“Amor, Amor de Mis Amores” by Agustín Lara, homage by Natalia Lafourcade, English translation

“Love, Love of My Loves” Lyrics for Different Versions
Lyrics Author: María Teresa Lara
Album, original: Noche de ronda (Night out), 1936
Album, cover: Mujer divina, homenaje a Agustín Lara (Divine woman, an homage to Agustín Lara), 2012
Style: Romantic, tango, indie. Romantic song to one’s true love.
Country: Mexico
Listen: Agustín Lara, Pedro Infante, Natalia Lafourcade

Translation of original lyrics (Agustín Lara & Pedro Infante version):

Poniendo la mano sobre el corazón,
Quisiera decirte al compás de un son
Que tú eres mi vida,
Que no quiero a nadie,
Que respiro el aire, que respiro el aire,
Que respiras tú.
(x2)

Putting a hand over my heart,
I would like to tell you to the beat of a pleasant sound
That you are my life,
That I don’t want anyone else,
That I breathe the air, that I breathe the air,
That you breathe.
(x2)

Amor de mis amores,
Sangre de mi alma,
Regálame las flores de la esperanza.

Love of my loves, [*My cream of the crop love]
Blood of my soul,
Gift me the blooms of hope.

Permite que ponga
Toda dulce verdad que tienen mis dolores
Para decirte que tú eres el amor de mis amores.
(x2)

Allow me to put
All the sweet truth that my sorrows carry
To tell you that you are the top love of all my loves.
(x2)

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Translation of Natalia Lafourcade version:

Poniendo la mano en el corazón
Quisiera decirte al compás de un son
Que tú eres mi vida
Y no quiero a nadie más que a ti.

Putting a hand over my heart,
I would like to tell you to the rhythm of a pleasant beat
That you are my life
And I don’t want anyone else but you.

Poniendo la mano en el corazón
Quisiera decirte al compás de un son
Que tú eres mi cielo,
Las aves que retan su poder,
Que respiro el aire, que respiro el aire,
Que respiro el aire que respiras tú.

Putting a hand over my heart,
I would like to tell you to the rhythm of a pleasant beat
That you are my sky,
(And) the birds that challenge its power,
That I breathe the air, that I breathe the air,
That I breathe the air that you breathe.

No tienes remedio,
No tienes remedio,
No tienes remedio,
Eres mi gran amor.

You don’t have any remedy,
You don’t have any remedy,
You don’t have any remedy,
You are my great love.

Poniendo la mano en el corazón
Quisiera cantarte toda una canción
Que tú eres mi cielo
Eres mis consuelos
Que respiro el aire, que respiro el aire
Que respiro el aire, que respiras tú

Putting a hand over my heart,
I would like to sing you a whole song,
Because you are my heaven,
(Because) you are my solaces,
That I breathe the air, that I breathe the air,
That I breathe the air that you breathe.

No tienes remedio,
No tienes remedio,
No tienes remedio,
Eres mi gran amor.

You don’t have any remedy,
You don’t have any remedy,
You don’t have any remedy,
You are my great love.

Amor de mis amores,
Sangre de mi alma,
Regálame las flores de la esperanza.

Love of my loves, [*My cream of the crop love]
Blood of my soul,
Gift me the blooms of hope.

Permite que pare… para decirte
Que tú eres el amor de mis amores,
Para decirte que tú eres el amor de mis amores.

Allow me to stop… to tell you
That you are the love of my loves,
…To tell you that you are the love of my loves.

Ta ra-ra ra-ra-ra, ra, ra-ra…
Da ra-ra ra-ra-ra, ra, ra-ra…

Amor de mis amores,
Tú eres mi cielo.
Amor de mis amores,
Tú eres mi cielo.
Amor de mis amores,
Tú eres mi cielo,
Amor.

Love of my loves,
You are my heaven.
Love of my loves,
You are my heaven.
Love of my loves,
You are my heaven,
My love.

Translation Notes:

Poniendo la mano sobre {el} corazón,
Quisiera decirte al compás de un son
Que tú eres mi vida…

Putting a hand over {my} heart,
I would like to tell you to the rhythm of a pleasant beat
That you are my life…

Putting a hand over {my/the} heart,
I would like to tell you to the beat of a pleasant sound
That you are my life…

compás (m. noun) = beat, rhythm, timing of music

son (m. noun) = musical sound, pleasant sound; dance style timed to music (general meaning); Afro-Cuban dance and tune (specific meaning)

In the first line, el corazón means word-for-word literally “the heart” but contextually means “my heart”. It is not ambiguous. The speaker is talking about their own heart as they place their hand over it to make a vow.

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Amor <de> mis amores

Love <of> my loves
Top love <of all> my loves

This is like saying “my favorite lover of all my lovers” or “my favorite of favorites” or French “la crème de la crème” (cream of the cream, cream of the crop, best of the best).

It does not mean a love triangle where the person is a lover of another lover. I used “top love of all my loves” in some lines instead. The word-for-word translation is not my favorite but it sounds strange in Spanish as well if you use it outside of the context of a song. “Amor de mis amores” isn’t a common phrase, but it is used here poetically to parallel “crème de la crème“.

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Regálame las flores de la esperanza

Gift me the blooms of hope
Gift me the flowers of hope [*more literal]

Either translation is correct and literal. I slightly prefer “the blooms of hope” for English because it brings to mind similar phrases such as “hope springs” or “love blossoms”. The imagery is not just of a static flower, but of the beauty of the blooming itself.

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Quisiera decirte… Que tú eres mi cielo,
Las aves que retan su poder

I would like to tell you… That you are my sky,
(And) the birds that challenge its power

In other stanzas, I translate tú eres mi cielo as “you are my heaven”, but here I specifically chose “you are my sky” because of the following line about birds. In Spanish, cielo means both sky and heaven. Natalia Lafourcade means “heaven” when referring to her lover, but also means “sky” in the metaphor about birds taking flight and challenging the sky. It is a dual meaning.

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No tienes remedio,
Eres mi gran amor.

You don’t have any remedy,
You are my great love.

You don’t have any alternative/choice/different way to be,
You are my great love.

The idiomatic phrase “no tiene/tienes remedio” (it/you doesn’t have a remedy) means that things are as they are and there is no changing it. We must accept the truth of the situation.

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“Amor, Amor de Mis Amores” by Maria Teresa Lara and Agustin Lara