Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“Mine Soul”
Style: Pasillo love song serenade from mid-20th century Ecuador. Julio Jaramillo’s lyrics are so poetic.
Country: Ecuador
Listen: YouTube
[Spoken by observers:]
La cuarta canción y no sale.
¡La cuarta!
The fourth song and she does not come out.
The fourth!
[Serenade begins:]
El día que me olvides, alma mía,
Yo sé que existirás en mi penar,
Al verme solo, triste y olvidado,
Mi vida la haría arrancar. (x2)
“Our Vow” (1956) Lyrics
Composer: Benito de Jesús, famously sung by Julio Jaramillo.
Style: Pasillo, waltz-like originally. Many covers in different styles.
Country: Ecuador originally, but popular across Latin America.
Listen: Julio Jaramillo (Ecuador), José Feliciano (Puerto Rico), Javier Solis (Mexico), Vicente Fernández (Mexico) La Santa Cecilia (Mexican-American), Juanes (Colombia).
“Nuestro Juramento” is a well-known romance song across Latin America and arguably Julio Jaramillo’s most famous song. It is about human mortality and passion. It is two lovers who declare to continue loving each other forever, and to be devastated should the other die. The verb jurar means “to swear, to vow” and a juramento is an oath or a vow.
“The Black Shirt” Song Translated
Album: Mi Sangre (My Blood), 2004
Style: Rock, grieving/bitter. Juanes mourns a bad relationship and how it affected him. The black shirt symbolizes mourning. This song has lots of wordplay explained in the notes.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
(No por pobre y feo, pero por antojado…)
(Not for being poor or ugly, but for longing…)
Tengo la camisa negra.
Hoy mi amor está de luto.
Hoy tengo en el alma una pena [*pena, f. = pain (emotional); regret]
Y es por culpa de tu embrujo.
I wear the black shirt.
Today my love is mourning.
Today I have a regret weighing my soul
And it’s the fault of your witchcraft.
“May God Not Want It” Lyrics
Style: Romantic song lamenting a lover who is pulling away.
Country: Mexico
Composed by: Enrique Sánchez Alonso (Mexico)
Listen, sung by: Tania Libertad, Ana Gabriel, Javier Solis, Los Tres Ases, and many more.
Dios no lo quiera
Pero presiento que has dejado de quererme.
En estos días se te nota diferente,
Se han vuelto frías tus caricias de repente.
May God not let it be
But I feel that you no longer love me.
In these days, your presence is different,
Your caresses have turned cold suddenly.
“It’s For You”
Album: Un Día Normal (A Normal Day), 2002
Style: Soft rock with a beat, almost pop, love song
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Cada vez que me levanto
Y veo que a mi lado estás
Me siento renovado.
Every time I rise
And see you at my side
I feel renewed.
Y me siento aniquilado,
Aniquilado si no estás.
Tú controlas toda mi verdad
Y todo lo que está de más.
And I feel unbalanced,
Unbalanced if you aren’t around.
You control my whole truth
And everything else (of barest mention).
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