El río – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Miguel Rios
• Album: Mira hacia ti

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the evocative Spanish lyrics of Miguel Ríos' 1968 hit, "El río." This song offers a beautiful glimpse into a cherished memory of young love, set against the timeless backdrop of a river. Understanding "El río" allows you to connect with classic Spanish ballads and the romantic sentiments they express.

[English]

(instrumental)

I remember that day

When we went swimming

That water so cold

And the way you swim

In that river

You and me and love

That was born between us

(instrumental)

I was drying your hands

You were looking at a flower

Our bodies wet

Under the sunlight

In that river

You and me and love

That was born between us

(instrumental)

Nothing has changed here

Our river stays the same

With waters so clear

That flow into the sea

In that river

You and me and love

That was born between us

(instrumental)

Our love in the river

You loved me too

La la la la lara

La ra la la la la la

La ra la la la la la

...

[Spanish]

(instrumental)

Yo recuerdo aquel día

Que nos fuimos a bañar

Aquel agua tan fría

Y tu forma de nadar

En el río aquel

Tú y yo y el amor

Que nació de los dos

(instrumental)

Yo secaba tus manos

Tu mirabas una flor

Nuestros cuerpos mojados

Bajo los rayos del sol

En el río aquel

Tú y yo y el amor

Que nació de los dos

(instrumental)

Allí nada ha cambiado

Nuestro río sigue igual

Con sus aguas tan claras

Que se pierden en el mar

En el río aquel

Tú y yo y el amor

Que nació de los dos

(instrumental)

Nuestro amor en el río

Tú también me querías

La la la la lara

La ra la la la la la

La ra la la la la la

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
recuerdo /reˈkweɾðo/ B1	noun - memory
agua /ˈaɣwa/ A1	noun - water
fría /ˈfɾia/ A2	adjective - cold
forma /ˈfoɾma/ A2	noun - shape, form
nadar /naˈðaɾ/ A1	verb - to swim
amor /aˈmoɾ/ A1	noun - love
cuerpo /ˈkweɾpo/ A2	noun - body
rayos /ˈrajos/ B1	noun - rays
sol /sol/ A1	noun - sun
cambiar /kamˈβjaɾ/ A2	verb - to change
igual /iˈɣwal/ B1	adjective - equal, same
clara /ˈklaɾa/ A2	adjective - clear
mar /maɾ/ A1	noun - sea
querer /keˈɾeɾ/ A2	verb - to want, to love

Key Grammar Structures

• Yo recuerdo aquel día

  ➔ Present tense of 'recordar' (yo recuerdo) used to state a habitual or past memory.

  ➔ This is the present tense of *recordar*, meaning 'to remember', used here to recall a past event.

• Que nos fuimos a bañar

  ➔ Preterite tense of 'irse' (nos fuimos) indicating a completed action in the past.

  ➔ This is the preterite form of *irse*, meaning 'to go away', specifically used here to denote the action of going to bathe in the past.

• En el río aquel

  ➔ Use of demonstrative adjective 'aquel' to specify a particular distant object in space or time.

  ➔ A demonstrative adjective *aquel* is used to point to something distant, here referring to a specific river in the past.

• Tú y yo y el amor

  ➔ Use of coordinating conjunction 'y' (and) to connect nouns in a list.

  ➔ The conjunction *y* is used to connect nouns 'tú', 'yo', and 'el amor', forming a list of entities involved.

• Que nació de los dos

  ➔ Preterite tense of 'nacer' (nació) indicating a completed action in the past.

  ➔ This is the preterite form of *nacer*, meaning 'to be born', referring to the birth of love between two people.

• Yo recuerdo aquel día

  ➔ Present tense of 'recordar' (yo recuerdo) used to state a habitual or past memory.

  ➔ This sentence repeats for emphasis, using the present tense 'recuerdo' to reflect a current act of remembering a past event.