19 Días y 500 Noches – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Joaquín Sabina

Lyrics & Translation

Learning Spanish through Joaquín Sabina's '19 Días y 500 Noches' offers a unique opportunity to delve into poetic and colloquial language. The song is a masterclass in storytelling, using vivid metaphors and heartfelt expressions to narrate a story of love and loss. By studying its lyrics, you can learn a rich vocabulary and understand the nuances of Spanish emotion and culture, all while enjoying a timeless piece of music.

[English]

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19 DíAs Y 500 Noches

Joaquin Sabina

What we had lasted

as long as two ice fish

in a whiskey on the rocks,

instead of pretending,

or smashing a glass of jealousy,

she started laughing.

Suddenly I saw myself,

like a stray dog,

barking at the gates of heaven.

She left me a toiletries bag of grievances,

honey on my lips

and frost in my hair.

My lovers

were right

about how, before,

I was the bad one,

with one exception:

this time,

I wanted to want to love her

and she didn't.

So she left,

left my heart

in my bones

and me on my knees.

From the taxi,

and going overboard,

she threw me two kisses...

one for each cheek.

And I returned

to the curse

of the drawer without her clothes,

to the perdition

of the cocktail bars,

to the bargain basement

Cinderellas on the street corner,

and, for those sales

of fine Laina wine,

paying the bills

of soulless people

who lose their cool

with cocaine,

going crazy,

squandering

my money and my life

little by little, I wrote her off

as a lost cause.

And the thing is, I,

so as not to overwhelm María

with flowers,

so as not to besiege her

with my anthology

of cold sheets

and empty rooms,

so as not to buy her off

with costume jewelry,

nor be the puppet

who goes, on a pilgrimage,

with the brotherhood

of Saint Reproach,

I loved her so much,

that it took me nineteen days

to learn to forget her

and five hundred nights.

She said hello and goodbye,

and the slamming door sounded

like a question mark,

I suspect that, in that way,

Cupid was avenging himself on me

through oblivion.

I don't ask for forgiveness,

what for? if she's going to forgive me

because she doesn't care anymore...

she always held her head very high,

had a very long tongue

and a very short skirt.

She abandoned me,

like old shoes

are abandoned,

shattered the glass

of my distance glasses,

took her living portrait

out of the mirror,

and I was such a bullfighter,

through the back alleys

of gambling and wine,

that yesterday, the doorman

kicked me out of the casino

in Torrelodones.

What a great sorrow,

I would deny the Blessed Sacrament,

at the very moment

that she orders me to.

And the thing is, I,

so as not to overwhelm María

with flowers,

so as not to besiege her

with my anthology

of cold sheets

and empty rooms,

so as not to buy her off

with costume jewelry,

nor be the puppet

who goes, on a pilgrimage,

with the brotherhood

of Saint Reproach,

I loved her so much,

that it took me nineteen days

to learn to forget her

and five hundred nights.

Y regresé... etc.

...

[Spanish]

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19 DíAs Y 500 Noches

Joaquin Sabina

Lo nuestro duró

lo que duran dos peces de hielo

en un güisqui on the rocks,

en vez de fingir,

o, estrellarme una copa de celos,

le dio por reír.

De pronto me vi,

como un perro de nadie,

ladrando, a las puertas del cielo.

Me dejó un neceser con agravios,

la miel en los labios

y escarcha en el pelo.

Tenían razón

mis amantes

en eso de que, antes,

el malo era yo,

con una excepción:

esta vez,

yo quería quererla querer

y ella no.

Así que se fue,

me dejó el corazón

en los huesos

y yo de rodillas.

Desde el taxi,

y, haciendo un exceso,

me tiró dos besos...

uno por mejilla.

Y regresé

a la maldición

del cajón sin su ropa,

a la perdición

de los bares de copas,

a las cenicientas

de saldo y esquina,

y, por esas ventas

del fino Laina,

pagando las cuentas

de gente sin alma

que pierde la calma

con la cocaína,

volviéndome loco,

derrochando

la bolsa y la vida

la fui, poco a poco,

dando por perdida.

Y eso que yo,

paro no agobiar con

flores a María,

para no asediarla

con mi antología

de sábanas frías

y alcobas vacías,

para no comprarla

con bisutería,

ni ser el fantoche

que va, en romería,

con la cofradía

del Santo Reproche,

tanto la quería,

que, tardé, en aprender

a olvidarla, diecinueve días

y quinientas noches.

Dijo hola y adiós,

y, el portazo, sonó

como un signo de interrogación,

sospecho que, así,

se vengaba, a través del olvido,

Cupido de mi.

No pido perdón,

¿para qué? si me va a perdonar

porque ya no le importa...

siempre tuvo la frente muy alta,

la lengua muy larga

y la falda muy corta.

Me abandonó,

como se abandonan

los zapatos viejos,

destrozó el cristal

de mis gafas de lejos,

sacó del espejo

su vivo retrato,

y, fui, tan torero,

por los callejones

del juego y el vino,

que, ayer, el portero,

me echó del casino

de Torrelodones.

Qué pena tan grande,

negaría el Santo Sacramento,

en el mismo momento

que ella me lo mande.

Y eso que yo,

paro no agobiar con

flores a María,

para no asediarla

con mi antología

de sábanas frías

y alcobas vacías,

para no comprarla

con bisutería,

ni ser el fantoche

que va, en romería,

con la cofradía

del Santo Reproche,

tanto la quería,

que, tardé, en aprender

a olvidarla, diecinueve días

y quinientas noches.

Y regresé... etc.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
durar /duˈɾaɾ/ B1	verb - to last
pez /pɛs/ A2	noun - fish
hielo /ˈje.lo/ A2	noun - ice
copa /ˈko.pa/ A2	noun - cup, glass
fingir /finˈxiɾ/ B1	verb - to pretend
celos /ˈse.los/ B2	noun - jealousy
vi /bi/ A1	verb - to see
perro /ˈpe.ro/ A2	noun - dog
cielo /ˈsje.lo/ A2	noun - sky
labios /ˈla.βjos/ A2	noun - lips
amor /aˈmoɾ/ A2	noun - love
hueso /ˈwe.so/ B1	noun - bone
rodillas /roˈdi.ʎas/ B2	noun - knees
taxi /ˈtaks.i/ A1	noun - taxi