“Te Lloré un Río” (I Cried You A River) by Maná, English translation of lyrics

“I Cried You A River”
Album: ¿Dónde Jugarán los Niños? (Where Will The Children Play?), 1992
Style: Slow rock song about heartbreak, acceptance, and moving on.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube

Translation:

Yo aquí llorándote un río,
Mandándome al olvido,
Qué cosa más injusta, amor.

Me here crying you a river,
Sending myself to oblivion,
What a most unjust thing, my love.

Fuiste matando mis pasiones,
Tachando mis canciones.
Me tenías pisoteado,
Estaba desahuciado,
No es justo, no bebé.

You went killing my passions,
Striking out my songs.
You had me all trampled,
I was left hopeless,
It is not fair, no baby.

Chorus:
———————————
Pero este mundo ya giró
Y ahora te toco perder.

But this world has turned
And now it was your turn to lose.

Bebé, te lloré todo un río.
(Bebé, bebé)
Bebé, te lloré a reventar.

Baby, I cried you a whole river.
(Baby, baby)
Baby, I cried for you until bursting.

O no, no, no,
No tienes corazón.
No te vuelvo a amar.
Te lloré todo un río,
Ahora llórame un mar.

Oh no, no, no,
You have no heart.
I will not love you again.
I cried you a whole river,
Now cry me a sea.
———————————

Ya no me busques, ya es muy tarde,
Ya tengo otro amor,
Una chula sirena
Que nada en mi piel.

Do not search for me anymore, it is too late now,
I have another love now,
A sweet mermaid girlfriend
Who swims in my skin.

Yo te perdono, no hay rencores,
Sólo los dolores.
Mi alma está arañada.
Lloré en suelo mojado,
No es justo, no bebé.

I forgive you, there are no resentments,
Just the sorrows.
My soul is clawed
I cried on a wet floor,
It is not fair, no baby.

[Chorus]

Verdad que un río te lloré.
Verdad que no te vuelvo a amar,
O, no, no, no.
No te vuelvo a amar.

Truthfully that a river I cried for you.
Truthfully that I will not love you again,
Oh no, no, no.
I will not love you again.

Verdad que un río te lloré.
Verdad que no te vuelvo a amar,
O, no, no, no.
Pierdete en tu mar.

Truthfully that a river I cried for you
Truthfully that I will not love you again
Oh no, no, no
Lose yourself in your sea.

Verdad que un río te lloré.
Verdad que no te vuelvo a amar,
O, no, no, no.
Llóra, llóra, llórame.

Truthfully that a river I cried for you.
Truthfully that I will not love you again,
Oh no, no, no.
Cry, cry, cry for me.

Translation Notes:

Una chula sirena
A sweet mermaid girlfriend
An attractive mermaid [lit.]

chula [Mexican slang, term for women] = cool/pretty/sexy/attractive girl/girlfriend

In this case chula has positive connotations, but it can also be used with negative connotations to say that a girl thinks too much of herself. For guys, chulo can mean attractive guy (positive usage) or pimp (negative usage).

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Mi alma está arañada
My soul is clawed

arañar [verb] = to scratch; to claw

There’s a Spanish adivinanza (a riddle, usually based on wordplay) that goes thus:

¿Qué animal es dos veces animal?
What animal is two times an animal?

Answer:

El gato porque araña.
The cat because it claws.
The cat because spider.

araña [noun, f.] = spider

Hahaha. My dad used to tell us these when we were kids and I loved them. Search the web for more adivinanzas. Here’s a good page: http://www.adivinancero.com/

I suppose that’s not exactly a translation note so much as a translator’s tangent, but I hope you like it.

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“Te Llore un Rio” by Mana, song lyrics translation