Spanish songs translated to English with side-by-side lyrics and notes for Spanish learners
“Watching You In Silence”
Album: Latin Crooners, 2008
About: Soft jazzy vocals. Dreamy song about unrequited love from afar, romantic but not intense, peaceful.
Country: France
Listen: YouTube
Solamente al mirarte en silencio,
Solamente al tocarte en mis sueños,
Nunca llegue hasta ver
Este amor tan puro
Y profundo que siento.
Only watching you silently,
Only touching you in my dreams,
I was never able to see
This love so pure
And deep that I feel.
“Beloved Earth”
Album: Tierra Querida (Beloved Earth), 2022
Style: Soft acoustic pop. Natalia Lafourcade sings about love for her homeland’s natural beauty, and gratitude for everything she has received from the land.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Tierra querida que tanto me has regalado,
De la mañana tus besos, mi dulce aliento,
He respirado tus aires y tu nostalgia,
He saboreado las aguas de tu rocío.
Beloved earth that has gifted me so much,
From morning, your kisses, (and) my sweet breath,
I have inhaled your airs and your nostalgia,
I have savored the waters of your dew.
“Everything Happens” Lyrics Translation
Album: Amor Supremo (Supreme Love), 2015
Style: Pop/rock/emo with soft vocals. Melancholy love song to oneself about the struggle with depression, and about feeling awful when you think you should feel fine. It is a very personal song from Carla Morrison, and ultimately a hopeful song about wanting to fight through the darkness instead of giving up.
Country: USA (Arizona); Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Mi vista es distinta,
Es muy triste y contamina.
Quiero dejar de creer,
Estarme sola y no ver.
My sight is different,
It is so sad and contaminated.
I want to stop believing,
To be alone and not see.
“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.
“Soul, Heart and Life”
Style: Waltz, bolero, various adaptions. Translation of a classic song about a person very much in love. They sing about the three things they offer their lover: their soul to woe them, their heart to love them, and their life to spend with them. It is a sweet love song.
Countries: Many
Listen: Various versions. Trío Los Panchos (USA/Mexico), Dyango (Spain; live, slow performance), Los Embajadores Criollos (Peru), Soledad Pastorutti (Argentina, live, deep voice), Tania Libertad (Peru), and more on YouTube.
Recuerdo aquella vez
Que yo te conocí
Recuerdo aquella tarde
Pero no recuerdo ni como te vi.
I remember that time
When I first met you
I remember that afternoon
But I don’t even remember how I saw you.
“Your Silence” Lyrics Translation
Album: Pafuera Telarañas (Get Outta Here, Cobwebs), 2004
Style: Melancholy sound
Country: Spain
Listen: YouTube
Como quien tira de una cuerda que se romperá,
Tirar, tirar, tirar, tirar, tirar…
Como sin darse cuenta rozar un poco más,
Los ojos aún cerrados para no afrontar.
Like someone pulls on a rope that will break,
Pulling, pulling, pulling, pulling, pulling…
Like without realizing it, brushing a bit more,
Eyes still closed to avoid confronting.
“The Law of Retirement” Lyrics Translation
Album: Eusebio, 2008
Style: Slow, soft song with accordions in the background. This song was used in the soundtrack of a romantic comedy-drama film titled Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008).
Country: Spain (Barcelona)
Listen: YouTube
La ley del retiro
Y en el olvido, olvidé
Qué yo había sido.
The law of retirement
And in oblivion, I forgot
What I had been.
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