Pesadilla – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Estopa
• Album: Allenrok

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a linguistic journey with Estopa's "Pesadilla." This gripping song, with its vivid storytelling and relatable emotions of confusion and fear, offers an excellent opportunity to explore Spanish vocabulary related to dreams, disorientation, and existential questioning in a compelling narrative context. Its direct and evocative lyrics make it a perfect piece for language learners to delve into everyday Spanish expressions and deepen their understanding of emotional nuance in music.

[English]

I woke up in a crowd

I opened my eyes and knew something was wrong

My knees trembled

Like in a nightmare

The kind that makes it so hard to move forward

I was in a lightless patio

I didn't understand, I was out of place

Four walls were closing me in

Five cops were approaching

If it was a dream, I wanted to wake up

And what do I know?

What am I doing here?

It can't be

What did I do yesterday?

That I'm handcuffed

Surely everything has an explanation

They took me to a room

They asked me questions without solution

Denying with screams, I stayed

And ended up asking for

Absolution

I don't remember it

Officer, I'm confused

I've always led a straight path

Surely someone has hypnotized me

Robbed me or something like that

I don't understand

How I could have forgotten

I have a gap in my memories

Surely someone has hypnotized me

But my biggest surprise was

When I wanted to remember what I did yesterday

And it was impossible

Even if it seems unbelievable

I was inside a police station jail

Suddenly I woke up

The nightmare seemed to come to an end

With frightened eyes

I looked up and to the sides

And I realized that

What do I know?

What am I doing here?

It can't be

What did I do yesterday?

That I'm handcuffed

Surely everything has an explanation

They had taken me to a room

They had locked me up without compassion

Inside this jail I appeared

From here I sing you this song

I don't remember it

Officer, I'm confused

I've always led a straight path

Surely someone has hypnotized me

Robbed me or something like that

I don't understand

How I could have forgotten

I have a gap in my memories

Surely someone has hypnotized me

...

(Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha)

Spacey spa-spa-spa-spa-spacey-cy-cy-cy-cy-cy

They say anything

Spacey

I'm spacey

The same

Get it checked out

You've gone spacey

I'm telling you for your own good

I'm not saying it for anything

Get it checked out

You've gone spacey

I'm telling you for your own good

I'm not saying it for anything

Get it checked out

You've gone spacey

I'm telling you for your own good

I'm not saying it for anything

Get it checked out

You've gone spacey

I'm telling you for your own good

I'm not saying it for anything

Get it checked out

You've gone spacey

I'm telling you for your own good

I'm not saying it for anything

Get it checked out

You've gone spacey

Oh!

Spacey!

Oh!

Spacey!

...

[Spanish]

Desperté entre una multitud

Abrí los ojos y supe que algo iba mal

Me temblaron las rodillas

Como en una pesadilla

De esas que te cuesta tanto avanzar

Estaba en una patio sin luz

No comprendía, estaba fuera de lugar

Cuatro muros me cerraban

Cinco polis se acercaban

Si era un sueño yo quería despertar

¿Y yo qué sé?

¿Qué hago aquí?

No puede ser

¿Yo qué hice ayer?

Que estoy esposado

Seguro que todo tiene una explicación

Me llevaron a una habitación

Me hicieron preguntas sin solución

Renegando a gritos yo me quedé

Y acabé pidiendo

La absolución

No lo recuerdo

Señor agente, estoy trastornado

Siempre he llevado un camino recto

Seguro que alguien me ha hipnotizado

Robado o algo de eso

No entiendo

Cómo he podido haberme olvidado

Tengo una laguna en mis recuerdos

Seguro que alguien me ha hipnotizado

Pero mi mayor sorpresa fue

Cuando quise acordarme de lo que hice ayer

Y me resultó imposible

Aunque parezca increíble

Estaba dentro de la cárcel de un cuartel

De repente me desperté

La pesadilla parecía llegar al fin

Con los ojos asustados

Miré arriba y a los lados

Y me di cuenta de que

¿Yo qué sé?

¿Qué hago aquí?

No puede ser

¿Yo qué hice ayer?

Que estoy esposado

Seguro que todo tiene una explicación

Me habían llevado a una habitación

Me habían encerrado sin compasión

Dentro de esta cárcel aparecí

Desde aquí te canto yo esta canción

No lo recuerdo

Señor agente, estoy trastornado

Siempre he llevado un camino recto

Seguro que alguien me ha hipnotizado

Robado o algo de eso

No entiendo

Cómo he podido haberme olvidado

Tengo una laguna en mis recuerdos

Seguro que alguien me ha hipnotizado

(Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja)

Empana' empa-empa-empa-empa-empanado-do-do-do-do-do

Dicen cualquier cosa

Empanado

Empanado estoy

Lo mismo

Háztelo mirar

Te has queda'o empana'o

Te lo digo por ti

No lo digo por na'

Háztelo mirar

Te has queda'o empana'o

Te lo digo por ti

No lo digo por na'

Háztelo mirar

Te has queda'o empana'o

Te lo digo por ti

No lo digo por na'

Háztelo mirar

Te has queda'o empana'o

Te lo digo por ti

No lo digo por na'

Háztelo mirar

Te has queda'o empana'o

Te lo digo por ti

No lo digo por na'

Háztelo mirar

Te has queda'o empana'o

¡Oh!

¡Empanado!

¡Oh!

¡Empanado!

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
pesadilla /pe.saˈði.ʎa/ B1	noun - nightmare
temblar /temˈblaɾ/ B1	verb - to tremble, to shake
rodilla /roˈði.ʎa/ A2	noun - knee
avanzar /a.βanˈθaɾ/ B1	verb - to advance, to move forward
patio /ˈpa.tjo/ A2	noun - courtyard
muro /ˈmu.ɾo/ A2	noun - wall
cerrar /θeˈraɾ/ A2	verb - to close
sueño /ˈswe.ɲo/ A2	noun - dream
esposado /es.poˈsa.ðo/ B2	adjective - handcuffed
habitación /a.βi.taˈθjon/ A2	noun - room
pregunta /pɾeˈɣun.ta/ A2	noun - question
solución /so.luˈθjon/ B1	noun - solution
gritar /ɡɾiˈtaɾ/ B1	verb - to shout, to scream
absolución /ab.so.luˈθjon/ C1	noun - absolution
trastornado /tɾas.toɾˈna.ðo/ B2	adjective - disturbed, upset
recto /ˈrek.to/ A2	adjective - straight
hipnotizado /ip.no.tiˈθa.ðo/ C1	adjective - hypnotized
robar /roˈβaɾ/ A2	verb - to steal
laguna /laˈɣu.na/ B2	noun - gap, blank
cárcel /ˈkaɾ.θel/ A2	noun - prison
cuartel /kwaɾˈtel/ B1	noun - barracks
compasión /kom.paˈsjon/ B2	noun - compassion

Key Grammar Structures

• Me temblaron las rodillas

  ➔ Preterite (simple past) tense to describe a past action.

  ➔ The verb "temblaron" (shook) is in the preterite, indicating a completed action in the past. The sentence describes the speaker's knees shaking.

• De esas que te cuesta tanto avanzar

  ➔ Relative clause with "que" and impersonal construction "cuesta + infinitive".

  ➔ "De esas que te cuesta tanto avanzar" translates to "Of those that cost you so much to move forward." "Cuesta" is an impersonal verb meaning "it costs" or "it's difficult".

• Si era un sueño yo quería despertar

  ➔ Imperfect subjunctive in a conditional clause expressing an unreal condition ('si' clause) followed by the conditional tense in the main clause.

  ➔ This sentence demonstrates a classic type 2 conditional: "If it were a dream, I would want to wake up." "Era" is the imperfect subjunctive of "ser" (to be), and "quería" is the conditional of "querer" (to want).

• ¿Yo qué hice ayer?

  ➔ Interrogative sentence using the preterite tense. Direct question formation.

  ➔ This is a direct question asking about the speaker's actions the previous day. "Hice" is the preterite form of "hacer" (to do).

• Que estoy esposado

  ➔ Relative pronoun "que" introducing a clause and present continuous tense expressing the current state.

  ➔ The "que" introduces a dependent clause explaining why the speaker is confused. "Estoy esposado" is present continuous, meaning "I am handcuffed."

• Seguro que todo tiene una explicación

  ➔ Expressing certainty with 'seguro que' + present indicative.

  ➔ "Seguro que" means "surely" or "certainly". The speaker is trying to reassure themselves that there's a logical reason for their situation.

• Seguro que alguien me ha hipnotizado

  ➔ "Seguro que" expressing certainty + present perfect tense.

  ➔ This sentence combines the expression of certainty "seguro que" with the present perfect tense "ha hipnotizado". The speaker is convinced that someone *has* hypnotized them, and the effects are still present.

• Cómo he podido haberme olvidado

  ➔ Indirect question using the infinitive perfect compound.

  ➔ The structure "Cómo he podido haberme olvidado" translates to "How could I have forgotten?" The infinitive perfect compound (haberme olvidado) is used to express an action that occurred prior to the moment of speaking.