LA PRESA – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Nathy Peluso
• Album: GRASA

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Police, take her away

Police, open the bars

Because I'm going to confess if you let me

I’d rather be a delinquent than a fool

And for that you need to have courage

Police, take me to prison

If it’s a life sentence, I don’t care

If it’s true that I killed that man

But I killed him, I killed him out of love

It wasn’t with a gun

Nor with a dagger

It was because I denied him my kisses

And he died because of that

Because I didn’t want to give them to him

Here’s the moral for you

To be with him, I’d rather be behind bars

Relax, officer, I won’t be missing anything

Whoever gives me a visit, a conjugal visit

Here’s the moral for you

To be with him, I’d rather be behind bars

'Salsa'

Police, take her to prison

From the tip of the shoe

All the way up to the top of the head

I already walked out your door

I won’t go back in through that one

Police, take her to prison

Because of my noble humanity they call me a criminal

Police, take her to prison

That’s why I don’t care

If they bind me with shackles

If they set a bail

I have plenty of cash

Police, take her to prison

That man isn’t breathing

Call the police

When love doesn’t give you freedom

It’s a prison, a disease

When love doesn’t give you freedom

You have to kill it

with coldness

[Spanish]

Policía llévenla

Policía, abran las rejas

Que me voy a confesar si usted me deja

Prefiero ser maleante que pendeja

Y para eso hay que tener valor

Policía, llévenme presa

Que si es perpetua a mí no me interesa

Si es verdad que yo maté a ese hombre

Pero lo maté, lo maté de amor

No fue con la pistola

Tampoco con el puñal

Fue que le negué mis besos

Y él se murió por eso

Porque no se los quise dar

Aquí les dejo esta moraleja

Pa’ estar con él prefiero estar tras las rejas

Tranquilo policía que a mi no me va a faltar

Quien me de una visita una visita conyugal

Aquí les dejo esta moraleja

Pa’ estar con él prefiero estar tras las rejas

‘Salsa’

Policía, llévenla presa

Desde la punta del zapato

Hasta arriba de la cabeza

Yo ya salí por tu puerta

Yo no vuelvo a entrar por esa

Policía, llévenla presa

Por mi noble humanidad me llaman delincuente

Policía llévenla presa

Por eso no me importa 

Que me aten los grilletes

Que me pongan la fianza

Me sobran los billetes

Policía, llévenla presa

Ese hombre no respira

Llamen a la policía

Cuando el amor no te da libertad

Es una cárcel una enfermedad

Cuando el amor no te da libertad

Hay que matarlo

con frialdad

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
policía /po.liˈsi.a/ A2	noun - police officer
presa /ˈpɾesa/ A2	noun - prisoner
rejas /ˈrexas/ B1	noun - bars (as in prison bars)
maleante /ma.leˈan.te/ C1	noun - criminal, thug
valor /baˈloɾ/ A2	noun - courage, bravery
verdad /beɾˈðað/ A2	noun - truth
maté /maˈte/ B1	verb - I killed
pistola /pisˈto.la/ B1	noun - pistol
puñal /puˈɲal/ B2	noun - dagger
besos /ˈbesos/ A1	noun - kisses
moraleja /moɾaˈlexa/ B2	noun - moral, lesson
libertad /li.beɾˈtað/ A2	noun - freedom
cárcel /ˈkaɾsel/ A2	noun - prison
enfermedad /en.feɾ.meˈðað/ A2	noun - disease, illness
amor /aˈmoɾ/ A1	noun - love
frialdad /fɾi.alˈðað/ B2	noun - coldness (emotional)
delincuente /de.linˈkwen.te/ B2	noun - delinquent, criminal
humanidad /u.ma.niˈðað/ B2	noun - humanity
noble /ˈnoβle/ B2	adjective - noble, honorable
conyugal /ko.ɲuˈɣal/ C1	adjective - conjugal, marital

Key Grammar Structures

• [translate:Policía, llévenla presa]

  ➔ Imperative form (third person plural command)

  ➔ “Llévenla” is the imperative of “llevar” addressing a group (ustedes). It commands the police to take her away.

• [translate:Prefiero ser maleante que pendeja]

  ➔ Comparative structure with 'que'

  ➔ “Ser ... que ...” compares two qualities or roles: 'maleante' (criminal) vs 'pendeja' (fool).

• [translate:Si es verdad que yo maté a ese hombre]

  ➔ Conditional clause with 'si' and preterite verb

  ➔ Introduces a condition in the past using 'si' with 'maté' (preterite); it means 'if it’s true that I killed that man'.

• [translate:Pero lo maté de amor]

  ➔ Prepositional phrase expressing cause ('de + noun')

  ➔ ‘De amor’ means 'of love' – it shows the cause or motive. She says she killed him out of love.

• [translate:No fue con la pistola]

  ➔ Negative past tense with 'fue' (preterite of ser)

  ➔ ‘No fue’ means 'it wasn’t' — used to negate the method: not with the gun.

• [translate:Porque no se los quise dar]

  ➔ Double object pronouns and preterite of querer with negation

  ➔ ‘Se los quise dar’ means 'I wanted to give them to him/her’. The ‘no’ negates the whole action.

• [translate:Aquí les dejo esta moraleja]

  ➔ Indirect object pronoun 'les' with first-person verb

  ➔ ‘Les dejo’ means 'I leave (something) to you (plural)’ — shows indirect object reference.

• [translate:Por mi noble humanidad me llaman delincuente]

  ➔ Passive meaning with 'me llaman' (semitransitive verb + pronoun)

  ➔ ‘Me llaman’ literally means 'they call me’, functioning like a passive (‘I am called’).

• [translate:Cuando el amor no te da libertad]

  ➔ Subordinate clause with 'cuando' and present tense

  ➔ ‘Cuando’ introduces a time or condition clause; ‘te da’ (gives you) is present tense showing general truth.

• [translate:Hay que matarlo con frialdad]

  ➔ Impersonal expression with 'hay que + infinitive'

  ➔ ‘Hay que’ means ‘one must’ or ‘it’s necessary to’. It introduces a general obligation — here, to kill love coldly.