Paloma Ajena – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Los Ecos, Edilberto Cuestas, La Banda Tecno De Beto Y Juan
• Album: Los Querendones de la Cumbia, Vol. 1

Lyrics & Translation

“Paloma Ajena” offers a beautiful entry point into the Spanish language and the rich world of Latin American cumbia. Through its poignant lyrics, you can learn vocabulary related to love, loss, and emotional expression, while its catchy rhythm provides an enjoyable way to immerse yourself in the sounds and cultural nuances of Peruvian music. The song's storytelling and relatable themes make it a memorable and effective tool for language acquisition.

[English]

Cumbia

...

And this is the Techno Band of Beto and Juan

Like this

...

She appeared at my window

I welcomed her with great love

She wouldn't take off, she was prickly

I felt like her protector

She was already mine, she was already mine

...

Every day I looked after her

Giving her my love

When, suddenly, one morning

She lifted into flight and left

She had an owner, she had an owner

Oh, what a pain!

...

You will suffer, you will weep when you remember

Dove not mine, I thought you were good

Now you leave and leave me with my sorrow

You will suffer, you will weep when you remember

Dove not mine, I thought you were good

Now you leave and leave me with my sorrow

...

She appeared at my window

I welcomed her with great love

She wouldn't take off, she was prickly

I felt like her protector

She was already mine, she was already mine

Every day I looked after her

Giving her my love

When, suddenly, one morning

She lifted into flight and left

She had an owner, she had an owner

Oh, what a pain!

...

You will suffer, you will weep when you remember

Dove not mine, I thought you were good

Now you leave and leave me with my sorrow

You will suffer, you will weep when you remember

Dove not mine, I thought you were good

Now you leave and leave me with my sorrow

...

You will suffer, you will weep when you remember

Dove not mine, I thought you were good

Now you leave and leave me with my sorrow

You will suffer, you will weep when you remember

Dove not mine, I thought you were good

Now you leave and leave me with my sorrow

...

[Spanish]

Cumbia

Y esto es La Banda Tecno De Beto Y Juan

Así

Se apareció en mi ventana

La acogí con mucho amor

No echaba vuelo, era huraña

Me sentí su protector

Ya era mía, ya era mía

Todos los días cuidaba de ella

Prodigándole mi amor

Cuando, de pronto, una mañana

Alzando vuelo se marchó

Tenía dueño, tenía dueño

¡Ay, qué dolor!

Vas a sufrir, vas a llorar cuando te acuerdes

Paloma ajena, te creí buena

Ahora te marchas y me dejas con mi pena

Vas a sufrir, vas a llorar cuando te acuerdes

Paloma ajena, te creí buena

Ahora te marchas y me dejas con mi pena

Se apareció en mi ventana

La acogí con mucho amor

No echaba vuelo, era huraña

Me sentí su protector

Ya era mía, ya era mía

Todos los días cuidaba de ella

Prodigándole mi amor

Cuando, de pronto, una mañana

Alzando vuelo se marchó

Tenía dueño, tenía dueño

¡Ay, qué dolor!

Vas a sufrir, vas a llorar cuando te acuerdes

Paloma ajena, te creí buena

Ahora te marchas y me dejas con mi pena

Vas a sufrir, vas a llorar cuando te acuerdes

Paloma ajena, te creí buena

Ahora te marchas y me dejas con mi pena

Vas a sufrir, vas a llorar cuando te acuerdes

Paloma ajena, te creí buena

Ahora te marchas y me dejas con mi pena

Vas a sufrir, vas a llorar cuando te acuerdes

Paloma ajena, te creí buena

Ahora te marchas y me dejas con mi pena

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
apareció a.pa.ɾeˈθjo B1	verb - appeared
acogí a.koˈxi B1	verb - I welcomed
vuelo ˈbwelo A2	noun - flight
huraña uˈɾaɲa B2	adjective - shy, reserved
protector pɾo.tekˈtoɾ B1	noun - protector
prodigándole pɾo.ðiˈɣan.do.le C1	verb - bestowing, giving lavishly
alzando alˈθan.do B1	verb - raising
dueño ˈdweɲo A2	noun - owner
sufrir sufˈɾiɾ B1	verb - to suffer
llorar ʎoˈɾaɾ A2	verb - to cry
acuerdes a.kweɾˈdes B1	verb - you remember
marchas ˈmaɾ.tʃas B1	verb - you leave
pena ˈpe.na A2	noun - sorrow, pain
paloma paˈlo.ma A2	noun - dove
ajena aˈxe.na B1	adjective - foreign, belonging to another

Key Grammar Structures

• Se apareció en mi ventana

  ➔ Preterite reflexive verb

  ➔ The verb **"se apareció"** is the preterite of the reflexive verb *aparecerse*, indicating a completed action that happened once.

• La acogí con mucho amor

  ➔ Direct‑object pronoun + preterite

  ➔ The pronoun **"La"** (her) precedes the verb **"acogí"**, a preterite form meaning “I welcomed her”.

• No echaba vuelo, era huraña

  ➔ Imperfect tense for ongoing/habitual state

  ➔ Both **"echaba"** and **"era"** are in the imperfect, describing repeated or lasting conditions (“was not flying”, “was grumpy”).

• Me sentí su protector

  ➔ Reflexive verb + noun complement (subjective feeling)

  ➔ The reflexive **"Me sentí"** (I felt) is followed by the noun phrase **"su protector"**, expressing a personal perception.

• Ya era mía, ya era mía

  ➔ Adverb "ya" + imperfect for already‑established past state

  ➔ The adverb **"Ya"** emphasizes that the speaker **"era"** (was) already in possession – **"Ya era mía"** = “It was already mine”.

• Alzando vuelo se marchó

  ➔ Gerund phrase + reflexive verb in preterite

  ➔ The gerund **"Alzando"** (“raising”) modifies the main action **"se marchó"** (he/she left), showing how the departure happened.

• Vas a sufrir, vas a llorar cuando te acuerdes

  ➔ Periphrastic future "ir a + infinitive" + present subjunctive after "cuando"

  ➔ The phrase **"vas a"** + infinitive (sufrir, llorar) expresses a future intention, while **"cuando te acuerdes"** uses the present subjunctive **"acuerdes"** after the temporal conjunction **"cuando"**.

• Paloma ajena, te creí buena

  ➔ Preterite with direct object pronoun + adjective as predicative

  ➔ The verb **"creí"** (I believed) takes the pronoun **"te"** (you) as its direct object, followed by the adjective **"buena"** serving as the predicate.

• Ahora te marchas y me dejas con mi pena

  ➔ Present tense coordination with "y" + indirect object pronouns

  ➔ Two present‑tense clauses **"te marchas"** (you leave) and **"me dejas"** (you leave me) are linked by **"y"**, with **"me"** acting as an indirect object pronoun.