I moved to Songlations.com in 2021. Follow me there for new song translations. I am slowly moving old posts there, so you may see some songs with a link saying "Continue the translation at Songlations.com" or similar text.

Listen to my full list of translated songs, from both the new and old site, by following my Spotify playlist "Songlations.com ( Read more... )

"Four Paths"
Style: Ranchera, forsaken love
Country: Mexico

Listen:

Happy new year! Here is a song about picking your life path when you feel lost. The cuatro caminos refers to the four cardinal directions. Listen at YouTube here.

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Translation:

Es imposible que yo te olvide ( Read more... )

"One More Time"
Album: La Edad de la Violencia
Style: Pop/rock
Songwriters: Ceci Bastida, Alex Epton
Country: Mexico

Listen:This song is very energetic and cheerful, so I keep forgetting that it’s kind of a lone wolf vengeance fantasy song. If it plays in the background, I think, "this song is catchy." When I pay attention to the lyrics and ( Read more... )

"I'm Off (I'm Leaving Now)"
Album: Veo La Marea (I See the Tide), 2010
Style: Hypnotic pop, funk pop, alternative
Country: Mexico

Listen:This is a hypnotic song with the singer keeping an artfully controlled faux monotone (it's not really a monotone at all, but I'm not sure what this style is called). The metric of the song is very strong. The ( Read more... )

"I Hate You and I Love You"
Album: Julio Jaramillo Todo Boleros and various other compilation albums
Style: Conflicted love song, bolero
Country: Ecuador

Listen:

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Julio Jaramillo sings poetically about a love that inspires a lot of conflicted feelings in him. This song was popular in Latin America in the mid-20th century and is now a classic oldie ( Read more... )

Okay, I am here again! Hello! I apologize for the 1 year break. It is my longest break since I started translating. I have been translating songs since high school all the way through graduate school (about a decade). It became a well-ingrained habit to put aside some time every week to work on Songlations. My last year of graduate school was very ( Read more... )

"Black Gold"
Album: Vengo (I Come), 2014
Style: Poetry, string instruments, slow hip hop elements, anti-war song
Countries: Chile, France

Listen:

Ana Tijoux sings about the human cost of imperialism and instigating conflict for economic or dogmatic interests. Death and war are personified. Listen to Ana's anti-war song at YouTube. Also look at ( Read more... )

"Let No One Raise Their Voice at Me"
Album: Pafuera Telarañas (Out, Spiderwebs), 2004
Style: Folk
Country: Spain

Listen:

Bebe sings about motherhood, toughening up, taking charge of one’s life, and taking on all challenges. Listen at YouTube here. By the way, I started a Tumblr to promote Songlations posts more. Follow me there if you use Tumblr ( Read more... )

"Machista"
Album: Machista, 2014
Style: Contemporary pop, energetic pop with rock influences, electropop
Countries: USA, Ecuador (lead vocalist Karen Freire)

Listen:

I found Buffalo Moon on Mic.com's list of "11 Incredible Latina Musicians You Won't Find on Mainstream Radio." The song "Machista" is an energetic song about the narrator's macho ( Read more... )

"I Got Tired of You"
Album: Confesiones (Confessions), 2003
Style: Pop, soft rock
Country: Puerto Rico

Listen:

This Obie Bermúdez song "Me Cansé de Ti" is a less charitable break-up song than José Alfredo Jiménez's "Que Te Vaya Bonito" from three posts ago. Obie doesn't want to be in this relationship anymore. The song is a breakup conversation ( Read more... )