Esto Es Así – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Louis BPM, Hanzel La H, Junior Caldera
• Album: Esto Es Así - Single

Lyrics & Translation

[Spanish]

[English]

Esto es así

This is how it is

Esto es así

This is how it is

Así, así, así, así

This way, this way, this way, this way

Me puse a trapear porque la escuela no me quiso

I started hustling because school didn't want me

Me cago en el sistema, yo quiero dinero

I curse the system, I want money

No me dan las restas de mis panas en el piso

I can't make sense of my friends lying on the ground

Tráeme un profesor que me explique por qué se fueron

Bring me a professor who can explain why they left

Qué mal un hombre que hable mal de otro hombre

It's bad for a man to speak ill of another man

Échale mierda a otro, pero ¿a son de qué?

Talk trash about others, but for what reason?

Yo sí me quedé callado en la corte

I did stay quiet in court

Ahora en la celda de aislamiento a la oscuridad gritándole

Now in the isolation cell, yelling at the darkness

Agua, hace rato que anhelo la libertad

Water, I've longed for freedom for a while

Tuve que bajarme del alto calibre

I had to put down the high-caliber weapons

Pero no te creas que esto es bla bla bla

But don't think this is just talk

Cuando coja calle los peines visibles

When I hit the streets, the magazines will be visible

En el carro los paquetes van atrás

In the car, the packages go in the back

Contenido explícito y también sensible

Explicit and also sensitive content

Tú no eres mi amigo, tú eres ratata

You're not my friend, you're a rat

La falta de código no es reversible

Lack of code is not reversible

De la calle tenemos la clave

We have the key from the streets

Los códigos que no sabes de los cuales nunca obtendrás la llave

The codes you don't know, for which you'll never get the key

Tú tienes que pagar pasaje

You have to pay a fare

Si pasas por el bloque donde están los bandidos hay un peaje

If you pass through the block where the bandits are, there's a toll

Porque esto es así

Because this is how it is

Baby, esto es así, el caserío, las motoras

Baby, this is how it is, the housing projects, the motorcycles

Los chavos en la lavadora, los palos y las pistolas

The money in the washing machine, the guns and the pistols

Tú te quemas en la brea, la vida se te evapora

You burn in the asphalt, life evaporates for you

La calle es un poema y yo la redacto en mis temas

The street is a poem and I write it in my songs

Esto es problema tras problema, soy un error del sistema

This is problem after problem, I'm a system error

Esta parte de la movie no la ven ni en los cinemas

This part of the movie, they don't even see it in cinemas

No pueden encerrarme si yo tengo el alma libre

They can't lock me up if my soul is free

Pero cuando te presentes con armas de alto calibre

But when you show up with high-caliber weapons

Y los jackets reversible, voy a aplicarte el invisible

And the reversible jackets, I'm going to make you disappear

Contenido sensible, ya no hay vida disponible

Sensitive content, there's no life available anymore

Tú eres un personaje con pintura y maquillaje

You're a character with paint and makeup

Y si pasas por mi canto, tienes que pagar peaje

And if you pass by my spot, you have to pay a toll

Tú no vuelas de este viaje, te quitamos el equipaje

You're not escaping this trip, we'll take your luggage

Con rifles de camuflaje

With camouflage rifles

Porque esto es así

Because this is how it is

Te matamos a las seis, te encontraron a las tres

We killed you at six, they found you at three

Suficiente pa' esconderme y todos preguntan por qué

Enough time to hide, and everyone asks why

Las huellas dactilares en el gatillo dejé

I left my fingerprints on the trigger

Ahora me buscan y por chota fue que yo lo detoné

Now they're looking for me, and it was because he was a snitch that I detonated him

Y no me arrepiento, arrodillado el sapo gritaba a los vientos

And I don't regret it, the snitch cried out to the winds on his knees

Y echaba chispas el pavimento

And the pavement was sparking

Al que juegue con mi comida está jugando con su vida

Whoever plays with my livelihood is playing with their life

Usted no es chino, así que deje sus inventos

You're not Chinese, so stop making things up

Porque esto es así, la calle es así

Because this is how it is, the street is like this

Los problemas son problemas y se sacan de la raíz

Problems are problems and they are pulled out by the root

Tu friend es un día mío con dengue

Your friend is like a day of mine dealing with dengue

Saquen la VIP papel que llega un nuevo fenómeno a tu país

Get the VIP passes out, a new phenomenon is coming to your country

Junto y con ícono, no lo vieron venir

Together and with an icon, they didn't see it coming

Pero así es la escena, ahora sí están llamando

But that's the scene, now they're calling

Después que me bajaron del tema, no tienen dignidad

After they took me off the track, they have no dignity

Un saludo para los míos que están presos, los extraño como extraño a Venezuela

A shout out to my people who are imprisoned, I miss them like I miss Venezuela

Cero Louis

Zero Louis

Hace rato que anhelo la libertad

I've longed for freedom for a while

Tuve que bajarme del alto calibre

I had to put down the high-caliber weapons

Pero no te creas que esto es bla bla bla

But don't think this is just talk

Cuando coja calle los peines visibles

When I hit the streets, the magazines will be visible

En el carro los paquetes van atrás

In the car, the packages go in the back

Contenido explícito y también sensible

Explicit and also sensitive content

Tú no eres mi amigo, tú eres ratata

You're not my friend, you're a rat

La falta de código no es reversible

Lack of code is not reversible

Mera, dime Louis

Hey, tell me, Louis

Hanzel La H de los ojos blancos

Hanzel La H of the white eyes

Mera, dime, Pa

Hey, tell me, Pa

Venezuela PR, tú sabes, la ruta directa

Venezuela PR, you know, the direct route

Loyalty forever, como Kobe con los Lakers

Loyalty forever, like Kobe with the Lakers

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
sistema /sisˈtema/ A2	noun - system
dinero /diˈneɾo/ A1	noun - money
libertad /liβeɾˈtað/ B1	noun - freedom, liberty
calle /ˈkaʎe/ A1	noun - street, road noun - street life, illicit or informal activities associated with urban environments
código /ˈkoðiɣo/ B1	noun - code (system of rules, principles, or laws)
peaje /peˈaxe/ B1	noun - toll (fee for using a road, bridge, etc.)
bandido /banˈdiðo/ B2	noun - bandit, outlaw
pistola /pisˈtola/ B1	noun - pistol, handgun
problema /proˈβlema/ A1	noun - problem, issue
calibre /kaˈliβɾe/ B2	noun - caliber (of a firearm); quality, importance
sensible /senˈsiβle/ B2	adjective - sensitive (easily affected or perceiving keenly); perceptible
reversible /reβeɾˈsiβle/ B2	adjective - reversible (able to be turned the other way; capable of being reversed)
equipaje /ekiˈpaxe/ B1	noun - luggage, baggage
chota /ˈtʃota/ C1	noun - informer, snitch (colloquial, especially Caribbean Spanish)
sapo /ˈsapo/ C1	noun - toad (amphibian) noun - informer, snitch (colloquial, especially in criminal contexts)
dignidad /diɣniˈðað/ B2	noun - dignity, self-respect
preso /ˈpɾeso/ B1	adjective - imprisoned, captive noun - prisoner, inmate
anhelar /anheˈlaɾ/ B2	verb - to long for, to yearn for, to crave
detonar /detoˈnaɾ/ B2	verb - to detonate, to trigger, to set off
caserío /kaseˈɾio/ B2	noun - hamlet, small group of houses; (Puerto Rico, colloquial) housing project, ghetto

Key Grammar Structures

• Me puse a trapear porque la escuela no me quiso

  ➔ Ponerse a + infinitive & Querer (to want/accept) in preterite

  ➔ "Ponerse a + infinitive" means "to start doing something." "No me quiso" uses "querer" in the preterite, meaning "did not want/accept me."

• Qué mal un hombre que hable mal de otro hombre

  ➔ Exclamatory "Qué + adjective" + Subjunctive in relative clauses with indefinite antecedent

  ➔ "Qué + adjective" is an exclamatory expression. The subjunctive "hable" (from "hablar") is used in the relative clause "que hable mal" because the antecedent "un hombre" is indefinite and expresses an opinion or a general statement.

• Hace rato que anhelo la libertad

  ➔ "Hace + time + que + verb" construction

  ➔ The structure "Hace + time + que + verb in present tense" is used to express how long an action has been happening or how long ago something happened. "Hace rato" means "a while ago" or "for a while."

• Cuando coja calle los peines visibles

  ➔ "Cuando + subjunctive" for future actions

  ➔ "Cuando + subjunctive" ("coja" from "coger") is used when referring to a future action that is not yet certain or is hypothetical. The action (getting out on the street) will happen in the future, so the subjunctive is required.

• De los cuales nunca obtendrás la llave

  ➔ Relative pronoun "de los cuales" (of which/from which)

  ➔ "De los cuales" is a relative pronoun that means "of which" or "from which." It refers back to a previously mentioned noun phrase and indicates origin, possession, or a part of a larger group.

• Tú te quemas en la brea, la vida se te evapora

  ➔ Pronominal verbs (reflexive/non-reflexive use of "se") and indirect object pronoun for emphasis/result

  ➔ "Te quemas" is a reflexive verb, meaning "you burn yourself." "Se te evapora" uses "se" as part of a pronominal verb (evaporarse, to evaporate) and "te" as an indirect object pronoun, indicating that the action happens *to you* or *affecting you*, often implying an unexpected or undesired event, similar to the "accidental se."

• No pueden encerrarme si yo tengo el alma libre

  ➔ "Poder + infinitive" and Conditional "si" clause

  ➔ "Poder + infinitive" (pueden encerrarme) means "they can/are able to lock me up." The "si" clause introduces a condition: "if I have a free soul." It's a Type 1 conditional (present indicative in both clauses), expressing a real or likely condition.

• Al que juegue con mi comida está jugando con su vida

  ➔ "Al que + subjunctive" for general conditional statements. "Estar + gerundio" (present continuous)

  ➔ "Al que + subjunctive" ("juegue" from "jugar") is a common construction meaning "to whoever" or "anyone who." It functions as a general conditional statement, implying a warning. "Está jugando" is the present continuous tense, indicating an ongoing action.

• Los extraño como extraño a Venezuela

  ➔ "Extrañar a alguien/algo" (to miss someone/something) with the personal "a"

  ➔ The verb "extrañar" (to miss) is followed by the personal "a" when its direct object is a person or, as in this case, a beloved place (Venezuela) that is personified or treated with strong affection. "Los" is the direct object pronoun referring to "los míos" (my people).