La Lanza

• By: Babasónicos

Lyrics:

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[English]

Antes que despiertes quiero dejar en claro

Before you wake up, I want to make it clear

Que no voy a dar el brazo a torcer

That I'm not going to give in

Como llegamos hasta acá

How did we get here?

Donde mi peor yo nos abraza

Where my worst self embraces us

Y no se si abrir la boca sin ningún control

And I don't know whether to open my mouth without any control

Si me vas a arruinar

If you're going to ruin me

No lo des por hecho

Don't take it for granted

Hasta que lo hagas de verdad

Until you really do it

Te vi partir en dos la lanza

I saw you break the spear in two

Y me dejaste clavada la mitad

And you left me with half of it stuck in me

No voy a quejarme

I'm not going to complain

No voy a llorar

I'm not going to cry

Y no voy a unirme a vos

And I'm not going to join you

Aunque me claves la otra mitad

Even if you stick the other half in me

...

...

Antes que te duermas quiero dejar en claro

Before you fall asleep, I want to make it clear

Que peleas con un espejo de pared

That you're fighting with a wall mirror

Como llegamos hasta acá

How did we get here?

Donde tu peor yo se te instala

Where your worst self settles in you

Y decide sacarnos la piel

And decides to take our skin off

Si me vas a empujar

If you're going to push me

No me des por muerto

Don't count me as dead

Hasta que me caiga de verdad

Until I really fall

Te vi partir en dos la lanza

I saw you break the spear in two

Y me dejaste clavada la mitad

And you left me with half of it stuck in me

No voy a quejarme

I'm not going to complain

No voy a llorar

I'm not going to cry

Y no voy a unirme a tu club

And I'm not going to join your club

Aunque me claves la otra mitad

Even if you stick the other half in me

Te vi partir en dos la lanza

I saw you break the spear in two

Y me dejaste clavada la mitad

And you left me with half of it stuck in me

No voy a quejarme

I'm not going to complain

No voy a llorar

I'm not going to cry

Y no voy a unirme a tu club

And I'm not going to join your club

Aunque me claves la otra mitad

Even if you stick the other half in me

Te vi partir en dos la lanza

I saw you break the spear in two

Y me dejaste clavada la mitad

And you left me with half of it stuck in me

No voy a quejarme

I'm not going to complain

No voy a llorar

I'm not going to cry

Y no voy a unirme a tu club

And I'm not going to join your club

Aunque me claves la otra mitad

Even if you stick the other half in me

...

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
despertar /des.perˈtar/ B1	verb - to wake up
brazo /ˈbɾa.θo/ A2	noun - arm
torcer /toɾˈθeɾ/ B2	verb - to twist
peor /peˈoɾ/ A2	adjective - worse
abrazo /aˈβɾa.θo/ A2	noun - hug
control /konˈtɾol/ B1	noun - control
partir /paɾˈtiɾ/ A2	verb - to leave
clavar /klaˈβaɾ/ B2	verb - to nail or to drive in
mitad /miˈtað/ A2	noun - half
quejarse /keˈxaɾ.se/ B1	verb - to complain
llorar /ʝoˈɾaɾ/ A1	verb - to cry
unir /uˈniɾ/ B1	verb - to unite
espejo /esˈpe.xo/ A2	noun - mirror
decidir /deθiˈðiɾ/ B1	verb - to decide
piel /pjel/ B1	noun - skin

Grammar:

• Antes que despiertes quiero dejar en claro

  ➔ Subjunctive after 'antes que'

  ➔ 'Antes que' introduces a subordinate clause expressing a condition that must be met before the action in the main clause can happen. Therefore, the subjunctive mood is used in the subordinate clause: 'antes que "despiertes"'. This indicates uncertainty or potentiality.

• Que no voy a dar el brazo a torcer

  ➔ Idiomatic expression: 'Dar el brazo a torcer'

  ➔ 'Dar el brazo a torcer' means to give in, to yield, or to surrender in a disagreement or argument. The phrase is used to emphasize that the speaker is refusing to compromise or change their mind. 'No voy a dar el brazo a torcer' literally means 'I am not going to give my arm to be twisted', indicating strong resistance.

• Como llegamos hasta acá

  ➔ Use of 'acá' for location

  ➔ 'Acá' is an adverb of place, similar to 'aquí' (here), but often implies a closer or more immediate location. It emphasizes how they arrived at *this* specific point, highlighting the current situation.

• Donde mi peor yo nos abraza

  ➔ 'Donde' as a relative adverb referring to a situation/state

  ➔ Here, 'donde' doesn't refer to a physical place, but to a state or situation. It describes the current predicament where the speaker's worst self is embracing them, creating a negative or difficult atmosphere.

• Si me vas a arruinar

  ➔ 'Ir a + infinitive' to express future intention/probability.

  ➔ The structure 'ir a + infinitive' (in this case, 'vas a arruinar') is a common way to express future action in Spanish. It's similar to 'going to' in English. The speaker is questioning if the other person intends to ruin them.

• No lo des por hecho

  ➔ Idiomatic expression 'Dar algo por hecho'

  ➔ 'Dar algo por hecho' means to take something for granted, to assume something is true or will happen without proof. The negative form 'No lo des por hecho' implies that the other person shouldn't assume that they have already succeeded in ruining the speaker.

• Hasta que lo hagas de verdad

  ➔ Subjunctive after 'hasta que' referring to a future event.

  ➔ 'Hasta que' introduces a subordinate clause specifying the limit of an action in the main clause. Because it describes a future and uncertain event (the act of ruining the speaker), the subjunctive mood is used: 'hasta que lo "hagas" de verdad'.

• Te vi partir en dos la lanza

  ➔ Verb 'ver' + infinitive to express seeing an action.

  ➔ The structure 'ver + infinitive' (in this case, 'vi partir') is used to express that the speaker witnessed the action described by the infinitive. It means 'I saw you split the spear in two'.

• Y me dejaste clavada la mitad

  ➔ 'Dejar' + participle to describe a state resulting from a past action.

  ➔ The structure 'dejar + past participle' ('dejaste clavada') indicates the result of a past action. The speaker was left in a state of being stabbed or stuck with half of the spear.