Marchita – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Silvana Estrada

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the deeply emotional Spanish of Silvana Estrada's "Marchita." Learning this song is a lesson in vulnerability, as Estrada's honesty transcends language barriers, revealing universal truths about love, loss, and the beauty in things fading away—a perfect piece to connect with raw, poetic expression in Spanish.

[English]

I've lost you so many times

How inevitable the memory is

And the anguish of the reunion

Of your skin against my skin

It's cost me so much

That now my soul withers

And it crumbles into tiny tears

They forgot to pray

And if I had known

That I was so little to you

I would have been more prudent

In giving you my heart

And if I had known

That to you it was just a game

That summer among your kisses

I wouldn't have written this song

Little by little I'm losing

The clarity of your portrait

But I don't forget a single second

The sweet touch of your hands

...

And if I had known

That I was so little to you

I would have been more prudent

In giving you my heart

And if I had known

That to you it was just a game

That summer among your kisses

...

I wouldn't have written this song

...

[Spanish]

Te he perdido tantas veces

Que inevitable es el recuerdo

Y la angustia del reencuentro

De tu piel contra mi piel

Me ha costado tanto y tanto

Que ya mi alma se marchita

Y se deshace en lagrimitas

Que se olvidaron de rezar

Y si yo hubiera sabido

Que para ti yo era tan poco

Hubiera sido más prudente

Al entregarte el corazón

Y si yo hubiera sabido

Que para ti solo era un juego

Aquel verano entre tus besos

No hubiera escrito esta canción

Poco a poco voy perdiendo

La claridad de tu retrato

Pero no olvido ni un segundo

El dulce tacto de tus manos

Y si yo hubiera sabido

Que para ti yo era tan poco

Hubiera sido más prudente

Al entregarte el corazón

Y si yo hubiera sabido

Que para ti solo era un juego

Aquel verano entre tus besos

No hubiera escrito esta canción

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
marchita maɾˈtʃita B1	adjective - withered, faded
inevitable ineβiˈtable B1	adjective - unavoidable
angustia aŋˈgstja A2	noun - anguish, distress
reencuentro reẽnˈkwentro A2	noun - reunion
marchitar maɾtʃiˈtar B1	verb - to wither
deshacer desaaˈθer A2	verb - to undo, to dissolve
lagrimitas laɣɾiˈmitas A1	noun - little tears
prudente pɾuˈðente A2	adjective - prudent
entregar ẽntreˈɣar A1	verb - to deliver, to give
claridad klaɾiˈðað A2	noun - clarity
retrato reˈtɾato A1	noun - portrait
tacto ˈtakto B1	noun - touch
dulce ˈdulθe A1	adjective - sweet

Key Grammar Structures

• ¡Qué inevitable es el recuerdo!

  ➔ Exclamatory sentence using “qué” + adjective + ser + noun.

  ➔ The word "qué" introduces an exclamation, equivalent to “how”.

• Me ha costado tanto y tanto

  ➔ Present perfect with indirect object pronoun “me” + verb “costar”.

  ➔ "Me" is the indirect object pronoun meaning “to me”.

• Ya mi alma se marchita

  ➔ Adverb “ya” (already) + reflexive verb “marchitarse” in present.

  ➔ "Ya" signals that the action has already begun; "se marchita" means “is withering”.

• Y si yo hubiera sabido

  ➔ Conditional clause with pluperfect subjunctive “hubiera + past participle”.

  ➔ "hubiera sabido" expresses a hypothetical past: “if I had known”.

• Hubiera sido más prudente al entregarte el corazón

  ➔ Conditional perfect + “al + infinitive” (gerundive of purpose).

  ➔ "Hubiera sido" = “would have been”; "al entregarte" = “by giving you”.

• Poco a poco voy perdiendo la claridad de tu retrato

  ➔ Adverbial phrase “poco a poco” + progressive construction “ir + gerund”.

  ➔ "poco a poco" means “gradually”; "voy perdiendo" = “I am gradually losing”.

• No hubiera escrito esta canción

  ➔ Negative pluperfect subjunctive (hubiera + past participle) expressing regret.

  ➔ "No hubiera escrito" = “I wish I hadn't written”.

• Pero no olvido ni un segundo

  ➔ Negation with “no” + verb + “ni” + noun phrase; “ni” used after a negative to mean “not even”.

  ➔ "ni" emphasizes that not even a single second is forgotten.

• El dulce tacto de tus manos

  ➔ Noun phrase with adjective order: article + adjective + noun + prepositional complement.

  ➔ "dulce" modifies "tacto"; the whole phrase means “the sweet touch of your hands”.