La Fuerza del Destino – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Mecano

Lyrics & Translation

[Spanish]

[English]

Nos vimos tres o cuatro veces

We met three or four times

Por toda la ciudad

Across the whole city

Una noche en el Bar del Oro

One night at the Golden Bar

Me decidí a atacar

I decided to make a move

Tú me dijiste: "19"

You told me: "19"

No quise desconfiar

I didn't want to doubt

Pero es que ni mucho ni poco

But neither much nor little

No vi de dónde agarrar

Did I see where to hold on

Y nos metimos en el coche

Then we got into the car

Mi amigo, tu amiga, tú y yo

My friend, your friend, you and I

Te dije: "nena, dame un beso"

I told you: "Baby, give me a kiss"

Tú contestaste: "que no"

You replied: "No"

Empezamos mal y yo que creía

We started off wrong and I believed

Que esto era un buen plan

That this was a good plan

Aquella noche fue un desastre

That night was a disaster

No me comí un colín

I didn't get a single thing

Estas son solo un par de estrechas

These are just a couple of narrow paths

Nos fuimos a dormir

We went to sleep

Pero la fuerza del destino

But the power of destiny

Nos hizo repetir

Made us repeat

Dos cines y un par de conciertos

Two movies and a couple of concerts

Empezamos a salir

We started dating

No sé si esa cara tan rara

I don't know if that strange face

Un ojo aquí y un diente allá

One eye here and a tooth there

O el cuerpecillo de gitana

Or the little gypsy girl body

Mujer a medio terminar

Woman halfway finished

Tu corazón fue lo que me acabó

Your heart is what finally made me

De enamorar

Fall in love

...

...

Y nos metimos en el coche

And we got into the car

Mi amigo, tu amiga, tú y yo

My friend, your friend, you and I

Te dije: "nena, dame un beso"

I told you: "Baby, give me a kiss"

Tú contestaste: "que no"

You replied: "No"

Empezamos mal y yo que creía

We started off wrong and I believed

Que esto era un buen plan

That this was a good plan

Y desde entonces hasta ahora

And from then to now

El juego del amor

The game of love

Nos tuvo tres años jugando

Kept us playing for three years

Luego nos separó

Then it separated us

Pero la fuerza del destino

But the power of destiny

Nos hizo repetir

Made us repeat

Que si el invierno viene frío

That if winter comes cold

Quiero estar junto a ti

I want to be by your side

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Quiero estar junto a ti

I want to be with you

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Quiero estar junto a ti

I want to be with you

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Quiero estar junto a ti

I want to be with you

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Quiero estar junto a ti

I want to be with you

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Oh-oh-oh

Quiero estar junto a ti

I want to be with you

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fuerza /ˈfweɾθa/ B1	noun - strength or force
destino /desˈtino/ B1	noun - destiny or fate
beso /ˈbeso/ A2	noun - kiss
juego /ˈxweɣo/ A2	noun - game or play
noche /ˈnotʃe/ A1	noun - night
amigo /aˈmiɣo/ A1	noun - friend
cara /ˈkaɾa/ A2	noun - face
corazón /koɾaˈθon/ A2	noun - heart
mal /mal/ A2	adjective - bad
plan /plan/ B1	noun - plan
invierno /inˈbjeɾno/ B1	noun - winter
separar /sepaˈɾaɾ/ B1	verb - to separate
decidir /desiˈðiɾ/ B1	verb - to decide
enamorar /enamoˈɾaɾ/ B2	verb - to fall in love
desastre /deˈsastɾe/ B2	noun - disaster

Key Grammar Structures

• Nos vimos tres o cuatro veces

  ➔ Preterite tense (vimos) with reflexive pronoun (nos)

  ➔ The verb "vimos" is the preterite (simple past) of "ver" (to see). The reflexive pronoun "nos" indicates that the subjects saw each other.

• Me decidí a atacar

  ➔ Periphrastic verb phrase (decidirse a + infinitive)

  ➔ "Decidirse a + infinitive" expresses the idea of deciding to do something. Here, it's "decidí a atacar" (I decided to attack).

• No quise desconfiar

  ➔ Preterite of "querer" (quise) expressing refusal or unwillingness.

  ➔ When "querer" is used in the preterite tense (quise), it implies a refusal to do something. "No quise desconfiar" means "I refused to distrust" or "I didn't want to distrust."

• Empezamos mal y yo que creía

  ➔ Use of "y" to add emphasis or contrast. Use of "que" + imperfect to emphasize a previous belief.

  ➔ The "y" adds emphasis to the bad start. "Yo que creía" (I, who believed) emphasizes the speaker's prior belief that things would go well. The imperfect tense "creía" indicates a continuing state of believing in the past.

• No me comí un colín

  ➔ Idiomatic expression: "no comerse un colín" (to not achieve anything).

  ➔ This is an idiomatic expression used in Spain to mean "to not achieve anything" or "to be unsuccessful."

• Pero la fuerza del destino nos hizo repetir

  ➔ "Hacer" + infinitive construction expressing causation.

  ➔ "Hacer + infinitive" means "to make someone do something". In this case, "nos hizo repetir" means "it made us repeat".

• Tu corazón fue lo que me acabó de enamorar

  ➔ Cleft sentence using "ser" + "lo que" to emphasize a particular element.

  ➔ The structure "ser + lo que" is used to emphasize a specific part of the sentence. In this case, it emphasizes that "your heart" was the thing that ultimately made him fall in love.

• El juego del amor nos tuvo tres años jugando

  ➔ "Tener" + [duration of time] + gerund (jugando). To express that something was happening during that time.

  ➔ The construction "Tener + [time period] + gerund" shows how long an action lasted or that an activity took place during a specific timeframe. It emphasizes the duration of the game.