Reliquia – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: ROSALÍA
• Album: LUX

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the layers of ROSALÍA's 'Reliquia,' a song rich with Spanish narrative that charts a deeply personal geography of loss and resilience. By exploring the lyrics, you can connect with the universal themes of leaving parts of yourself behind in the world while claiming a new, powerful identity as a 'relic'—a testament to a life lived fully.

[English]

I, who lost my hands in Jerez

And my eyes in Rome

I grew up and learned the nerve

Around there, in Barcelona

I lost my tongue in Paris

My time in L.A.

My heels in Milan

My smile in the U.K.

But my heart has never been mine

I always give it away

Take a piece of me

Keep it for when I’m gone

I’ll be your relic

I am your relic

I’ll be your relic

I lost my faith in D.C.

My friend in Bangkok

A bad love in Madrid

And the blunt in Mexico

The bad temper in Berlin

And the art in Granada

Courage was born in PR

But heaven was born in Buenos Aires

In Japan I cried

And I frayed my eyelashes

And in the crystal city

That's where I got sheared

But the hair grows back

Does purity too?

Purity is in me

And it’s in Marrakech

I'm no saint but I’m blessed

But my heart has never been mine

I always give it away

Take a piece of me

Keep it for when I’m gone

I’ll be your relic

I am your relic

I’ll be your relic

Running away from here

Like I ran from Florida

We are dolphins jumping

Going in and out

Of the scarlet ring

And shining of time

It's just a moment

It's just a moment

Eternal and fierce sea

The eternal song

Has no way out

Nor has my forgiveness

...

[Spanish]

Yo que perdí mis manos en Jerez

y mis ojos en Roma

crecí y el descaro lo aprendí

por ahí por Barcelona

Perdí mi lengua en París

mi tiempo en L.A

los heels en Milán

la sonrisa en U.K

Pero mi corazón nunca ha sido mío

yo siempre lo doy

coge un trozo de mí

quédatelo pa' cuando no esté

Seré tu reliquia

Soy tu reliquia

Seré tu reliquia

Perdí la fe en D.C

la amiga en Bangkok

un mal amor en Madrid

y en México el blunt

La mala hostia en Berlín

y el arte en Graná'

en PR nació el coraje

pero el cielo nació en Buenos Aires

En Japón lloré

y mis pestañas deshilé

y en la ciudad de cristal

fue que me trasquilé

Pero el pelo vuelve a crecer

¿la pureza también?

la pureza está en mí

y está en Marrakech

No soy una santa pero estoy blessed

Pero mi corazón nunca ha sido mío

yo siempre lo doy

coge un trozo de mí

quédatelo pa' cuando no esté

Seré tu reliquia

Soy tu reliquia

Seré tu reliquia

Huyendo de aquí

como huí de Florida

somos delfines saltando

saliendo y entrando

en el aro escarlata

y brillante del tiempo

es solo un momento

es solo un momento

Mar eterno y bravo

la eterna canción

ni tiene salida

ni tiene mi perdón

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
corazón /koɾaˈθon/ A1	noun - heart
reliquia /reˈlikja/ B2	noun - relic; an object surviving from the past with sentimental or historical value
crecer /kreˈθeɾ/ A2	verb - to grow
aprender /apɾenˈdeɾ/ A2	verb - to learn
descaro /desˈkaɾo/ B2	noun - boldness, audacity
perder /peɾˈdeɾ/ A1	verb - to lose
lengua /ˈleŋɡwa/ A2	noun - tongue; language
tiempo /ˈtjempo/ A1	noun - time; weather
sonrisa /sonˈrisa/ B1	noun - smile
arte /ˈarte/ B1	noun - art
pureza /puˈɾeθa/ C1	noun - purity
santa /ˈsanta/ A2	noun/adjective - saint; holy
huir /wiˈɾ/ B1	verb - to flee, to escape
momento /moˈmento/ A1	noun - moment
mar /mar/ A2	noun - sea
eterno /eˈteɾno/ C1	adjective - eternal, everlasting
bravo /ˈbɾabo/ B2	adjective - fierce, brave
canción /kanˈθjon/ A2	noun - song
perdón /peɾˈðon/ B1	noun - forgiveness

Key Grammar Structures

• Yo que perdí mis manos en Jerez

  ➔ Relative clause with omitted verb (elliptical structure)

  ➔ The phrase 'Yo que perdí...' omits an explicit verb like 'soy' or 'soy la que', meaning 'I, who lost my hands in Jerez'. The ellipsis gives poetic emphasis.

• crecí y el descaro lo aprendí

  ➔ Direct object pronoun before conjugated verb

  ➔ The 'lo' replaces 'el descaro' and comes before 'aprendí'. Spanish places object pronouns before finite verbs.

• mi tiempo en L.A

  ➔ Possessive adjective showing ownership

  ➔ ‘Mi’ indicates possession ('my time') and agrees with the singular masculine noun ‘tiempo’.

• Pero mi corazón nunca ha sido mío

  ➔ Present perfect tense with auxiliary 'haber'

  ➔ ‘Ha sido’ expresses an action or state that continues from the past until now (‘has never been mine’).

• coge un trozo de mí

  ➔ Imperative form (command/request)

  ➔ ‘Coge’ is the affirmative imperative form of ‘coger’ (take). It expresses command or encouragement.

• Seré tu reliquia

  ➔ Simple future tense

  ➔ ‘Seré’ is the future form of ‘ser’ meaning ‘I will be your relic’.

• No soy una santa pero estoy blessed

  ➔ Contrast clause with 'pero' and code-switching

  ➔ ‘Pero’ connects two contrasting ideas (‘I’m not a saint, but I’m blessed’). The English word ‘blessed’ emphasizes modern tone.

• ¿la pureza también?

  ➔ Elliptical question with subject fronting

  ➔ The sentence omits the verb, meaning ‘Does purity too (grow back)?’. Context supplies the verb from the previous line.

• Huyendo de aquí

  ➔ Gerund used as adverbial clause (manner or reason)

  ➔ ‘Huyendo’ (fleeing) expresses simultaneous action or reason: ‘while fleeing from here’.

• es solo un momento

  ➔ ‘Ser’ used for defining identity/state (copula)

  ➔ ‘Es’ identifies a situation as temporary or descriptive: ‘It’s only a moment.’