Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“Foreign Land” Lyrics
Album: Amor Supremo (Supreme Love), 2015
Style: Alternative rock song about wanting to be chaste, but struggling with new and foreign feelings and desires.
Country: Mexico; USA
Listen: YouTube
Y tú, ¿quién te crees?
Enamorandome así,
Sin pedirle permiso a Dios,
Enredándome en locura.
And you, who do you think you are?
Making me fall for you like this,
Without asking God for permission,
Entangling me in lunacy.
“The Rebellion”
Album: Rebellion, 1986
Style: Salsa story-story about African slaves who rebel in Colombia. Billboard lists it as one of the “15 Best Salsa Songs Ever” and various publications have listed it among the greatest songs of Colombia. Joe Arroyo wrote this song to remember the history of his hometown.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
[Spoken:]
Quiero contarle, mi hermano,
Un pedacito de la historia negra,
De la historia nuestra, caballero,
Y dice así…
I want to tell you, my brother,
A little piece of black history,
Of our history, gentleman,
And it goes like this…
“You Sure Know How to Love Me”
Album: Musas (Muses), 2017
Style: Folk music, romantic song telling a long-time suitor that you have the courage to reciprocate now. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Ha pasado tanto tiempo,
Finalmente descubrí tus besos,
Me enredaste en tu mirada,
Me abrazaste con todos mis defectos.
So much time has passed,
Finally I discovered your kisses,
You tied me up with your eyes,
You hugged me with all my defects.
“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
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.
“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
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)
“There It Goes” Song Lyrics
Album: Fíjate Bien (Pay Attention), 2000
Style: Rock song about embracing your life, valuing your time on Earth, and working towards your own goals. Your time here is limited, so make the most of it. Happy New Year!
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Chorus:
———————————————–
No le huyas más al tiempo
Que la vida es una sola.
No le saques más a el cuerpo
Que la vida se te agota.
Do not continue fleeing time
Because you only have one life.
Do not continue sapping your body
Because your life wears out.
“Without Affection and Without Love” Lyrics
Album: Momentos De Amor (Moments of Love), 2011
Style: Bolero about an ex who didn’t show affection or love, and wishing that destiny lets him feel that sadness also.
Country: Peru, Mexico
Listen: YouTube
¿Para qué vivir fingiendo
Si la vida es corta y, a veces, tan cruel?
¿Para qué seguir soñando
Con aquel cariño que ha de ser infiel?
Why live pretending
If life is short and, sometimes, so cruel?
Why keep dreaming
About that sweetheart who has to be unfaithful?
“Set Fire To It” or “Set It On Fire” Lyrics
Album: Autopoiética (Autopoietic), 2023
Style: Jazzy pop full of not very subtle sexual euphemisms. Very sensual.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Qué goce cortarte el pelo,
Me encanta que me chupes como caramelo,
Me gusta que estés como roca,
Extraño tanto con la cola taparte la boca.
I rejoice in cutting your hair,
I love it when you suck me like caramel candy,
I love it when you are like a rock,
I really miss shutting your mouth with my tail.
“Kiss” Lyrics
Album: Háblate de Mí (Tell Yourself About Me), 2016
Style: Indie pop romantic song asking for a kiss.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Beso, tan simple como eso,
Tan simple como un beso,
Todo puede cambiar.
A kiss, as simple as that,
As simply as a kiss,
Everything can change.
“Inward” Lyrics
Album: El Renacimiento (The Rebirth), 2022
Style: R&B. Carla sings about confronting her depression and being honest with herself, and her journey to find her way out of darkness. I wish her the best!
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
Listen: YouTube
Desperté un día sin sentir
Ganas de querer seguir.
Algo ya me hundía en mi cama.
I woke up one day without feeling
Desire to want to continue.
Something had already sunk me into bed.
“A Little Mezcal Drink” Lyrics
Album: Pecados y milagros (Sins and miracles), 2011
Style: Joyful party mariachi rock. Song about drinking mezcal, an alcoholic drink made from agave (“maguey“) plants in Mexico, including a specific subtype called espadín or dobiji. Mezcal Day is next week, October 21st. Enjoy and drink responsibly.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Brinda con el pensamiento,
Gotita lluvia de calor.
Mi culpa, Dobiji,
Es por mi culpa, señor.
Toast with your thoughts,
Little rain droplet of heat.
My fault, Dobiji,
It is my fault, sir.
Bebí de tu memoria,
Aroma a tierra, agave y sol.
Yo soy la que le gusta
Este castigo mejor.
I drank of your memory,
Aroma of earth, agave, and sun.
I am the one who prefers
This punishment instead.
“Who Will You Love More Than Me”
Album: Para Siempre (Forever), 2007
Style: Serenade to win back a former lover, reminding her that she loves him even though she broke up with him, and telling her that he loves her.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
¿A quién vas a amar más que a mí?
Dime, para feliz, felicitarlo yo.
Who will you love more than me?
Tell me so I can, happily, congratulate him myself.
Songlations 
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