Need some quick help from a fluent Spanish speaker

Textkit Community Open Board
1

My Spanish


Judging from the artist’s CD cover and I think their name (Los Tetas) there’s a good chance the lyrics to this song are not suitable for young learners.

It’s an urban song, but it has some nice catchy parts that I found really difficult to pronounce and sing along too, so it’s a good oral exercise.

Could someone please do a quick scan and tell me if the lyrics contain bad words or poor subject matter. From what I can tell it looks to be about some sort of obsessive love, not really sure??

jeff

Los Tetas -

Como Quisera Decirte



Como quisiera decirte tanto como explicarte lo que ando pensando
lo que nunca te dije ahora lo canto (escuchame) bajo el cielo algo me empuja
lo que en mi mente es una lucha constante
te recuerdo en el trabajo, te recuerdo en la calle, te recuerdo en la ducha
y a cada instante (ah)
tienes que sentarte visualisa comienza a imaginarte
tu eres la protagonista (ah)
romeo y julieta es una historia ya antigua ya vista
mi alma naufragada en la eterna rima
de aqui al futuro del futuro al pasado
yo se que nadie como yo te a amado
he restado y sumado ya lo he calculado

como quisiera decirte algo que llevo aqui dentro
clavado como una espina
y asi va pasando el tiempo
sin atinar a decirte lo que a diario voy sintiendo
por temor quisas a oirte cosas que oirte no quiero

he buscado en el vocabulario y en diccionarios (oh)
y no he encontrado nada que forme tu retrato
como decirte lo que senti aquel ocaso
jamas podre olvidar aquel inolvidable rato
fue como un pacto sin un pacto
y se cebro como un frasco
solo veo pedazos d acel acto
acaso mi remedio es otro trago de mi vaso
me dirijo hacia el olvido con mis pasos
a un lejano territorio dejare el recuerdo de tu trato
asi, hecho de menos tu trato
aun asi, como creo que ya no hay caso
voy bajo los astros admirando el espacio
mi pena solo se aleja despacio…

como quisiera decirte que cuando contemplo el cielo
tu estrella me va diciendo como me faltan tus besos
como quisiera decirte que eres mi amor, mi lucero
pero sentirte tan lejos d a poco me estoy muriendo
que quiero que estes conmigo como en un final de cuentos
como quisiera decirte, decirte cuanto te quiero

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Mmmmm… nope. I can’t find anything seriously wrong with this song. The lyrics are about a guy longing for his girlfriend (he thinks about her in the shower and when drinking). I think it depends on how young are your students. If they are teenagers, I see no problem.

The band’s name, however, sheeesh.

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yeah, it’s high school teenagers, so I think they can handle that.

I saw the shower mention and I was a bit worried when combining that with their album cover. The visuals on the CD cover would certainly be frowned upon by the DEA.

Am I right to think that the band’s name is slang for tits?

\

My overall goal here it to develop some new and hopefully fun content on Spanish-Kit.net I plan to have a site section that has learning tutorials based upon songs. So it’ll be lyrics, english translation, key vocabulary, and then grammar comments on anything interesting. As well as comments on perhaps regional differences in pronunication or idiomatic phrases. Ultimately too, I’ll have the vocabulary fed in from a database so if the learner wants to, he or she can learn all the vocabulary from Un Dia Normal or some other popular album.

I hired someone from Colombia to set up the first lessons for 20 songs since my own Spanish just isn’t good enough. After that I’m hoping people will spot the project and contribute their own lessons.

I still read at a childrens level. Literally! I read Jorge Curious, El Gato Ensombrero, Los Tres Osos, things like that to my 3 year old everynight. He has no idea that I’m learning Spanish with him! My greatest weakness I’m sure is with pronunciation.

So anyways the point is to develop lessons where learners can listen to music. I listen to Spanish music almost exclusively and it helps out a great deal.

I see you’re in Mexico so you listen to Spanish music. So far I’m including, Shakira, Cafe Tacuba, Juanes, Bacilos, Control Machete, Cafe Quijano, La Ley.

Am I missing anything new and fun that you can suggest? With the above, I’m selecting tracks that I find difficult to pronounce and sing along to because of their speed and tempo. With the exception of Juanes, I like him because he’s as clear as a bell and very beginner friendly.

Thank you again!

Jeff

4

It’s not really slang, but what seems odd to me is that you wrote “Los tetas” when it should be feminine “las”; then again, I suppose it’s a male group.

I see you’re in Mexico so you listen to Spanish music. So far I’m including, Shakira, Cafe Tacuba, Juanes, Bacilos, Control Machete, Cafe Quijano, La Ley.

:laughing: Yes, I live in Mexico, but I don’t listen to contemporary pop music, only classical (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven et al) and some space age 50’s music.

Am I missing anything new and fun that you can suggest?

I got nothin’. But perhaps you could use music from a popular 80’s band from Spain that my mother likes: MECANO. I’ve heard some of their songs, and there are a few that are suitable for young children (like one about Laika, the Russian dog that was sent into space). Let me go search for those CD’s and I’ll get back to ya.

Vale!

5

Here are the songs I was talking about:

From the album “Descanso Dominical”: El cine, Laika, No hay marcha en Nueva York, Eungenio Salvador Dalí, Un año más, Héroes de la Antártida, Hermano Sol Hermana Luna, Fabula. The rest tend to get a little blue, so those aren’t good.

Here’s the url with the lyrics: http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Union/4577/letras6.htm

6

I know I’ve no business being here, but between pop and classical may I recommend Violeta Parra’s

Qué pena siente el alma
cuando la suerte impía
se opone a los deseos
que anhela el corazón.

Qué amargas son las horas
de la existencia mía
sin olvidar tus ojos
sin escuchar tu voz.

Pero me embarga a veces
la sombra de la duda
y por mi mente pasa
como fatal visión.

Once upon a time, when learning Spanish, I loved it. (P.S. Anyone up to providing a version in Latin?).

Int

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I see you’re in Mexico so you listen to Spanish music. So far I’m including, Shakira, Cafe Tacuba, Juanes, Bacilos, Control Machete, Cafe Quijano, La Ley.

Am I missing anything new and fun that you can suggest? With the above, I’m selecting tracks that I find difficult to pronounce and sing along to because of their speed and tempo. With the exception of Juanes, I like him because he’s as clear as a bell and very beginner friendly

My husband is Puerto Rican and is a big fan of Marc Anthony, though he mostly sings just love songs (blah, really not my thing, but he does have a nice voice). His newest album has a duet with Jennifer Lopez (in Spanish).

8

There’s a Spanish band whom I don’t really like but your students may called “Héroes del Silencio.” Like I said, not my thing, different strokes and all that.

Also, you may loose your students or whatever, but Agustin Lara has great stuff like “Granada.”

9

yeah, i listen to them a little bit and I like them. I have ‘mar adentro’ on my playlist. In some strange way they remind me of The Church.

10

Hey, Im an American who speaks Spanish…

On my MP3 player I have roughly 80 or so songs right now, more of them in Spanish than English. I like to keep current with Spanish music because its been a huge help in learning and a great way to experience all kinds of hispanic culture…my favorite is Carribean music (salsa, bachata, merengue) and I also listen to reggeaton alot, as its probably the most popular kind of music in this particular time and place.’

Anyway maybe I should start a a separate thread for this but Im also a student of Italian, among other contemporary langauges…anyone have any good reccommendations for Italian music? the only decent music Ive heard out of Italy so far is Gemelli Diversi.

EL LATIN Y EL GRIEGO NUNCA SE MURIERON!

11

Hey all

Popular music is one great way to get a hold of how people actually speak. During my exile I met a chick in China learning English using the Beatles’ old songs. Later I met a bunch of folks from Latin America.. I started asking them what their favorite songs and artists were. Then later I would find the music and lyrics on the net and study them. My Spanish improved quite a bit. One song I really really liked was Color Experanza whose lyrics I reproduce below. Supposedly, this was a favorite of the late great pontiff (no, I am not catholic). MP3s of this lovely song are available on the net. Further on below, I give my translation to the first stanza of the song by Los Tetas that Jeff referred us to.

Color esperanza
Diego Torres.

Sé que hay en tus ojos con solo mirar
que estas cansado de andar y de andar
y caminar girando siempre en un lugar

Sé que las ventanas se pueden abrir
cambiar el aire depende de ti
te ayudara vale la pena una vez más

Saber que se puede querer que se pueda
quitarse los miedos sacarlos afuera
pintarse la cara color esperanza
tentar al futuro con el corazón

Es mejor perderse que nunca embarcar
mejor tentarse a dejar de intentar
aunque ya ves que no es tan fácil empezar

Sé que lo imposible se puede lograr
que la tristeza algún día se irá
y así será la vida cambia y cambiará

Sentirás que el alma vuela
por cantar una vez más

Vale más poder brillar
Que solo buscar ver el sol

+++++++++++++++++++++
Here is my translation of the first stanza of the song by Los Tetas. If it is vulgar, it would be only be mildly so by modern stanzas I would think.

Como quisiera decirte tanto como explicarte lo que ando pensando
How I’d like to tell you.. so much … like explain to you what I am thinking

lo que nunca te dije ahora lo canto (escuchame) bajo el cielo algo me
empuja
what I never I never told you now I sing (listen to me). Under the sky something is pushsing me

lo que en mi mente es una lucha constante
There is a constant struggle in my mind

te recuerdo en el trabajo, te recuerdo en la calle, te recuerdo en la ducha
y a cada instante (ah)
I remember you at work, I remember you in the street, I remember you in the shower and at every moment (Yeahhhhh)

tienes que sentarte visualisa comienza a imaginarte
You gotta sit down… Visualize… begin to imagine yourself.
tu eres la protagonista (ah)
You are the star (yeahhhhhhhhhh)

romeo y julieta es una historia ya antigua ya vista
Romeo and Juliet is old story and very well known (not literal)

mi alma naufragada en la eterna rima
de aqui al futuro del futuro al pasado
my shipwrecked soul [IS] in the eternal rhyme
from here to the future … from the future to the past

yo se que nadie como yo te a amado
I know no one has loved you like me (or “as I have” if you prefer)

he restado y sumado ya lo he calculado
I have already substracted and added and have it calculated.