Cuarteles de Invierno – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Vetusta Morla
• Album: La Deriva

Lyrics & Translation

[Spanish]

[English]

Una caja de recuerdos

A box of memories

Y fiestas de guardar

And celebrations to keep

Media vida en cada intento

Half my life in each attempt

Y la otra media en pinzas de metal

And the other half held with metal clamps

Ya es un clásico seguir la zanahoria

It's a classic now, chasing the carrot

Con tu aliento aquí detrás

With your breath right behind

Un desorden milimétrico

A millimeter disorder

Me acerca hasta el lugar

Brings me closer to the place

Lleva a cabo mi próposito

Fulfills my purpose

De ser cuchillo y presa a la par

To be knife and prey at the same time

No es tan trágico jugar con la distancia

It's not so tragic to play with distance

Y heredar su soledad

And inherit its loneliness

Cuarteles de invierno rompiendo su silencio

Winter barracks breaking their silence

Muñecas de hielo testigos de este encierro

Ice dolls witnesses to this confinement

Fue tan largo el duelo que al final

The duel was so long that in the end

Casi lo confundo con mi hogar

I almost mistook it for my home

Botiquines para amnésicos

First aid kits for amnesiacs

Leyendas de ultramar

Legend of overseas lands

Soldaditos pre-soviéticos

Pre-Soviet soldiers

Sellé mi guerra y paz particular

Sealed my personal war and peace

Hay un misterio de mapas

There's a map mystery

Que no llevan al tesoro

That doesn't lead to treasure

Ni epicentros a punto de estallar

Or epicenters about to erupt

Son las leyes de la física

They're the laws of physics

Y el tiempo no se pone en mi lugar

And time won't take my place

Ya es un clásico

It's a classic now

Perdí el salvoconduco

Lost my safe passage

Y ahora espero al emisario

And now I wait for the messenger

Que nunca llegará

Who will never arrive

Cuarteles de invierno rompiendo su silencio

Winter barracks breaking their silence

Muñecas de hielo testigos de este encierro

Ice dolls witnesses to this confinement

Fue tan largo el duelo que al final

The duel was so long that in the end

Casi lo confundo con mi hogar

I almost mistook it for my home

Por mucho que vuelvo, no encuentro mis recuerdos

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

Los busco, los sueño, lo propio ya es ajeno

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

Cayeron los bordes y el vaso ya está lleno

Edges fell, and the glass is already full

Y ahora solo intento vaciar

And now I just try to empty it

Solo necesito despegar

I only need to take off

Fue tan largo el duelo que al final

The duel was so long that in the end

Casi lo confundo con mi hogar

I almost mistook it for my home

...

...

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.