Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“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.
“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.
“I Am Leaving You Madrid”
Album: Laundry Service, 2001
Style: Pop/rock, upbeat
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Sí, ya es hora de esconder
Del mundo, el dolor
Bajo la piel.
Más sé que estaré bien.
Los gatos como yo caen de pie.
Yes, the time has come to hide
From the world, the pain
Under my skin.
But I know I’ll be fine.
Cats like me fall on their feet.
“The Peace of Your Eyes” Lyrics
Album: Lo Que Te Conté Mientras Te Hacías La Dormida (What I Told You When You Pretended to Sleep), 2003
Style: Pop with piano, about wanting to feel secure in a relationship and trying to allow oneself to do so.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
No he podido esta vez,
Vuelvo a no ser,
Vuelvo a caer.
I have not been able this time,
I return to not being [*alt. not existing],
I fall again.
“We Can Cause Each Other Harm” Lyrics
Album: Fíjate Bien (Pay Good Attention), 2000
Style: Pop rock, about the potential of new relationships
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Ya es tarde para que te vea
Igual que lo hacía
En los días lejanos de mi cotidiano eterno.
It is late now for me to see you
The (same) way I used to
In those far away days of my everyday eternity.
Mira que ya todo es tan distinto,
Estamos explotando,
Uno tan cerca del otro y de pronto mi amor —
Look, see that everything is so different now,
We are exploding,
One so close to the other and all of a sudden, my love —
“Paris” Lyrics
Album: El Viaje de Copperpot (Copperpot’s Voyage), 2000
Style: Pop, reminiscent of a romantic relationship.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
Ven, acércate.
Ven y abrázame.
Vuelve a sonreír, a recordar París,
A ser mi angustia.
Déjame pasar… una tarde más.
Come, draw near me.
Come and hug me.
Return to smiling, to remembering Paris,
To being my anguish.
Let me spend… one more afternoon.
“Inevitable”
Album: ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? (Where Are The Thieves?), 1998
Style: Rock, confessions love song.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Si es cuestión de confesar,
No sé preparar café
Y no entiendo de fútbol.
If it’s a matter of confessing,
I don’t know how to prepare coffee
And I don’t understand soccer.
“Smells of Sadness” Lyrics Translation
Album: Luna (Moon), 2003
Style: Slow rock, Latin rock. Melancholy song about missing a lover and not knowing where they are.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Sólo huele a tristeza,
Huele a soledad.
En mis ojos perdidos
Sólo hay humedad.
It smells only of sadness,
It smells of loneliness.
In my lost eyes
There is only moisture (lit. humidity).
“Pay Attention”, alt. “Look Closely”
Album: Fíjate Bien, 2000
Style: Pop/rock, anti-war song raising awareness to the conflict in Colombia. It won Best Rock Song at the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Te han quitado lo que tienes,
Te han robado el pan del día,
Te han sacado de tus tierras
Y no parece que termina aquí.
They have taken away what you have,
They have stolen your daily bread,
They have taken you out of your lands
And it doesn’t look like it stops here.
Songlations 
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