Luces – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Babasonicos

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the critical spirit of Argentine rock with Babasónicos' "Luces." This song is a masterclass in dissecting pretension and offers a rich vocabulary for expressing skepticism and defiance, inviting listeners to explore the nuanced world of Spanish rock lyrics through its powerful message.

[English]

I don’t know what those lights are

I don’t know what they tell me about rock & roll

It’s cheap fakery

It’s just posing and imitation

Take off your masks; shut up, prophets

Hear a comet scream

Arrogant rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Shit, the lights are coming

And all I think is that I want more

They tell me this is full throttle

But I’m not talking about speed

Take off your masks; shut up, prophets

Hear a comet scream

Arrogant rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Take off your masks; shut up, prophets

Hear a comet scream

Arrogant rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Coward, coward, coward, you’re leaving with the lights

Coward, coward, coward

Coward, coward, coward, you’re leaving with the lights

Coward, coward, coward

Take off your masks; shut up, prophets

Hear a comet scream

Arrogant rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Take off your masks; shut up, prophets

Hear a comet scream

Arrogant rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Arrogant rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

...

[Spanish]

No sé qué son esas luces

No sé qué me hablan de rock & roll

Es impostura barata

Es solo pose e imitación

Sáquense caretas; cállense, profetas

Oigan a un cometa gritar

Arrogante rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Mierda, se vienen las luces

Y solo pienso que quiero más

Me dicen que esto es a fondo

Pero no hablo de velocidad

Sáquense caretas; cállense, profetas

Oigan a un cometa gritar

Arrogante rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Sáquense caretas; cállense, profetas

Oigan a un cometa gritar

Arrogante rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Cagón, cagón, cagón, te vas de luces

Cagón, cagón, cagón

Cagón, cagón, cagón, te vas de luces

Cagón, cagón, cagón

Sáquense caretas; cállense, profetas

Oigan a un cometa gritar

Arrogante rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Sáquense caretas; cállense, profetas

Oigan a un cometa gritar

Arrogante rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Arrogante rock (uoh-uoh, oh)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
luz /luth/ A1	noun - light
cometa /koˈmeta/ B1	noun - comet (astronomical object) noun - kite (toy, regional usage)
profeta /pɾoˈfeta/ B2	noun - prophet
pose /ˈpose/ B2	noun - posture or attitude displayed to impress others
imitación /imitaˈθjon/ B1	noun - imitation, copy
velocidad /belosiˈðað/ A2	noun - speed
careta /kaˈɾeta/ B1	noun - mask, false face
rock /rɔk/ A2	noun - rock music genre
impostura /imposˈtuɾa/ C1	noun - deception, fraudulence
arrogante /aroˈɣante/ B2	adjective - arrogant, proud in an unpleasant way
barato /baˈɾato/ A2	adjective - cheap, low-priced
gritar /ɡɾiˈtaɾ/ A2	verb - to shout or scream
hablar /aˈβlaɾ/ A1	verb - to speak, to talk
venir /beˈniɾ/ A1	verb - to come
pensar /penˈsaɾ/ A2	verb - to think
querer /keˈɾeɾ/ A1	verb - to want, to love
decir /deˈθiɾ/ A2	verb - to say, tell
poseer /poseˈeɾ/ B2	verb - to possess, to own
cagar /kaˈɰaɾ/ C2	verb - to defecate; vulgar slang for to mess up or ruin something
mentir /menˈtiɾ/ B1	verb - to lie, to not tell the truth

Key Grammar Structures

• No sé qué son esas luces

  ➔ Indirect question with 'qué' and verb 'ser' in present indicative

  ➔ The phrase 'No sé qué son esas luces' embeds a question ('qué son esas luces') as the object of 'sé', showing how Spanish uses indirect questions without inversion.

• Es solo pose e imitación

  ➔ Nominal sentence using 'ser' for definition or classification

  ➔ 'Es' introduces a definition: 'It is only pose and imitation', identifying what the subject refers to.

• Sáquense caretas

  ➔ Imperative mood, reflexive verb 'sacarse' in plural formal/informal ('ustedes') form

  ➔ 'Sáquense' comes from 'sacar(se)', meaning 'take off (yourselves)', addressing a group command.

• Cállense, profetas

  ➔ Imperative form of 'callarse' with reflexive pronoun for polite plural command

  ➔ 'Cállense' literally means 'Shut yourselves up', used as an imperative directed to a plural audience.

• Oigan a un cometa gritar

  ➔ Imperative + infinitive structure ('oír' + infinitive) expressing perception

  ➔ In Spanish, verbs of perception like 'oír' can be followed by an infinitive to show what is being perceived.

• Se vienen las luces

  ➔ Reflexive construction with 'venirse' conveying sudden or impending occurrence

  ➔ 'Se vienen' often implies 'They are coming' or 'It's coming', adding emotional or dramatic nuance to 'venir'.

• Me dicen que esto es a fondo

  ➔ Reported speech using 'decir' with indirect object pronoun and subordinate clause

  ➔ 'Me dicen que...' introduces what others tell the speaker, forming indirect speech with a dependent clause.

• Solo pienso que quiero más

  ➔ Two coordinated clauses linked by 'que', featuring verbs of cognition/desire

  ➔ 'Pienso' (I think) governs the clause 'que quiero más', illustrating a subordinate clause expressing personal desire.

• No hablo de velocidad

  ➔ Negation with 'no' and use of prepositional phrase 'de + noun' for topic specification

  ➔ The phrase specifies what the speaker is not referring to using 'de', which introduces the topic noun.

• Te vas de luces

  ➔ Reflexive verb 'irse' with colloquial idiom 'irse de luces' meaning 'to get carried away'

  ➔ 'Te vas de luces' literally means 'you go of lights', but idiomatically means losing control or overdoing something.