Adiós – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Gustavo Cerati
• Album: Ahí Vamos

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the lyrical depth and rich soundscape of Gustavo Cerati's "Adiós," a foundational song for anyone looking to connect with Spanish rock and its profound poetic expressions. Through its exploration of endings as new beginnings, you'll uncover not only powerful vocabulary related to emotion and personal evolution but also the intricate musicality that made Cerati a legend. This song serves as a perfect gateway to understanding the nuances of the Spanish language within a culturally significant context, showing how words can convey universal feelings of melancholy, acceptance, and the courage to grow.

[English]

They both sighed the same

And today, they're part of a distant rain

...

Don’t get confused, resentment doesn’t help

...

They’re spasms after saying goodbye

...

You play sad songs to feel better

Your essence is more visible

From the same pain

A new dawn will come, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh

...

Maybe, they filled the need

...

But there are empties that can’t be filled

They didn’t know the depth

...

Until one day it was too much

You were left waiting for echoes that won’t return

Floating between rejections

From the same pain

A new dawn will come

...

To separate from the species for something higher

It’s not arrogance, it’s love

...

It’s not arrogance, it’s love

...

Being able to say goodbye

It’s growing, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh

...

[Spanish]

Suspiraban lo mismo, los dos

Y hoy, son parte de una lluvia lejos

No te confundas, no sirve el rencor

Son espasmos después del adiós

Pones canciones tristes para sentirte mejor

Tu esencia es más visible

Del mismo dolor

Vendrá un nuevo amanecer, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh

Tal vez, colmaban la necesidad

Pero, hay vacíos que no pueden llenar

No conocían la profundidad

Hasta que un día no dio para más

Quedabas esperando ecos que no volverán

Flotando entre rechazos

Del mismo dolor

Vendrá un nuevo amanecer

Separarse de la especie por algo superior

No es soberbia, es amor

No es soberbia, es amor

Poder decir adiós

Es crecer, uh-uh-uh-uh-uh

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
suspirar /suspiˈɾaɾ/ B1	verb - to sigh
parte /ˈpaɾte/ A2	noun - part
lluvia /ˈʝuβja/ A2	noun - rain
rencor /renˈkoɾ/ B2	noun - resentment
espasmo /esˈpasmo/ B2	noun - spasm
canción /kanˈsjon/ A2	noun - song
esencia /eˈsenθja/ B2	noun - essence
dolor /doˈloɾ/ A2	noun - pain
amanecer /amaneseɾ/ B1	noun - dawn
vacío /baˈsi.o/ B2	adjective - empty
profundidad /pɾofunðiˈðað/ C1	noun - depth
esperar /espeˈɾaɾ/ A2	verb - to wait
volver /bolˈβeɾ/ A2	verb - to return
separarse /sepaˈɾaɾse/ B1	verb - to separate
soberbia /soˈβeɾβja/ C1	noun - pride
amor /aˈmoɾ/ A1	noun - love
crecer /kɾeˈseɾ/ B1	verb - to grow

Key Grammar Structures

• Suspiraban lo mismo, los dos

  ➔ Imperfect tense for habitual actions in the past.

  ➔ The imperfect tense "suspiraban" indicates that they both used to sigh the same thing repeatedly. It expresses a habitual or ongoing action in the past.

• No te confundas, no sirve el rencor

  ➔ Imperative mood (negative) with "no + subjunctive" and subject-verb agreement (servir).

  ➔ "No te confundas" is a negative imperative advising against confusion. "No sirve el rencor" means resentment doesn't help. "Sirve" agrees with "el rencor".

• Pones canciones tristes para sentirte mejor

  ➔ Use of the verb "poner" (to put, to play) in the present indicative, and the infinitive "sentirte" with a reflexive pronoun to express feeling something for oneself.

  ➔ "Pones" is the present tense of "poner", meaning "you put/play". "Sentirte mejor" means "to feel better" with the reflexive pronoun "te" referring back to the subject.

• Tal vez, colmaban la necesidad

  ➔ Imperfect tense of "colmar" (to fill, to satisfy) indicating an action that used to happen or was in progress in the past. Use of "Tal vez" indicating possibility.

  ➔ "Colmaban" in the imperfect suggests that perhaps they used to fulfill a need. "Tal vez" introduces uncertainty or a possibility.

• Hasta que un día no dio para más

  ➔ Preterite (perfect simple) tense: "dio". Use of "hasta que" + preterite indicating a completed action marking the end of a period. Use of "dar para más" idiom.

  ➔ "Dio" is the preterite of "dar", indicating a completed action in the past. "Hasta que" introduces a time limit until something happened. "No dio para más" means "it couldn't go on any longer".

• Separarse de la especie por algo superior

  ➔ Infinitive verb "separarse" (to separate oneself) used as a noun, expressing an action in general. Use of preposition "de" to indicate separation from.

  ➔ "Separarse" functions as a noun here, referring to the act of separating. "De la especie" indicates separation from the species.

• Poder decir adiós

  ➔ Infinitive phrase acting as the subject of a sentence. Use of "poder" + infinitive expressing ability or possibility.

  ➔ "Poder decir adiós" (to be able to say goodbye) is the subject of the sentence. "Poder" indicates ability.