Jaque Mate – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: José José

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the emotional depth of José José's Spanish ballad "Jaque Mate." By exploring its lyrics, which use the chess term for 'checkmate' to describe a love that's run its course, you can learn poignant vocabulary related to relationships, honesty, and resignation within the classic Latin Pop and Balada style that made 'El Príncipe de la Canción' so special.

[English]

What's the point

in carrying on

pretending,

downplaying

its importance

When we've known

for a while

this just isn't

working

Even though under

the same

roof, we share

the bed

Our good friend

love warned

us,

More than once, before

checkmate

But we lacked

the courage, and this

is checkmate

It's better

to admit it,

than live like

reconocerlo,

que vivir como

ghosts

Trapped in

boredom, always

procrastinating

largas

An ending that

not even in

bed has

an alibi

Our good friend

love warned

us,

More than once, before

checkmate

But we lacked

the courage, and this

is checkmate

Our good friend

love warned

us,

More than once, before

amor, nos

checkmate

But we lacked

the courage, and this

is checkmate

But we lacked

the courage, and this

is checkmate

[Spanish]

Para que

seguir

fingiendo,

y quitándole

importancia

Si sabemos,

hace tiempo,

que esto ya no

marcha

Aunque bajo

el mismo

techo, tengamos

la cama

Nuestro buen

amigo el

amor, nos

aviso

Más de una

vez, antes

de dar jaque

Pero nos falto

valor, y esto

es jaque mate

Es mejor

reconocerlo,

que vivir como

fantasmas

Presos del

aburrimiento,

siempre dando

largas

A un final

ni en el

lecho, tiene

coartada

Nuestro buen

amigo el

amor, nos

aviso

Más de una

vez, antes

de dar jaque

Pero nos falto

valor, y esto

es jaque mate

Nuestro buen

amigo el

amor, nos

aviso

Más de una

vez, antes

de dar jaque

Pero nos falto

valor, y esto

es jaque mate

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fingiendo fingiendo A2	verb - pretending
importancia importancia B1	noun - importance
sabemos sabemos A2	verb - we know
tiempo tiempo A1	noun - time
marcha marcha A2	noun - functioning / going
mismo mismo A1	adjective - same
techo techo A2	noun - roof / ceiling
cama cama A1	noun - bed
amigo amigo A1	noun - friend
amor amor A1	noun - love
aviso aviso B1	noun - warning, notice
valor valor A2	noun - courage, bravery
fantasmas fantasmas B1	noun - ghosts
aburrimiento aburrimiento B2	noun - boredom
largas largas B2	noun - delays, stalling tactics
lecho lecho B2	noun - bed, sleeping place
coartada coartada C1	noun - alibi
final final A1	noun - end, conclusion
jaque jaque C1	noun - check (chess)
mate mate C1	noun - checkmate (chess)

Key Grammar Structures

• Para que seguir fingiendo

  ➔ Subjunctive mood

  ➔ The phrase uses the subjunctive mood with 'para que' to express purpose or intention in a hypothetical or uncertain situation.

• que esto ya no marcha

  ➔ Present tense with 'ya no'

  ➔ The present tense is used with 'ya no' to indicate a current state or ongoing situation that is no longer true.

• Nuestro buen amigo el amor, nos aviso

  ➔ Past tense with 'aviso'

  ➔ The past tense is used with 'aviso' to describe a completed action in the past.

• Pero nos falto valor

  ➔ Past tense with 'falto'

  ➔ The past tense is used with 'falto' to express a lack or deficiency in the past.

• Es mejor reconocerlo

  ➔ Comparative with 'mejor'

  ➔ The comparative form 'mejor' is used to express that recognizing something is preferable to another option.

• Presos del aburrimiento

  ➔ Past participle as adjective

  ➔ The past participle 'presos' is used as an adjective to describe a state of being trapped by boredom.

• A un final ni en el lecho, tiene coartada

  ➔ Double negative

  ➔ The double negative 'ni...ni' is used to emphasize the absence of both conditions.