
Estoy ahogado en un bar, yeah.

It is not fair, love.
Very desperate, very far into oblivion,
I am drowning in a bar.
Very desperate, very far into oblivion,
No, no, no, no, no.
I am drowning in a bar, yeah.

Translation Notes:

Clavado en un bar

Literally:
Nailed to a bar
Pinned to a bar

Colloquially in Mexican Spanish:
Madly in love in a bar

It is a dual meaning. The adjective clavado (literally, nailed or hammered down) also means to be madly in love, like being hit with Cupid’s arrow. It can also mean “punctual” or “precise”, like English “on the dot”.

The lyrics play with the dual meaning of clavado (held down with a nail, stuck) and the colloquial hit-by-Cupid’s-arrow meaning of clavado (struck with love, madly in love) throughout the song.

Estoy clavado, estoy herido,
Estoy ahogado en un bar.

I am nailed, I am injured,
I am drowned in a bar.

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¡Oye!

Hey!

Hear! [*literally]

This is something that you yell to get someone’s attention.

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Bebiendo tequila pa’ olvidar

Drinking tequila to forget

In casual Mexican Spanish, pa’ is short for para. Don’t use this in non-casual settings or in formal writing. Sometimes in Spanish-language internet forums or texting, you’ll see it shortened further to just p.

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¿Dónde estás, bendita?
¿Dónde te has metido?

Where are you, blessed?
Where have you hidden yourself?

Where are you, blessed woman?
Where have you put yourself?

Here, bendita (blessed) is a feminine noun referring to a person in an affectionate way, like sweetheart. The verb meterse (to put oneself) is translated here colloquially as “to hide oneself”.

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Sé que te buscan demasiados,
Que {te pretenden} [cantidad],
Pero eso no es felicidad.

I know that many look for you,
That {they court you} [in quantity],
But that is not happiness.

I know that many search for you,
That {they woo you} [in great amounts],
But that is not happiness.

The Spanish verb pretender is a false cognate with English “to pretend”. It doesn’t mean to fake or to make up, but it has related meanings. It means “to count; to woo”, “to intend; to plan; to aim for”, “to claim; to suggest; to expect”.

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Y mi amor nunca se raja

And my love never gives up

This uses the colloquial meaning of the verb rajarse: to back out, to back down, to give up, to get cold feet.

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“Clavado En Un Bar” by Mana, Spanish lyrics translated to English