Muerte – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Natalia Lafourcade

Lyrics & Translation

Learning Spanish through 'Muerte' is a special experience; Natalia Lafourcade’s clear, deliberate diction allows listeners to master poetic vocabulary related to nature, philosophy, and emotions while appreciating the rhythmic cadence of Mexican Spanish.

[English]

I give thanks to death

For teaching me how to live

For inviting me out

To truly decipher my fate

Holding my hand firmly

Filling it with life

It's as if it protects me from evil

Because it holds me to the present

After my war has ended

Today I am reborn, grateful

After my war has ended

Today I am reborn

Grateful

I give thanks to the flowers

To the scent of jasmine

For inviting me to the garden

Where sorrows are wept away

Drinking the spirits

Sacred to our land

The grief is finally laid to rest

And I surrender myself to joy

I might not know who I am

But failing to stand is what terrifies me

I might not know who I am

But failing to stand

Oh, that is what truly terrifies me

The death of having looked death in the eye

Is that today I walk through life

With faith and a glowing soul

The death of greeting death

Is that today I cherish the love

That is born in me forever

Palm trees and reed fields

The beaches of Veracruz

Gave strength to the light

That had been lost in abundance

In dust of minerals

And I became stars

And the sky I discovered

Today dazzles me with life

I danced so gratefully

That I offered my death to God

I danced so gratefully

That my death

I offered to God

The death of having looked death in the eye

Is that today I walk through life

With faith and a glowing soul

The death of greeting death

Is that today I walk through life

With faith and a glowing soul

The death of having looked death in the eye

Is that today I walk through life

With faith and a glowing soul

The death of greeting death

Is that today I cherish the love

That is born in me forever

I danced, I danced, I danced, I danced so gratefully

That my death

I offered to God

I danced, I danced, I danced, I danced so gratefully

That my death to God, my death to God

I offered

I give thanks to life

I give thanks

Thanks to death

For teaching me how to live

I give thanks to death

For teaching me how to live

I give thanks to death

For teaching me, for teaching me

How to live

I give thanks to death

For teaching me how to live

[Spanish]

Le doy gracias a la muerte

Por enseñarme a vivir

Por invitarme a salir

A descifrar bien mi suerte

Tomando mi mano fuerte

Llenándola de vida

Es como del mal me cuida

Porque al presente me aferra

Después de morir mi guerra

Hoy renazco agradecida

Después de morir mi guerra

Hoy renazco

Agradecida

Le doy gracias a las flores

Al aroma del jazmín

Por invitarme al jardín

Donde se lloran los dolores

Tomándome los licores

Sagrados de nuestra tierra

La pena por fin se entierra

Y a la alegría me doy

Podría no saber quién soy

Mas no caerme me aterra

Podría no saber quién soy

Mas no caerme

Ay, eso sí que me aterra

Muerte de haber mirado a la muerte

Es que hoy camino la vida

Con la fe y el alma encendida

Muerte de saludar a la muerte

Es que hoy valoro al amor

Que nace en mí para siempre

Palmeras cañaverales

Las playas de Veracruz

Le dieron fuerza a la luz

Que había perdido a raudales

En polvo de minerales

Y estrellas me convertí

Y el cielo que descubrí

Hoy me deslumbra de vida

Bailé tan agradecida

Que a Dios mi muerte ofrecí

Bailé tan agradecida

Que a Dios mi muerte

Le ofrecí

Muerte de haber mirado a la muerte

Es que hoy camino la vida

Con la fe y el alma encendida

Muerte de saludar a la muerte

Es que hoy camino la vida

Con la fe y el alma encendida

Muerte de haber mirado a la muerte

Es que hoy camino la vida

Con la fe y el alma encendida

Muerte de saludar a la muerte

Es que hoy valoro el amor

Que nace en mí para siempre

Bailé, bailé, bailé, bailé tan agradecida

Que a Dios mi muerte

Le ofrecí

Bailé, bailé, bailé, bailé tan agradecida

Que a Dios mi muerte, a Dios mi muerte

Le ofrecí

Le doy gracias a la vida

Le doy gracias

Gracias a la muerte

Por enseñarme a vivir

Le doy gracias a la muerte

Por enseñarme a vivir

Le doy gracias a la muerte

Por enseñarme, por enseñarme

A vivir

Le doy gracias a la muerte

Por enseñarme a vivir

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
muerte ˈmweɾte B1	noun - death
gracias ˈɡɾasjas A2	noun - thanks
vivir biˈβiɾ A2	verb - to live
invitar inβiˈtaɾ A2	verb - to invite
descifrar desθiˈfɾaɾ B1	verb - to decipher
suerte ˈsweɾte A2	noun - luck
fuerte ˈfweɾte A2	adjective - strong
aferra aˈfeɾa B1	verb - to cling to
renazco renaˈsko B1	verb - I am reborn
flores ˈfloɾes A1	noun - flowers
aroma aˈɾoma B1	noun - aroma
jazmín xasˈmin B2	noun - jasmine
jardín xaɾˈdin A2	noun - garden
dolores doˈloɾes A2	noun - sorrows
sagrados saˈɣɾados B1	adjective - sacred
entierra enˈtjera B1	verb - buries
alegría aleˈɣɾia A2	noun - joy
aterra aˈteɾa B1	verb - frightens
camino kaˈmino A2	verb - I walk

Key Grammar Structures

• Le doy gracias a la muerte

  ➔ Indirect Object Pronoun + Verb + Preposition + Noun

  ➔ The pronoun "Le" is an indirect object pronoun, meaning 'to her/him/it'. It indicates *to whom* the thanks are given. The structure is common in Spanish for expressing gratitude *to* someone. "Doy gracias a..." means 'I give thanks to...'

• Tomando mi mano fuerte

  ➔ Gerund as Adverbial Modifier

  ➔ "Tomando" is a gerund (present participle used as a noun). Here, it functions as an adverbial modifier, describing *how* the hand is taken – firmly. It indicates the manner of the action.

• Podría no saber quién soy

  ➔ Conditional Mood + Negative + Indefinite Pronoun + Relative Clause

  ➔ "Podría" expresses a possibility or uncertainty. The phrase indicates the speaker *might* not know their identity. "Quién soy" is a relative clause functioning as the object of "saber".

• Mas no caerme me aterra

  ➔ Inversion for Emphasis + Negative + Infinitive + Verb

  ➔ The inversion "no caerme" emphasizes the fear of falling. The structure places the negative "no" before the verb "caer" (to fall) for dramatic effect. "Me aterra" means 'it terrifies me'.