Cuarteles de Invierno – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Vetusta Morla
• Album: La Deriva

Lyrics & Translation

Delve into the introspective world of Vetusta Morla's 'Cuarteles de Invierno,' a song that masterfully blends poetic Spanish lyrics with indie rock sensibilities. Explore themes of memory, isolation, and the search for self, all while enriching your understanding of Spanish language and culture through its evocative metaphors and profound emotional depth.

[English]

A box of memories

And celebrations to keep

Half my life in each attempt

And the other half held with metal clamps

It's a classic now, chasing the carrot

With your breath right behind

A millimeter disorder

Brings me closer to the place

Fulfills my purpose

To be knife and prey at the same time

It's not so tragic to play with distance

And inherit its loneliness

Winter barracks breaking their silence

Ice dolls witnesses to this confinement

The duel was so long that in the end

I almost mistook it for my home

First aid kits for amnesiacs

Legend of overseas lands

Pre-Soviet soldiers

Sealed my personal war and peace

There's a map mystery

That doesn't lead to treasure

Or epicenters about to erupt

They're the laws of physics

And time won't take my place

It's a classic now

Lost my safe passage

And now I wait for the messenger

Who will never arrive

Winter barracks breaking their silence

Ice dolls witnesses to this confinement

The duel was so long that in the end

I almost mistook it for my home

No matter how much I return, I can't find my memories

I seek them, dream of them, what is mine is now foreign

Edges fell, and the glass is already full

And now I just try to empty it

I only need to take off

The duel was so long that in the end

I almost mistook it for my home

...

[Spanish]

Una caja de recuerdos

Y fiestas de guardar

Media vida en cada intento

Y la otra media en pinzas de metal

Ya es un clásico seguir la zanahoria

Con tu aliento aquí detrás

Un desorden milimétrico

Me acerca hasta el lugar

Lleva a cabo mi próposito

De ser cuchillo y presa a la par

No es tan trágico jugar con la distancia

Y heredar su soledad

Cuarteles de invierno rompiendo su silencio

Muñecas de hielo testigos de este encierro

Fue tan largo el duelo que al final

Casi lo confundo con mi hogar

Botiquines para amnésicos

Leyendas de ultramar

Soldaditos pre-soviéticos

Sellé mi guerra y paz particular

Hay un misterio de mapas

Que no llevan al tesoro

Ni epicentros a punto de estallar

Son las leyes de la física

Y el tiempo no se pone en mi lugar

Ya es un clásico

Perdí el salvoconduco

Y ahora espero al emisario

Que nunca llegará

Cuarteles de invierno rompiendo su silencio

Muñecas de hielo testigos de este encierro

Fue tan largo el duelo que al final

Casi lo confundo con mi hogar

Por mucho que vuelvo, no encuentro mis recuerdos

Los busco, los sueño, lo propio ya es ajeno

Cayeron los bordes y el vaso ya está lleno

Y ahora solo intento vaciar

Solo necesito despegar

Fue tan largo el duelo que al final

Casi lo confundo con mi hogar

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
recuerdos /reˈkweɾðos/ A2	noun - memories
silencio /siˈlenθjo/ A2	noun - silence
distancia /disˈtansja/ B1	noun - distance
misterio /misˈteɾjo/ B1	noun - mystery
duelo /ˈdwe.lo/ B2	noun - grief or mourning
mapas /ˈmapas/ A2	noun - maps
guerra /ˈɡera/ B1	noun - war
paz /pas/ A2	noun - peace
cuchillo /kuˈtʃiʎo/ A2	noun - knife
hielo /ˈjelo/ A1	noun - ice
clásico /ˈklasiko/ B1	adjective - classic
intento /inˈtento/ B1	noun - attempt
lugar /luˈɡaɾ/ A1	noun - place
testigos /tesˈtiɣos/ B1	noun - witnesses
vaciar /baˈθiaɾ/ B2	verb - to empty
emisor /e.miˈsoɾ/ B2	noun - sender

Key Grammar Structures

• Media vida en cada intento Y la otra media en pinzas de metal

  ➔ Use of 'en' to indicate location/manner.

  ➔ The preposition "en" indicates "in" or "on" a certain place/manner. Here, "en cada intento" (in each attempt) and "en pinzas de metal" (in metal tongs).

• Ya es un clásico seguir la zanahoria

  ➔ Use of "ser" + adjective/noun to describe a characteristic. Use of definite article "la".

  ➔ "Ya es un clásico" means "It's already a classic". "Es" is the conjugation of the verb "ser", used to describe inherent qualities. "La zanahoria" uses the definite article because the carrot is being referenced in a metaphorical and thus specific way (dangling carrot).

• Lleva a cabo mi próposito De ser cuchillo y presa a la par

  ➔ Use of "a la par" to mean "equally" or "at the same time".

  ➔ "A la par" is an idiomatic expression meaning "at the same level" or "equally". It emphasizes the dual role of being both the knife and the prey simultaneously.

• No es tan trágico jugar con la distancia Y heredar su soledad

  ➔ Use of "tan" + adjective to express degree. Use of "su" to indicate possession.

  ➔ "Tan trágico" means "so tragic". The possessive "su" refers to the loneliness that belongs to the distance being played with.

• Fue tan largo el duelo que al final Casi lo confundo con mi hogar

  ➔ "Tan...que" structure for expressing consequence.

  ➔ The structure "tan + adjective + que + clause" expresses a consequence. In this case, "Fue tan largo el duelo que..." (The mourning was so long that...). The long mourning led to confusing it with home.

• Sellé mi guerra y paz particular

  ➔ Use of the preterite tense to describe a completed action in the past.

  ➔ The verb "sellé" is in the preterite tense, indicating that the action of sealing (my war and peace) has been completed.

• Hay un misterio de mapas Que no llevan al tesoro

  ➔ Use of "que" as a relative pronoun introducing a restrictive relative clause.

  ➔ "Que no llevan al tesoro" is a restrictive relative clause modifying "un misterio de mapas". It specifies *which* mystery of maps is being discussed - the ones that don't lead to the treasure.

• Perdí el salvoconduco Y ahora espero al emisario Que nunca llegará

  ➔ Future subjunctive tense is not explicitly used, but implied probability/uncertainty about the emissary arriving.

  ➔ While the sentence uses the future indicative "llegará", the context of the speaker expecting an emissary who will *never* arrive hints at an implied doubt or unlikelihood, bordering on the need for a future subjunctive (which is rare in modern Spanish). It's a statement of inevitability of *not* happening, thus pushing it towards a feeling of uncertainty.