Me Llaman Tonto – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: José José

Lyrics & Translation

Learning Spanish through José José's "Me Llaman Tonto" offers insight into the emotional depth of Latin ballads. This song, with its evocative title, invites listeners to explore themes of feeling undervalued or foolish in the language, making it a poignant piece to connect with Spanish vocabulary and expression.

[English]

They say I'm a fool, as I go,

That because I can't see you, I've cried,

What will they think of me? If they know the truth

That because I can't see you,

I feel like I'm dying.

My lips call your name!

My eyes weep for you!

My steps search for you!

My arms miss you!

And I keep waiting while time goes by.

Fool! They call me Fool!

They say I'm a fool, as I go,

That because I can't see you, I've cried,

What will they think of me? If they know the truth

That because I can't see you,

I feel like I'm dying.

My lips call your name!

My eyes weep for you!

My steps search for you!

My arms miss you!

And I keep waiting while time goes by.

Fool! They call me Fool!

My lips call your name!

My eyes weep for you!

My steps search for you!

My arms miss you!

And I keep waiting while time goes by.

Fool! They call me Fool!

...

[Spanish]

Dicen que un tonto soy, a mi paso,

Que por no verte a ti, he llorado,

Que pensarán de mi? Si saben la verdad

Que por no verte a tí,

Yo me siento morir.

Mis labios te nombran!

Mis ojos te lloran!

Mis pasos te buscan!

Mis brazos te extrañan!

Y sigo esperando y el tiempo pasando.

Tonto! Me llaman Tonto!

Dicen que un tonto soy, a mi paso,

Que por no verte a ti, he llorado,

Que pensarán de mi? Si saben la verdad

Que por no verte a tí,

Yo me siento morir.

Mis labios nombran!

Mis ojos te lloran!

Mis pasos te buscan!

Mis brazos te extrañan!

Y sigo esperando y el tiempo pasando.

Tonto! Me llaman Tonto!

Mis labios nombran!

Mis ojos te lloran!

Mis pasos te buscan!

Mis brazos te extrañan!

Y sigo esperando y el tiempo pasando.

Tonto! Me llaman Tonto!

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
tonto ˈtonto A2	adjective - foolish, silly, stupid noun - fool
llorar ʎoˈɾaɾ A2	verb - to cry
verdad beɾˈðað B1	noun - truth
morir moˈɾiɾ B1	verb - to die
labios laˈβjos A2	noun - lips
ojos oˈxos A2	noun - eyes
pasos ˈpasos A2	noun - steps
brazos ˈβɾasos A2	noun - arms
extrañar eks.tɾaˈɲaɾ B1	verb - to miss
esperando es.peˈɾan.do A2	verb - waiting
tiempo ˈtjem.po A2	noun - time
nombran nomˈbɾan B1	verb - name, mention
buscan busˈkan B1	verb - seek, look for

Key Grammar Structures

• Dicen que un tonto soy, a mi paso,

  ➔ Present tense of 'ser' (to be) used to express a characteristic.

  ➔ The verb 'soy' is the first person singular present tense of 'ser', used here to describe a permanent characteristic ('tonto').

• Que por no verte a ti, he llorado,

  ➔ Present perfect of 'llorar' (to cry) to indicate a past action with present relevance.

  ➔ 'He llorado' shows an action that started in the past and has effects in the present, emphasizing the ongoing emotional impact.

• Que pensarán de mi? Si saben la verdad

  ➔ Future tense implied by 'pensarán' (will think) and conditional 'si' (if) for hypothetical situations.

  ➔ 'Pensarán' is the future tense, and 'si' introduces a condition, expressing what might happen if the truth is known.

• Mis labios te nombran!

  ➔ Present tense of 'nombrar' (to name) with indirect object pronoun 'te'.

  ➔ The verb 'nombran' is in the present tense, and 'te' is the indirect object pronoun, indicating the action is directed toward 'you'.

• Y sigo esperando y el tiempo pasando.

  ➔ Present tense of 'seguir' (to continue) and 'pasar' (to pass) to describe ongoing actions.

  ➔ 'Sigo' and 'pasando' are both in the present tense, emphasizing the continuous nature of waiting and time passing.