Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“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
“The White Horse”
Style: Corrido about a white horse, but it’s really about a road trip all over Mexico on a car (romanticized as a horse).
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
This song is about a road trip [es] that José Alfredo Jiménez took from Guadalajara (in central Mexico) to Baja California (just south of the United States southwest) on a white 1957 Chrysler. It is a good song to teach Mexican geography, since he mentions the places he passes on his journey.
Este es el corrido del caballo blanco,
Que en un día domingo feliz arrancara. *
Iba con la mira de llegar al norte, *
Habiendo salido de Guadalajara.
This is the narrative of the white horse,
That on a Sunday, happily took off. *
He went with the goal of reaching the north, *
Having left from Guadalajara.
“First Day”
Album: Limon y Sal (Lemon and Salt), 2006
Style: Pop, love song, possibly breakup song, possibly the start of a new relationship though it sounds like one person wants it more than the other.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Songlations 
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