“Ni Me Debes, Ni Te Debo” (You Don’t Owe Me, Nor I You) by Carin León and Camilo, English translation

“You Don’t Owe Me, Nor I You”
Album: Comillo De Leche (Milk Fang), 2023
Style: Northern Mexican regional pop about a mutual breakup. Sad but accepting and not angry.
Country: Mexico, Colombia
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Tengo que irme porque me siento muy triste,
Aquí no hay nada, esta historia se acabó.

I have to leave because I feel so sad,
There is nothing here, this story has ended.

Te dejo libre,
Fuiste tú la que perdiste.
No es tan sencillo encontrarse
Un gran amor.

I leave you free,
It was you who lost.
It isn’t so easy to find oneself
A great love.

Te dejo libre,
Aunque en verdad no quiero irme,
Algo me frena,
Pero sé que no es amor.
Es la costumbre a todo lo que me diste,
Sea lo que sea, es lo mejor para los dos.

I leave you free,
Though truthfully I don’t want to leave,
Something holds me back,
But I know it isn’t love.
It is being used to everything that you gave me,
Be what it be, this is best for both of us.

Ni me debes ni te debo,
Se acabó, nada es eterno,
Buena suerte con tu gran amor.

You don’t owe me, nor I you,
It ended, nothing is eternal,
Good luck with your great love.

Que te salga bien tu nuevo intento
Para que no vuelvas con el corazón abierto.

May your new endeavor turn out well
So that you don’t return with your heart open.

Ni me debes ni te debo
Se acabó, nada es eterno,
Buena suerte con tu nuevo amor.

You don’t owe me, nor I you,
It ended, nothing is eternal,
Good luck with your new love.

Gracias por lo malo y por lo bueno,
Y que quede claro
Por si algún día nos vemos,
Ni me debes ni te debo,
Ni me debes ni te debo.

Thank you for the bad and for the good,
And let something be clear
In case we see each other some day,
You don’t owe me, nor I you,
You don’t owe me, nor I you.

Ni me debes ni te debo,
Se acabó, nada es eterno,
Buena suerte con tu nuevo amor.

You don’t owe me, nor I you,
It ended, nothing is eternal,
Good luck with your new love.

Que te salga bien tu nuevo intento
Para que no vuelvas con el corazón abierto.

May your new endeavor turn out well
So that you don’t return with your heart open.

Ni me debes ni te debo,
Se acabó, nada es eterno,
Buena suerte con tu nuevo amor.

You don’t owe me, nor I you,
It ended, nothing is eternal,
Good luck with your new love.

Gracias por lo malo y por lo bueno,
Y que quede claro,
Por si algún día nos vemos
Ay, ni me debes ni te debo,
Ni me debes ni te debo.

Thank you for the bad and for the good,
And let something be clear,
In case we see each other some day,
Ay, you don’t owe me, nor I you,
You don’t owe me, nor I you.

Translation Notes:

Algo {me frena},
Pero sé que no es amor.
Es [la costumbre a] todo lo que me diste,
Sea lo que sea, es <lo mejor> para los dos.

Something {holds me back},
But I know it isn’t love.
It is [being used to] everything that you gave me,
Be what it be, this is <best> for both of us.

Something {stops me},
But I know that it isn’t love.
It is [the habit/routine/familiarity to] everything that you gave me,
Be what it be, it is <best> for us both.

The verb frenar (to stop, to hold back) comes from the noun los frenos (the breaks), as in the breaks of a car.

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Ni me debes ni te debo

You don’t owe me, nor I you

In Spanish, “ni…, ni…“ is used to frame two negative statements. It frames them as “not this… and not that…” or “nor… nor…”. It doesn’t need to be important things. You could use it for breakfast:

No quiero ni huevos ni jamon. = I don’t want (nor) eggs, nor ham.

In modern English, we don’t say the first “nor”, only the second “nor”.

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Que te salga bien [tu nuevo intento]
{Para que} no vuelvas con el corazón abierto.

May [your new endeavor] turn out well
{So that} you don’t return with your heart open.

May it turn out well, [your new attempt]
{So that} you don’t return with your heart open.

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“Ni Me Debes, Ni Te Debo” by Carin Leon and Camilo