Me Dediqué A Perderte – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Alejandro Fernández
• Album: A Corazón Abierto

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the poignant story of love and loss in Alejandro Fernández's "Me Dediqué A Perderte." This iconic ballad offers a window into the emotional complexities of regret, allowing listeners to connect with universal themes of missed chances and the value of cherishing relationships. Learn Spanish through its evocative lyrics and powerful melody.

[English]

Why didn't I kiss your soul when I still could?

Why didn't I embrace life when I had it?

And I, who didn't realize how much it hurt you

And I, who didn't know the damage it did to me

...

How is it that I never noticed you weren't smiling anymore?

And that before turning off the light, you said nothing to me

That love slipped away from you, that the day had come

That you no longer felt me, that it didn't even hurt you anymore

...

I dedicated myself to losing you

And I was absent in moments that are gone forever

I dedicated myself to not seeing you

And I locked myself in my world and you couldn't stop me

And I distanced myself a thousand times

And when I returned, I had lost you forever

And I wanted to stop you

And then I discovered that you were already looking different

I dedicated myself to losing you

I dedicated myself to losing you

...

Why didn't I fill you with me when there was still time?

Why couldn't I understand what I now understand?

That you were everything to me and that I was blind

I left you for later

This damn ego, mmh

I dedicated myself to losing you

And I was absent in moments that are gone forever

I dedicated myself to not seeing you

And I locked myself in my world and you couldn't stop me

And I distanced myself a thousand times

And when I returned, I had lost you forever

And I wanted to stop you

Then I discovered that you were already looking different

I dedicated myself to losing you

I dedicated myself to losing you

...

[Spanish]

¿Por qué no te besé en el alma cuando aún podía?

¿Por qué no te abracé la vida cuando la tenía?

Y yo que no me daba cuenta cuánto te dolía

Y yo que no sabía el daño que me hacía

¿Cómo es que nunca me fijé que ya no sonreías?

Y que antes de apagar la luz, ya nada me decías

Que aquel amor se te escapó que había llegado el día

Que ya no me sentías, que ya ni te dolía

Me dediqué a perderte

Y me ausenté en momentos que se han ido para siempre

Me dediqué a no verte

Y me encerré en mi mundo y no pudiste detenerme

Y me alejé mil veces

Y cuando regresé te había perdido para siempre

Y quise detenerte

Y entonces descubrí que ya mirabas diferente

Me dediqué a perderte

Me dediqué a perderte

¿Por qué no te llené de mí cuando aún había tiempo?

¿Por qué no pude comprender lo que hasta ahora entiendo?

Que fuiste todo para mí y que yo estaba ciego

Te dejé para luego

Este maldito ego, mmh

Me dediqué a perderte

Y me ausenté en momentos que se han ido para siempre

Me dediqué a no verte

Y me encerré en mi mundo y no pudiste detenerme

Y me alejé mil veces

Y cuando regresé te había perdido para siempre

Y quise detenerte

Entonces descubrí que ya mirabas diferente

Me dediqué a perderte

Me dediqué a perderte

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
alma /ˈalma/ B1	noun - soul
vida /ˈbiða/ A1	noun - life
dolía /doˈli.a/ B1	verb - it hurt (imperfect tense of doler)
daño /ˈdaɲo/ B1	noun - harm, damage
sonreías /son.reˈi.as/ B2	verb - you smiled (imperfect tense of sonreír)
amor /aˈmoɾ/ A1	noun - love
perderte /peɾˈðeɾ.te/ B1	verb - to lose you
momentos /moˈmen.tos/ A2	noun - moments
mundo /ˈmun.do/ A1	noun - world
veces /ˈbe.θes/ A1	noun - times
tiempo /ˈtjem.po/ A1	noun - time
ciego /ˈθje.ɣo/ B1	adjective - blind
ego /ˈe.ɣo/ B2	noun - ego
diferente /di.feˈɾen.te/ A2	adjective - different
llené /ʎeˈne/ B1	verb - I filled (past tense of llenar)

Key Grammar Structures

• ¿Por qué no te besé en el alma cuando aún podía?

  ➔ Past Subjunctive (besé) in a question expressing regret; Conditional Perfect Implied.

  ➔ The use of the past subjunctive "besé" indicates a hypothetical situation in the past that did not happen. The implied conditional perfect is 'If I could have, I would have kissed you.'

• Y yo que no me daba cuenta cuánto te dolía

  ➔ Emphatic structure with 'yo que'; Imperfect tense (daba, dolía) indicating ongoing actions in the past.

  ➔ 'Yo que' emphasizes the speaker's unawareness. The imperfect tense describes the continuous state of the other person's pain and the speaker's lack of realization.

• Me dediqué a perderte

  ➔ Reflexive verb 'dedicarse a' + infinitive (perderte); expressing dedication to an action.

  ➔ 'Dedicarse a' indicates a deliberate action, a focus of effort. In this case, the effort was (unintentionally) towards losing the other person.

• Y me ausenté en momentos que se han ido para siempre

  ➔ Preterite tense (ausenté) indicating a completed action; Relative clause with Present Perfect (se han ido).

  ➔ The preterite 'ausenté' signifies a specific instance of being absent. The present perfect in the relative clause highlights that those moments are irrevocably gone.

• Y cuando regresé te había perdido para siempre

  ➔ Past Perfect (había perdido) indicating an action completed before another in the past.

  ➔ The past perfect 'había perdido' shows that the loss of the person happened before the speaker's return.

• Entonces descubrí que ya mirabas diferente

  ➔ Imperfect tense (mirabas) describing a state or characteristic in the past.

  ➔ The imperfect 'mirabas' portrays the way the other person *used to* look, emphasizing the change over time.