Tag: Country-USA

“Te Regalo” (I Gift To You) by Carla Morrison, English translation

“I Gift to You”
Album: Amor Supremo Desnudo (Supreme Naked Love), 2017
Style: Romantic indie pop with a slow melancholy tone. Love song about dedicating your life to someone. This would be good first dance song for a wedding reception.
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Déjame tomarte de la mano,
Déjame mirarte a los ojos,
Déjame, a través de mi mirada,
Darte todo mi esplendor.

Let me take you by the hand,
Let me look you in the eyes,
Let me, through my gaze,
Give you all my splendor.

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“Ojalá Te Animes” (Hopefully You Dare) by Bobby Pulido, English translation

“Hopefully You Dare”
Album: Vive (Live), 2005
Style: Ranchera about pulling a crush out of their shyness to start a relationship.
Country: USA (Texas), with Mexican slang
Listen: YouTube

Intro and Lyrics Translation:

[Intro]

–Oye comp’re, hay una güerita que – no, hombre – me está cayendo, ‘ira. Aqui dentro del corazón.

-¿A poco? ¿En serio? Pues conquístala.

-Pero pues ¿cómo le hago?

-Flores, chocolates a veces.

–M’no, pues yo andaba pensando más una serenata.

-¿Una serenata?

–Una serenata.

-¡Pero tú no cantas!

-¡Pero TÚ sí!

[Intro translation]

-Hey compadre, there’s this blonde girl who – no, man – she catching on me, look. Here inside my heart.

-Really? Serious? Well, get her!

-But then, how do I do it?

-Flowers, chocolate sometimes.

-Uh no, see I was thinking more a serenade.

-A serenade?

-A serenade.

-But you don’t sing!

-But YOU do!

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“Eres Tú” (It Is You) by Carla Morrison, English translation

“It Is You”
Album: Dejénme Llorar (Let Me Cry), 2012
Style: Alternative rock, pop, romantic song for The One. It would be a good wedding song.
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
Listen: YouTube

Happy new year, everyone!

Lyrics Translation:

Hoy desperté con ganas de besarte.
Tengo una sed de acariciarte,
Enredarme a ti y no soltarte,
Eres tan embriagante.
Eres tú,
Eres tú~uh.

Today I woke up with the desire to kiss you.
I thirst to caress you,
To entangle myself with you and not let you go,
You are so intoxicating.
It is you,
It is you~uh.

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“Hasta La Piel” (Down to My Skin) by Carla Morrison, English translation+meaning

“Down To My Skin”
Album: Dejénme Llorar (Let Me Cry), 2012
Style: Alternative rock, romantic and melancholy, emo. About intense love and the fear of losing it.
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

No te quiero perder,
Que la distancia se devore nuestra miel,
Y perdamos la fe.

I don’t want to lose you,
For the distance to devour our honey,
And for us to lose faith.

No te quiero tener,
Y cuando menos piense,
Perderte otra vez,
Me duele hasta la piel.

I don’t want to have you,
And when I least expect it,
Lose you again,
It hurts me to down my skin.

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“Disfruto” (I Enjoy) by Carla Morrison, English translation + meaning

“I Enjoy”
Album: Dejénme Llorar (Let Me Cry), 2012
Style: Alternative rock, folk pop, emo melancholy love song
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Me complace amarte.
Disfruto acariciarte
Y ponerte a dormir.
Es escalofriante,
Tenerte de frente,
Hacerte sonreír.

I pleases me to love you.
I enjoy caressing you
And putting you to sleep.
It is goosebump-inducing,
Having you in front of me,
Making you smile.

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“Hierba Mala” (Bad Weed) by La Santa Cecilia, English translation of lyrics

“Bad Weed” or “Bad Plant”
Album: Quiero Verte Feliz (I Want to See You Happy), 2021
Style: Cumbia pop song about a bad person who lies and isn’t good to be around. The Marisoul has a great voice!
Country: USA (Los Angeles, CA)
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

No quiero escucharte ya.
No vale ni un peso,
Tus palabras que se van
Como hojas en el viento.

I do not want to listen to you anymore.
They aren’t worth even a dollar,
Your words that fly
Like leaves in the wind.

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“El Chico Del Apartamento 512” by Selena Quintanilla-Perez, English translation

“The Guy From Apartment 512” Lyrics and Cultural Meaning

Album: Amor Prohibido (Forbidden Love), 1994
Style: Tejano, Mexican cumbia. Song about having a crush on a neighbor and working up the courage to declare it to him.
Country: USA (Texas)
Listen: YouTube

Lyrics Translation:

Cada día es igual por mi pasillo.
Nunca llegó a mi puerta sin oír el chiflido
De un chavo que me dice que me está esperando.
Lo que él debería hacer es ir y darse un baño.

Every day is the same down my hallway.
I never get to my door without hearing the whistle
Of some guy who tells me that he’s waiting for me.
What he should do is go take a bath.

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“El Ramalazo” by Flor Silvestre, cover by Selena Quintanilla-Perez, English translation

“The Fall” Lyrics, lit. “The Impact” or “The Blast of Wind”
Style: Mariachi
Countries: United States (Texas), Mexico
Listen: This song is full of life advice and metaphors. It speaks about the fall of a great tree. It was so large, and it fell so hard. The song is covered on Selena Quintanilla-Pérez’s anthology album, disc 2. Listen to Flor Silvestre’s original version on YouTube.

Lyrics Translation:

Deja amistades pa’ cuando caigas,
Te den la mano.
Brinde una copa pa’ cuando llores,
Te den un trago.

Keep friendships so that when you fall,
They give you a hand.
Raise your glass (to others’ happiness) so that when you cry,
They give you a drink.

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“Vivir Mi Vida” (Living My Life) by Marc Anthony, English translation

“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

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“Ella Me Enamoró” (She Made Me Fall In Love) by La Santa Cecilia, English translation

“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

Lyrics Translation:

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.

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“Quiero Verte Feliz” (I Want To See You Happy) by La Santa Cecilia, Lila Downs, English translation

“I Want To See You Happy”, 2021 single
Countries: USA (California), Mexico
Style: Cumbia about being ready to be happy again despite all the bad things happening in the world.
Listen: YouTube, Amazon

Lyrics Translation:

No es que me valga madre la vida,
El dolor de la gente, el frío, y el hambre. 
La angustia está presente.
El odio se siente, el ambiente se pone caliente.

It’s not that I don’t give a damn about life,
People’s pain, the cold, and hunger.
The anguish is there.
The hate is palpable, the environment heats up.

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“Cuidado” (Careful) by José José, La Santa Cecilia; English translation of lyrics

“Careful”
Albums: Cuidado (1969); Someday New (2014)
Style: Soulful alternative rock, ballad-like, with bass and acoustic instruments, including accordion.
Countries: United States (Los Angeles, CA); Mexico

Listen:

The song by José José is directed to a lover who is doing things that will lead to a breakup. You can listen to the original version by José José (1969) or La Santa Cecilia’s cover (2014) at YouTube. I love the way lead singer Marisol “La Marisoul” Hernandez harmonizes the warnings in the lyrics until the words vibrate.

José José:

La Santa Cecilia:

Today is the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month, but Day of the Dead is coming up on November 1-2. I recommend listening to La Santa Cecilia’s lively “La Negra” (YouTube and translation). I’m also curious about the upcoming animated movie, The Book of Life premiering October 17.

Lyrics Translation (following La Santa Cecilia’s version):

Cuidado,
Mucho cuidado,
Que estás tomando por un rumbo equivocado.

Careful,
Be very careful,
Because you are going down a wrong road.

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