Spanish song lyrics translated to English: side-by-side lyrics, song meanings, and translation notes for people learning Spanish.
“This Loneliness”, 2009 single
Genre: Pop/rock, melancholy, soft and sweet voice reminiscent of Natalia Lafourcade. Song about loneliness. She needs a hug!
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
Esta soledad me esta quemando las pestañas,
Llenándome de telarañas
Y me pone a chillar.
This solitude is burning my eyelashes, [*idiom, meaning it keeps her up at night]
Covering me with cobwebs
And it makes me bawl.
“Share”
Album: Mietras Tú Dormías (While You Slept), 2010
Genre: Alternative pop/rock, love ballad, soft voiced but strongly projected, understatedly emotional. Sweet melody about wanting to be close to a lover. I learned about this song from the NPR Alt.Latino music blog.
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
Quiero compartir mi silla contigo.
Quiero ver salir el sol y despedirlo.
Quiero caminar y correr a tu ladito.
Quiero buscar y encontrarme a solas contigo.
I want to share my seat with you.
I want to see the sun rise and (then) say farewell to it.
I want to walk and run by your side.
I want to look for and find time alone with you.
“(Everybody) Let Me Cry”
Album: Déjenme Llorar (Everybody Let Me Cry), 2012
Genre: Alternative rock, melancholy, soft but strong voice, mourning a breakup. This song won “Best Alternative Song” and its album won “Best Alternative Album” in the 2012 Latin Grammy Awards. The song was also nominated for “Song of the Year.”
Country: Mexico, USA (Arizona)
He estado recordando los momentos que te di,
Cuántos tú me diste y por qué ahora estoy aquí,
Sentada en el suelo pensando que te quiero,
Que te quise tanto, y que tu amor me es… ¡necesario!
I have been remembering the moments that I gave you,
How many you gave me, and why I am here now,
Sitting on the floor thinking that I love you,
That I loved you so much, and that your love is for me… necessary!
“About-Turn”
Genre: Ranchera, heartbreak, wavering between denial and acceptance.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Te vas porque yo quiero que te vayas.
A la hora que yo quiera te detengo.
Yo sé que mi cariño te hace falta
Porque quieras o no yo soy tu dueño.
You leave because I want you to leave.
At whatever time I want, I (can) stop you.
I know that you need my affection,
Because whether you want it or not, I am your boss.
“And All For What?” Lyrics
Genre: Pop or ranchera versions, romance song
Songwriter: Pedro Reyna Cisneros
Country: Mexico
Listen @ YouTube to Intocable (ranchera) or Natalia Lafourcade (alt pop)
“The Black Dog” Lyrics
Genre: Corrido (a storytelling style) about a loyal dog.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
José Alfredo Jiménez was a famous and prolific Mexican singer-songwriter. Remember his name if you are interested in the music history of Latin America or Mexican culture. His songs created a new mythology in Mexico. He sang about characters and stories. This song is about the murder of Gilberto the Brave, who was killed in his sleep by a cowardly but powerful rival. Gilberto had a loyal dog who avenged his murder.
Al otro lado del puente
De La Piedad, Michoacán,
Vivía Gilberto el Valiente,
Nacido en Apatzingán.
On the other side of the bridge
Of La Piedad, Michoacán,
Lived Gilberto the Brave,
Born in Apatzingán.
Siempre con un perro negro
Que era su noble guardián.
Always with a black dog
That was his noble guardian.
“One or the Other” Lyrics
Genre: Upbeat cumbia, romance, relationship ultimatum. She wants either commitment or a breakup.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Una de dos:
Te quedas al lado mio o te vas de una vez.
No soy de las que se entregan por un simple placer.
Sabes que no te miento y si no date la vuelta.
(x2)
One or the other:
You stay by my side or you leave once and for all.
I am not one of those girls who give themselves up for simple pleasure.
You know I don’t lie to you and if you don’t, turn around now.
(x2)
“Lining the Sun”
Album: Maná MTV Unplugged, 1999
Genre: Rock song about pining for love. It’s a common theme in Maná’s songs. He is desperate and melancholy for her love. She doesn’t pay attention to him. He can’t forget her. He claims it would be easier to reach the sun than her heart.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Rayando el sol,
Rayando por ti,
Esta pena me duele,
Me quema sin tu amor.
Lining the sun,
Lining (it) for you,
This sorrow hurts me,
It burns me without your love.
No me has llamado;
Estoy desesperado.
Son muchas lunas las que te he llorado.
You have not called me;
I am getting desperate.
I have cried you many a moon.
“(I Ask For) Time from the Wind”, lit. “Time to the Wind”
Genre: Airy, soft, nostalgic pop from Natalia Lafourcade. Dreamy reflections on sunlight and love.
Country: Mexico
El sol no miente.
La luz envuelve.
Mi corazón se viste… de rojo
Y revive.
The sun does not lie.
The light surrounds.
My heart dresses… in red
And revives.
“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.
Songlations 
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