Spanish song lyrics translated to English: side-by-side lyrics, song meanings, and translation notes for people learning Spanish.
“My Delirium”
Genre: Techno pop, seduction and lust theme, club-influence
Country: Mexico
Tu boca no se ha dado cuenta aún
De que mis labios son motor para arrancar.
Yo sé que tú eres el color para mí,
Matiz que pinta todo lo que llevo gris.
Your mouth has not figured it out yet
That my lips are a motor ready to go.
I know that you are the color for me,
Hue that paints everything gray I have.
“I Forgot Again”
Composer: Juan Gabriel (1974)
Albums: Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán (1990); Maná MTV Unplugged (1999)
Genre: Mariachi, ranchera; bolero; rock; lost love song; always guitar. A classic Mexican ranchera song full of emotion, soulfully mourning still being in love with someone who doesn’t love them back. Good pick for a karaoke song.
Country: Mexico
YouTube has renditions by: Maná (MTV live album, rock), Juan Gabriel (recorded mariachi style), Alejandro Fernández (live traditional mariachi), Lucero (woman mariachi live), Pedro Vargas (recorded ranchera), Chavela Vargas (slow and hoarse ranchera, woman), Julio Jaramillo (bolero version), and more.
Wikipedia originally said that Juan Gabriel wrote and released it in 1990, but that time can’t be right because Julio Jaramillo sung it also and Julio died in 1978. Anyway, Juan Gabriel re-released it in 1999 around the same time that Maná released their version. It won Maná a Latin Grammy in 2000.
Update: English Wikipedia now says 1975, but Spanish Wikipedia says Juan Gabriel released this song in 1974 in his collaboration with the famous and transgenerational Mariachi Vargas.
Probablemente ya
De mí te has olvidado
Y sin embargo yo
Te seguiré esperando.
Probably, by now
You’ve forgotten about me
And nevertheless, I
Will continue to wait for you.
“A Place To Be Reborn” Lyrics
Album: Hu, Hu, Hu, 2009
Genre: Pop, light and floaty, gentle fairy-ish, some piano
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Qué protección sentí ayer,
Aunque afuera vi la lluvia.
Me dieron ganas de llorar
Con la canción que me enseñabas.
What security I felt yesterday,
Even though saw the rain outside.
I felt like crying [*lit. I got the urge to cry]
With the song that you were teaching me.
“Friend Spider” (1942)
Songwritter: Francisco “Cri-Cri” Gabilondo Soler
Genre: Children’s song about a musical spider who rallies other household bugs and animals for a dance party. Cri-Cri is unique for his elaborate children’s stories with advanced Spanish vocabulary. He does not speak down to children. The songs are fun without being overly repetitive.
Country: Mexico
Listen: Cri-Cri (children’s song); Eugenia León (ballad style)
Al fondo del barril desvencijado
Que alumbra un rayo de sol,
La araña en sus hilos baila tango
Con los acordes del bandoneón.
At the bottom of the crumbling barrel
That a ray of sunlight illuminates,
The spider on its strings dances tango
With the chords of the bandonion.
“With Every Word” Lyrics
Genre: Controlled slow pace, sultry, with string instruments, poetic lust song.
Country: United States (New York); Mexico
Con toda palabra,
Con toda sonrisa,
Con toda mirada,
Con toda caricia.
With every word,
With every smile,
With every glance,
With every caress.
“Treacherous Butterfly” Translated Lyrics
Album: Revolución de Amor (Revolution of Love), 2002
Genre: Rock, butterfly as metaphor for a woman who isn’t serious, fluttering from guy to guy and leaving behind heartbreak. One of my most popular translations.
Country: Mexico
Eres como una mariposa,
Vuelas y te posas, vas de boca en boca,
Facil y ligera, de quien te provoca.
You are like a butterfly,
You fly and you land, jumping from mouth to mouth —
Easy and light — of anyone who excites you.
“Something About You” Lyrics Translation
Genre: Electric pop, catchy. This song’s background sounds like the Kill Bill soundtrack, maybe with hints of Mamma Mia. Anyway, it got stuck in my head.
Country: Mexico
Cierro los ojos sin mirar atrás.
Las cosas buenas pasan más y más
Y tus errores tienen la virtud
De hacerme mal.
I close my eyes without looking back.
Good things happen more and more
And your mistakes have the power
To do me harm.
“Hu, Hu, Hu”
Album: Hu, Hu, Hu (2009)
Genre: Light, airy, pop/rock. The singers control the song metric really well. They almost put me in a trance. I call the style “airy,” but that is more about the mood. The singing voices are quite strong.
Country: Mexico
Intro:
————————————————————–
Quiero regalarte las estrellas, [*regalar = lit. gift (verb)]
Sol, la luna entera,
Una hora extra para respirar.
I want to give you the stars,
The sun, the full moon,
An extra hour to breathe.
“Do Not Threaten Me” Lyrics
Style: Ranchera, old heartbreak song. Poor José Alfredo is so heartbroken and the breakup is not even official yet.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
No me amenaces. No me amenaces.
Cuando estes decidida a buscar otra vida,
Pos agarra tu rumbo y vete.
Do not threaten me. Do not threaten me.
When you have decided to seek another life,
Well, take your path and go.
“Action and Reaction” Lyrics Translation
Album: Greatest Hits, 2004
Style: Electric pop, love song. This is a song about two people from different ethnicities and backgrounds in love. It does not matter that they are different; they are in love!
Country: Mexico
Listen: live version; pre-recorded album version;
Que tú prefieras los Beatles
Y yo Juan Gabriel,
No importa que sea otro el ritmo
Pero aquí es cuestion de piel.
That you prefer The Beatles [*old, famous British band]
And me, Juan Gabriel, [*old, famous Mexican ranchera singer]
No matter the different rhythm [*lit. No matter that the rhythm be another]
(But here) it’s a matter of skin.
“Crazy” (2009 single)
Style: Pop, quick pace, danceable. Weird song about a guy waking up in the wrong bed in the wrong house, totally confused and agitated. It’s a catchy song.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Intro:
——————————
Soy un caso singular
Que debiera analizar.
No sé que me dieron,
Ni lo que me hicieron,
Pero ya no soy normal.
I am an exceptional case
That you should analyze. [*formal “you”]
I do not know what they gave me,
Nor what they did to me,
But I am no longer normal.
“Look at Life” Lyrics
Album: MTV Unplugged Julieta Venegas, 2008
Style: Optimistic upbeat song, a bit hypnotic, about life saying yes to you and you saying yes to life, about looking forward to the future, about celebrating a birth.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Chorus:
————————————–
Mira la vida abriéndose camino.
Mira la vida diciendo que sí.
Look at life opening a way for itself.
Look at life saying yes.
————————————–
(x2)
You must be logged in to post a comment.