Holidays – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: León Larregui
• Album: PRISMARAMA

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the poignant lyrics of León Larregui's "Holidays" to explore how Spanish can beautifully articulate themes of change, nostalgia, and resilience in the face of global events. The song's evocative language and folk-rock style offer a rich learning experience, providing insights into contemporary lyrical expression and cultural reflections on shared human experiences. By engaging with its heartfelt message about adapting to a transformed world, you can connect with the song's special ability to blend personal introspection with universal understanding.

[English]

Time has passed, it slipped away

And through the rivers in my veins

And now, when I look back

It’s a tsunami of seconds

I know very well I’ll never forget

How close we were

A landslide of feelings

And hope burning bright

Vacation

Forced

Without a job, son, and wife

Happy days

Are always

Holidays are over

Virtual meetings

There are no more children in the parks

Nothing will ever be the same

There are deer in the big city

Happy days

Are over

Holidays are always

My uncle is dying, my sister is crying

The teacher is on the run

My neighbor is naked

And Margaret’s baking

Her very first French soufflé

Holidays

Are over

Happy days are always

Holidays

Are over

Happy days are always

[Spanish]

Pasó el tiempo, se escurrió

Y por los ríos de mis venas

Y ahora, cuando miro atrás

Es un tsunami de segundos

Sé muy bien que nunca olvidaré

Lo muy cerca que estuvimos

Un talud de sentimientos

Y la esperanza al rojo vivo

Vacación

Forzosa

Sin trabajo, hijo y esposa

Happy days

Are always

Holidays are over

Reuniones telemáticas

Ya no hay niños en los parques

Ya nada nunca será igual

Hay venados en la gran ciudad

Happy days

Are over

Holidays are always

My uncle is dying, my sister is crying

The teacher is on the run

My neighbor is naked

And Margaret's baking

Her very first French soufflé

Holidays

Are over

Happy days are always

Holidays

Are over

Happy days are always

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
tiempo /ˈtjempo/ A2	noun - time
ríos /ˈri.os/ A2	noun - rivers
venas /ˈbe.nas/ B1	noun - veins
miró /miˈɾo/ A1	verb - looked
atrás /aˈtɾas/ A2	adverb - back/behind
tsunami /tsuˈnami/ B1	noun - tsunami
segundos /seˈɣundos/ A1	noun - seconds
olvidaré /olβiðeˈɾe/ B1	verb - forget
cerca /ˈθeɾka/ A2	adjective - close/near
talud /taˈluð/ C1	noun - embankment
sentimientos /sentiˈmjentos/ B1	noun - feelings
esperanza /espeˈɾansa/ B1	noun - hope
vivo /ˈbiβo/ A2	adjective - alive/living adjective - bright
vacación /ba.kaˈsjon/ A2	noun - vacation
forzosa /foɾˈθosa/ B2	adjective - forced
trabajo /tɾaˈβaxo/ A1	noun - work
esposa /esˈposa/ A2	noun - wife
reuniones /reuˈnjo.nes/ B1	noun - meetings
niños /ˈni.ɲos/ A1	noun - children
parques /ˈpaɾ.kes/ A1	noun - parks
igual /iˈɣwal/ A1	adjective - same/equal
venados /beˈna.ðos/ B2	noun - deer
ciudad /θjuˈðað/ A1	noun - city
dying /ˈdaɪɪŋ/ A2	verb - dying
crying /ˈkraɪɪŋ/ A1	verb - crying
teacher /ˈtiːtʃər/ A1	noun - teacher
run /rʌn/ A1	verb - to move quickly on foot
naked /ˈneɪkɪd/ A2	adjective - naked
baking /ˈbeɪkɪŋ/ A1	verb - baking
first /fɜːrst/ A1	adjective - first
French /frentʃ/ A1	adjective - French
soufflé /suːˈfleɪ/ B1	noun - soufflé

Key Grammar Structures

• Pasó el tiempo, se escurrió

  ➔ Simple past tense (preterite)

  ➔ The verbs "Pasó" and "se escurrió" are in the simple past, indicating actions that were completed in the past.

• Y ahora, cuando miro atrás

  ➔ Present simple in a temporal clause

  ➔ The verb "miro" is in the present simple, used after the temporal conjunction "cuando" to describe a habitual or current action.

• Sé muy bien que nunca olvidaré

  ➔ Future simple tense

  ➔ The verb "olvidaré" is in the simple future, expressing a certainty about a future action.

• Lo muy cerca que estuvimos

  ➔ Past imperfect tense

  ➔ The verb "estuvimos" is in the imperfect, used here to describe a past state or condition that lasted for some time.

• Ya no hay niños en los parques

  ➔ Existential construction with negation (no hay)

  ➔ The phrase "no hay" uses the verb "hay" (there is/are) with "no" to indicate the absence of "niños".

• Ya nada nunca será igual

  ➔ Future simple tense with adverb of frequency (nunca)

  ➔ The verb "será" is in the simple future, and the adverb "nunca" emphasizes that the state will never be the same.

• My uncle is dying, my sister is crying

  ➔ Present progressive (continuous) tense

  ➔ The forms "is dying" and "is crying" use the auxiliary "is" + present participle to show actions happening right now.

• The teacher is on the run

  ➔ Present progressive with idiomatic prepositional phrase "on the run"

  ➔ The verb phrase "is on the run" combines the progressive auxiliary "is" with the idiom "on the run" meaning the teacher is fleeing or constantly busy.

• And Margaret's baking her very first French soufflé

  ➔ Present progressive with possessive noun (Margaret's) as subject

  ➔ The phrase "Margaret's baking" uses the possessive "Margaret's" as a contracted form of "Margaret is", followed by the present participle "baking".