Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“She”
Album: Joel Nava (Joel Nava), 1995
About: Soft, slow melancholy song about accepting the end of a relationship. Acoustics and vocals only, very raw. It would be a good song for students to sing. It’s slow enough and will let you practice pronunciation.
Country: USA (Texas)
Listen: YouTube
Me cansé de rogarle,
Me cansé de decirle que yo sin ella
De pena muero.
I got tired of begging her,
I got tired of telling her that I, without her,
Of grief would die.
“That Man” Lyrics
Album: Dicen Que Soy (They Say I Am), 1994
About: Salsa song about a bad man who hides behind fake kindness. An excellent song for adjectives to describe someone you don’t like.
Country: Puerto Rico
Listen: YouTube
Ese hombre que tú ves ahí
Que parece tan galante,
Tan atento y arrogante,
Lo conozco como a mí.
That man that you see there
Who seems so gallant,
So attentive and arrogant,
I know him as I know myself.
“What Will Become of Me” Lyrics
Album: Epicentro (Epicenter), 2021
Style: Soft pop song about a being in a turbulent and hot/cold relationship with a bad boy. She loves him but he ignores her and that makes her mad.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
Jugamos a dejar las cosas claras,
No fue suficiente.
Ven y mírame de frente.
No despiertes a la fiera.
We played at making things clear,
It wasn’t enough.
Come and see me face to face.
Don’t wake up in a foul mood.
Dejémonos de hablar de forma rara,
No sé lo que sientes.
Yo sé que siempre fuiste un delincuente
Y aunque me digas que no soy cualquiera,
Me quema.
“Stop Your Suffering” or “Stop Making Yourself Suffer” Lyrics Translation
Album: La Movida, 2006 (likely recorded in the 1980s)
Style: Romantica. Slow, melancholy, longing, romantic. It is a “come back” song to an ex-lover, declaring that they still love each other and breaking up was a mistake. Thanks to The Strachwitz Frontera Collection for preserving these historical recordings.
Country: USA (Texas)
Listen: La Movida; Lisa Lopez
Mi amor sufre por ti
Porque te quiere.
Y tú, sin comprender,
Te alejaste.
My love suffers for you
Because it loves you.
And you, without understanding,
Distanced yourself.
“Stop Insisting, Heart” Lyrics
Album: Juan Gabriel con Mariachi Vol. II (1976); Vicente Fernandez (1978)
Style: Mariachi serenade asking either for love to be reciprocated, or for one’s heart to stop feeling unrequited love. The song is directed at both the love interest and at one’s own heart. Composed by Alberto Aguilera Valadez.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Quiere el corazón, lo quieras como yo te quiero,
No seas cruel, no hagas más grande este sufrimiento,
Él para quererte solo está latiendo,
Quiérelo tan solo un poco, te lo está pidiendo.
The heart wants, for you to love it as I love you,
Don’t be cruel, don’t extend this suffering,
My heart, to love you, only needs a pulse,
Love it just a bit, it is pleading to you.
“Another Page” Lyrics
Album: En Vivo (Live), 2005, Los Cadetes de Linares
Style: Regional Mexican song composed by Don Raul Ramírez García. It’s about starting a new chapter in life (another page) after ending a relationship. Happy new year! Updates will be less frequent this & next month due to the California fires. I’m ok but several people I know are affected by the smoke.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube (Los Cadetes de Linares); also Ezequiel Peña, Ariel Camacho
Ya es inútil que vuelvas, lo que fue, ya no es.
Es inútil que quieras comenzar otra vez.
No interrumpas mi vida, yo no te puedo amar.
Solo sé que, tu boca, no la vuelvo a besar.
It is pointless for you to return, what was, now isn’t.
It is pointless for you to want to start once again.
Don’t interrupt my life, I cannot love you.
I only know that — your mouth — I will not kiss again.
“Poison” Lyrics Translation
Album: Vida cotidiana (Daily life), 2023
Style: Pop/rock about dealing with toxic people, being over it, and not letting their poison affect you anymore.
Country: Colombia
Listen: YouTube
Antes de irte,
Te dije lo que sentía
Y lo entendiste mal.
Before you left,
I told you how I felt
And you took it wrong.
“Look at Me” Lyrics Translated
Album: Mírame (Look at Me), 2024
Style: Catchy pop dance song about how they’re doing well after a breakup. Look at them and how they thrive!
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Seguramente te enteraste (¿de qué?)
De que ando terroreando duro (¿por qué?)
Ya me mandaste otro mensaje (ya ves)
Tú sufres porque yo no sufro (otra vez)
Surely you’ve heard (of what?)
That I’m going aggressively hard (why?)
You already sent me another message (you see)
You suffer because I don’t (once again)
“We Were Doing So Well” Lyrics
Album: Camas Separadas (Separate Beds), 2018
Style: Pop/rock, soft rock. A woman is taken by surprise by a breakup. She thought they were okay and laments that she didn’t even get the chance to address issues in the relationship.
Country: Argentina
Listen: YouTube
Me lo has dicho mil veces,
Se ha clavado en mi mente,
Decidiste partir por razones urgentes.
You have told me a thousand times,
It has gotten stuck in my head,
You decided to leave for urgent reasons.
“Of All the Flowers” Lyrics Translation
Album: De Todas Las Flores (Of All the Flowers), 2022
Style: Jazzy, folk, piano and string. Song reminiscing about a happy romance that ended.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
De todas las flores que sembramos
Solo quedan unas encendidas.
Cada mañana se preguntan
Cuándo llegarás para cantarles.
Of all the flowers that we sowed
Only a few remain aflare.
Every morning they ask themselves
When will you come to sing to them.
“A Good Life” Lyrics Translation
Album: Una Vida Buena (A Good Life), 2023
Style: Pop/rock. Aspirational song about wanting to leave a bad marriage and live a good life, without the awfulness of current life.
Country: Puerto Rico
Listen: YouTube
Me desperté cansada,
Cansada de vivir en una vida que no me da nada.
Tan triste, aburrida, deprimida, pero con más ganas
De hacer una maleta y mandar todo pa’ la chingada.
I woke up tired,
Tired of living in a life that gives me nothing.
So sad, tired, depressed, but with a stronger urge
To pack a bag and leave everything to hell.
“There Will Be No One in the World” Lyrics
Album: Niña de Fuego (Girl of Fire), 2008. Nominated for “Album of the Year” in the 2008 Latin Grammy Awards.
Style: Pop, jazz, tropical music. Song about a heartbreak.
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
Desde que el agua es libre,
Libre entre manantiales vive.
Jazmines han llora’o y yo no comprendo
Cómo en tus ojos, niña, solo hay desierto.
Since the water was free,
Free among running springs, it lives.
Jasmines have cried and and I don’t understand
How in your eyes, girl, there is only a desert.
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