Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“The Beach”
Album: El Viaje de Copperpot (The Journey of Copperpot), 2000
Style: Slow pop
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
No sé si aún me recuerdas,
Nos conocimos al tiempo
Tú, el mar y el cielo
Y quién me trajo a ti.
I do not know if you still remember me,
We met on time
You, the sea and the sky
And the one who brought me to you.
“On My Side of the Sofa” Lyrics
Album: Guapa (Good Looking), 2006
Style: Pop/rock song about devoted love, except it goes slightly too far and sounds like a stalker song. I find it funny. She says she will wait for him in the shadows!
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Te esperaré, no importa quien te bese.
Yo te esperaré, no importa que me quieras.
Yo te escucharé, si tú me has dado tanto,
Yo te esperaré y te daré mi vida entera.
I will wait for you, no matter who kisses you.
I will wait for you, it doesn’t matter if you want me.
I will listen to you, (how could I not) if you have given me so much,
I will wait for you and I will give you my whole life.
“I Want For You” Lyrics
Style: Romantic bolero
Countries: USA (New York), Mexico, Puerto Rico
Listen: YouTube
Quiero para ti,
De una tarde de abril,
Su magico esplendor.
I want for you,
From an April afternoon,
Its magical splendor.
“Being With Me” Lyrics Translation
Album: Sí (Yes), 2003; MTV Unplugged – Julieta Venegas, 2008
Style: Pop, popular radio song. It was nominated for “Record of the Year” in the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Hay tanto que quiero contarte
Hay tanto que quiero saber de ti,
Ya podemos empezar poco a poco.
Cuéntame qué te trae por aquí.
There is so much I want to tell you
There is so much I want to know about you,
We can begin little by little now.
Tell me what brings you to these parts.
“Bad People” Translation
Album: Un Día Normal (2003)
Style: Rock song. Bitter song to an ex who broke his heart and now wants him back. This song won the Latin Grammy Award for “Best Rock Song” in 2003.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Tú me pides que te deje ahora, ahora,
Ahora cuando más te necesito.
You ask me to leave you now, now,
Now when I need you most.
Tú me dices que este amor se fue al olvido, ahora,
Ahora cuando yo ya no te olvido.
You tell me that this love has fallen to oblivion, now,
Now when I cannot forget you anymore.
“Let Me Connect You”
Style: Alternative/psychedelic rock, trippy music video.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
No me pidas que llore por ti,
Alguna vez te vi sometido,
Tus ojos caen y flotan en la obscuridad,
Alumbrame, que estoy bien perdido.
Do not ask me to cry for you,
At one point I saw you submerged,
Your eyes fall and float in the darkness,
Light my way, because I am completely lost.
“Love”
Album: Rocanlover (Rockin’ Lover), 2003
Style: Alternative/psychedelic space-travel love song that sounds like it was inspired by The Beatles.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
En tu planeta me quedé,
Fue por un tiempo
Y nunca fue mi plan.
I stayed in your planet,
It was for a time
And it was never my plan.
“It May Be”
Album: A Contracorriente (Against the Current), 2002
Style: Mellow pop rock, romantic duet, emphasis on vocals, few instruments. El Canto del Loco is a former Spanish pop rock band that I do not know very well yet. Amaia Montero is the former lead singer for the band La Oreja de Van Gogh (singing for them 1996-2007). I have translated several of LOVG’s songs. Amaia left LOVG to launch a solo career.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
No sé si quedan amigos,
Ni si existe el amor,
Si puedo contar contigo
Para hablar de dolor.
I don’t know if friends remain,
Nor if love exists,
(Nor) if I can count on you
To talk about pain.
“Hear My Love” Lyrics
Album: Eclípse (Eclipse), 2003
Style: Upbeat rock with flutes and drums
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Tú sabes cómo te deseo.
Tú sabes cómo te he soñado.
Si tú supieras que me muero
Por tu amor y por tus labios.
You know how I desire you.
You know how I have dreamed you.
If you knew that I die
For your love and for your lips.
“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.
“When My Guitar Weeps”
Composer: Augusto Polo Campos
Album: El Ruiseñor de América (Julio Jaramillo), 1962
Style: Early 20th century pasillo. Melancholy romance song calling out to a lost lover through music.
Country: Peru
Listen: YouTube has renditions by Los Morochucos, Julio Jaramillo (my favorite), Tania Libertad, Eva Ayllon, Juan Diego Florez, and more.
Cansado de llamarte,
Con mi alma destrozada,
Comprendo que no vienes porque no quiere Dios.
Tired of calling you,
With my spirit shattered,
I understand that you do not come because God does not wish it.
“Silence”
Group: Ojos de Brujo (Wizard Eyes)
Album: Techari, 2006
Style: Hip hop/flamenco fusion.
Country: Barcelona, Spain
Listen: YouTube. If you liked this song, you might also like “Papeles Mojados” by Chambao.
Silencio.
Cuando llama uno a la suerte
No comparece en ese momento,
En silencio.
Silence.
When one calls on luck
It doesn’t present itself in that moment,
In silence.
Songlations 
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