Spanish song lyrics translated to English: side-by-side lyrics, song meanings, and translation notes for people learning Spanish.
“Nothing”
Album: Fíjate Bien (Pay Attention), 2000
Style: Pop/rock, declaration of apathy, slow tempo
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Ya no tengo sufrimiento.
Ya no tengo quién me mienta.
Ya no tengo a quién contarle
Lo que tengo en mi cabeza.
I no longer suffer.
I no longer have someone to lie to me.
I no longer have someone to talk about
What goes on in my head.
“I Forgot Again”
Composer: Juan Gabriel (1974)
Albums: Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán (1990); Maná MTV Unplugged (1999)
Style: Mariachi, ranchera; bolero; rock; lost love song; always guitar. A classic Mexican ranchera song full of emotion, soulfully mourning still being in love with someone who doesn’t love them back. Good pick for a karaoke song.
Country: Mexico
YouTube has renditions by: Maná (MTV live album, rock), Juan Gabriel (recorded mariachi style), Alejandro Fernández (live traditional mariachi), Lucero (woman mariachi live), Pedro Vargas (recorded ranchera), Chavela Vargas (slow and hoarse ranchera, woman), Julio Jaramillo (bolero version), and more.
Wikipedia originally said that Juan Gabriel wrote and released it in 1990, but that time can’t be right because Julio Jaramillo sung it also and Julio died in 1978. Anyway, Juan Gabriel re-released it in 1999 around the same time that Maná released their version. It won Maná a Latin Grammy in 2000.
Update: English Wikipedia now says 1975, but Spanish Wikipedia says Juan Gabriel released this song in 1974 in his collaboration with the famous and transgenerational Mariachi Vargas.
Probablemente ya
De mí te has olvidado
Y sin embargo yo
Te seguiré esperando.
Probably, by now
You’ve forgotten about me
And nevertheless, I
Will continue to wait for you.
“Gypsy”
Album: She Wolf (2009)
Style: Pop. Weird song about a women with a wandering spirit that a guy wants to tame, and she thinks that’s hot.
Country: Colombia
Nunca usé un antifaz.
Voy de paso
Por este mundo fugaz.
I never used a mask.
I am on my way
Through this fleeting world.
“Song of Goodbye”, 2007
Style: Breakup song, not angry, but definitely passive-aggressive. This song sounds cheerful until you realize that he is breaking up with his girlfriend. Oh my goodness, I hope he didn’t actually perform it for a girl. That would be mean.
Country: Argentina
Fuiste la luz de mi vida
Y mi musa preferida
Pero todo se acabo.
You were the light of my life
And my preferred muse
But everything ended.
“I Have Nothing Left (But To…)”, 1994
Style: Mariachi, sad. This song is about the end of a relationship. Selena sings about having no choice left but to come to terms with it, but she does not want to deny that it happened. She was in love! It was wonderful while it lasted. Poor Selena!
Country: USA (Texas)
Unrelated, but happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone. It’s not Mexican independence day! That’s September 16! Tell your friends.
No me queda más
Que perderme en un abismo
De tristeza y lágrimas.
I have nothing left
But to lose myself in an abyss
Of sadness and tears.
“Rag Doll” Song Translation
Album: Guapa (Good Looking), 2006
Style: Pop/rock, heavy string instruments, sad song about unrequited love and neglect.
Country: Spain
Como esos cuadros que aún están por colgar,
Como el mantel de la cena de ayer,
Siempre esperando que te diga algo más,
Y mis sentidas palabras no quieren volar.
Like those paintings that have yet to be hung up,
Like the tablecloth of yesterday’s dinner,
Always waiting for me to tell you something more,
And my heartfelt words do not want to fly.
“A Place To Be Reborn” Lyrics
Album: Hu, Hu, Hu, 2009
Style: Pop, light and floaty, gentle fairy-ish, some piano
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Qué protección sentí ayer,
Aunque afuera vi la lluvia.
Me dieron ganas de llorar
Con la canción que me enseñabas.
What security I felt yesterday,
Even though saw the rain outside.
I felt like crying [*lit. I got the urge to cry]
With the song that you were teaching me.
“You Can Count On Me”
Album: Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías La Dormida (What I Told You While You Pretended to Sleep), 2003
Style: Pop/rock, nostalgic love song about seeing the end of a relationship and feeling sad, thinking of the good times they had in the past, and asking if they will remember them fondly also.
Country: Spain
Un café con sal,
Ganas de llorar,
Mi mundo empezando a temblar,
Presiento que se acerca el final.
A coffee with salt,
Wanting to cry,
My world starting to tremble,
I feel that the end draws near.
“Three”
Album: La Vida Es… Un Ratico (Life Is… A Brief Moment), 2007
Style: Pop, love song about waiting for someone.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Yo no pienso que me pueda de ti olvidar.
Yo no pienso que mi corazón resista un día más.
Yo no soy lo que tú quieras que sea este amor.
Sólo soy la puerta abierta que te da mi corazón.
I do not think that I can forget about you.
I do not think that my heart will stand another day.
I am not what you want this love to be.
I am only the open door that gives my heart to you.
“Stupid”
Singer: Linda “La India” Viera Caballero
Style: Pop with salsa influence, about a lying boyfriend and feeling dumb for falling for them.
Country: Puerto Rico
Qué estúpida te ves.
Sera ingenuidad.
Hay cosas en la vida que
No se pueden aceptar.
How stupid you look.
It must be some ingenuity.
There are things in life that
Cannot be accepted.
“Friend Spider” (1942)
Songwritter: Francisco “Cri-Cri” Gabilondo Soler
Style: Children’s song about a musical spider who rallies other household bugs and animals for a dance party. Cri-Cri is unique for his elaborate children’s stories with advanced Spanish vocabulary. He does not speak down to children. The songs are fun without being overly repetitive.
Country: Mexico
Listen: Cri-Cri (children’s song); Eugenia León (ballad style)
Al fondo del barril desvencijado
Que alumbra un rayo de sol,
La araña en sus hilos baila tango
Con los acordes del bandoneón.
At the bottom of the crumbling barrel
That a ray of sunlight illuminates,
The spider on its strings dances tango
With the chords of the bandonion.
“The Call”
Style: Drama pop song about a cheater who wants to get back together. This person cheats, gets caught, gets dumped, and then won’t stop calling! Selena is just going to keep hanging up. Stop calling her. I love songs with stories.
Country: United States (Texas); Mexico
Listen: YouTube
[Sound of phone ringing]
-Bueno…
-Soy yo, mi amor, antes de que me cuelgues no’ más dejame explicar que…
-Hello…
-It’s me, my love, before you hang up on me just let me explain that…
[Sound of phone hanging up]
Continue reading ““La Llamada” (The Call) by Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, English translation”
Songlations 
You must be logged in to post a comment.