Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“Soul of Steel”
Style: Ranchera about having a strong center, able to withstand emotional blows by flighty lovers.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Podrás tener mucha suerte,
Podrás andar por el mundo
Destrozando corazones.
You can have lots of luck,
You can travel the world
Destroying hearts.
“Clandestine Love”
Album: Drama y Luz (Drama and Light), 2011
Style: Latin rock song with dual meaning, about hidden love, but also about undocumented immigrant youth (Dreamers).
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Eres inevitable, amor,
Casi como respirar,
Casi como respirar.
You are inevitable, love,
Almost like breathing,
Almost like breathing.
“I Let Go of Your Rein”
Style: Corrido, ranchera, sometimes a mariachi. This popular Mexican song is an epic “you’ll miss me, but go” breakup song.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube (José Alfredo Jiménez, Maná, Lupillo Rivera, Vicente Fernandez, and many more)
Se me acabó la fuerza
De mi mano izquierda.
Voy a dejarte el mundo
Para ti solita.
I lost the strength
On my left hand.
I am going to leave you the world
For your very own.
“Living My Life”
Album: Marc Anthony 3.0, 2013
Style: Joyful anthem encouraging you to seek happiness.
Country: USA (New York & Puerto Rico)
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
“Your Failure to Love”
Album: Mon Laferte Vol. 1, 2015
Style: Latin rock about a devastated woman wondering “why?” after a breakup.
Country: Chile
Listen: YouTube
Hoy volví a dormir en nuestra cama
Y todo sigue igual.
El aire y nuestros gatos, nada cambiará.
Difícil olvidarte estando aquí, oh, oh, oh.
Today I went back to sleep in our bed
And everything remains the same.
The air and our cats, nothing will change.
It’s difficult to forget you being here, oh, oh, oh.
“I Will Not Be Your Slave”
Album: Revolución de Amor (Revolution of Love), 2002
Style: Rock
Country: Mexico
Listen @ YouTube, Amazon Music
No me crucifiques
Con los clavos del amor, mi morena.
No soy de tu propiedad, mi reina,
Y no voy a ser tu esclavo.
Do not crucify me
With the nails of love, my brunette.
I am not your property, my queen,
And I will not be your slave.
“Kitipun”
Album: Literal (Literal), 2019
Style: Bachata, salsa, tropical love song.
Country: Dominical Republic
Listen: YouTube, Amazon. This song won “Best Tropical Song” and was nominated for Song of the Year in the 2019 Latin Grammy Awards.
Mi cuenta de ahorros, mi pasta dental,
Mi guitarra Fender y mi celular.
Mi libro de sushi comprado en Perú,
Mi bata de baño y mi champú. (¡Oh!)
My checking account, my toothpaste,
My Fender guitar and my cell phone.
My book about sushi bought in Peru,
My bathrobe and my shampoo. (Oh!)
“She Made Me Fall In Love”
Album: Quiero Verte Feliz (I Want To See You Happy), 2021
Style: Cumbia about falling in love.
Country: USA/Mexico (Mexican-American)
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
En la locura de este pensamiento
Salen corriendo todos mis deseos.
Quisiera liberar mi pensamiento,
Buscándote a ti.
In the lunacy of this thought
All my desires go flying [*lit. running].
I would like to liberate my mind,
Looking for you.
“Profound Love”
Style: Vals (Waltz). Love song.
Country: Ecuador
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Yo no creí
Que al cabo de los años
Fuera a encontrar
Un amor como el tuyo.
I did not believe
That after all these years
I would find
A love like yours.
“Simply Friends”
Album: SEIS (Six), 2021
Style: Mariachi about a lovestruck person wanting to know if their crush is interested in a relationship, or if they will stay simply friends.
Countries: Chile, Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Oye, dame una señal,
La posibilidad de hacerlo a mi modo.
Dale, no seas cohibido,
Quiero algo contigo,
Más que ser amigos.
Hey, give me a sign,
The possibility of doing things my way.
Come on, don’t be shy,
I want something with you,
More than being friends.
“I Will Wait For You”
Style: Pasillo, vals (waltz), unrequited love song.
Country: Ecuador
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Te esperaré.
Sé que me quieres
Y yo seré tu adoración.
En mi recuerdo, grabado estará tu nombre.
Toda la vida, te esperaré y serás mi gran amor.
“The Woman”
Album: Seis (Six), 2021
Style: A gloriously dramatic bolero breakup song. The dramatic but energetic style makes the lyrics imagery clearly figurative, not literal, but possibly this needs a trigger warning for suicide/murder/drugs. Just in case!
Countries: Chile; Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Songlations 
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