Carta – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Silvana Estrada

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a lyrical journey with Silvana Estrada's "Carta," a song that beautifully intertwines profound emotions with the rich tapestry of Latin American folk music. Through its poetic Spanish verses, you can learn to express the delicate balance between independence and attachment, and the universal longing for a love that transcends words. "Carta" is special for its raw honesty, evocative imagery, and Silvana's captivating vocal delivery, offering a unique opportunity to connect with the heart of contemporary Mexican music and its linguistic nuances.

[English]

To love without fear

I know you are free to leave, just as you are free to stay

What a damn drag

What a damn drag

What a damn drag

...

What a damn drag

Until we fine-tune our gestures and forget about language

Until a look is enough to say that I love you

Until a sigh is enough to decipher your fears

Maybe that's why you leave, maybe that's why you return

Because of this new, unbearable seriousness that terrifies us

Because of this need to keep solitude forgotten

But the thing is, when we leave, we both look back

And that might be true, and one day I will leave too

For love doesn't last a century, and the river doesn't flow backward

And they might be wrong, and fear might play tricks on us

And to save ourselves from pain, the wind might leave us behind

...

I know you'll surely find a kiss that tastes the same

As my lips that name you now, staying still so as not to face

The fact that I'm proposing a deal because I can't take it anymore

With this constant attempt to run away just to come back

I propose we look at each other slowly and make our skin a home

To escape into the open sky and reinvent our idea of the sea

To reinvent time once more, to lay down our weapons in peace

To give meaning to the movement of a step that doesn't go backward

And that might be true, and one day I will leave too

For love doesn't last a century, and the river doesn't flow backward

And they might be wrong, and fear might play tricks on us

And to save ourselves from pain, the wind might leave us behind

And that might be true, and one day I will leave too

For love doesn't last a century, and the river doesn't flow backward

And they might be wrong, and fear might play tricks on us

And to save ourselves from pain, the wind might leave us behind

...

Leave us behind

Leave us behind

...

[Spanish]

Amar sin miedo

Yo sé que eres libre de irte, como también de quedarte

Que pinche hueva

que pinche hueva

que pinche hueva

que pinche hueva

Hasta que afinemos gestos y olvidarnos del lenguaje

Que baste con la mirada para decir que te quiero

Que baste con un suspiro para descifrar tus miedos

Quizá por eso te vas, quizá por eso regresas

Por la nueva seriedad insoportable que nos aterra

Por eso este mantenerle olvido a la soledad

Pero es que cuando nos vamos los dos volteamos atrás

Y puede que eso sea cierto y un día también me iré

Que el amor no dura un siglo y el río no corre al revés

Y puede que se equivoquen, y el miedo nos juegue mal

Y por ahorrarnos dolores, el viento nos deje atrás

Yo sé que seguro encuentras un beso que sepa igual

A mis labios que ahora te nombran, queditos pa no afrontar

Que yo te propongo un trato porque ya no puedo más

Con este constante intento de huir para regresar

Propongo mirarnos lento y hacer de la piel hogar

Fugarnos a cielo abierto y rehacer nuestra idea del mar

Volver a inventar el tiempo, dejar las armas en paz

Dar sentido al movimiento de un paso que no va atrás

Y puede que eso sea cierto y un día también me iré

Que el amor no dura un siglo y el río no corre al revés

Y puede que se equivoquen, y el miedo nos juegue mal

Y por ahorrarnos dolores, el viento nos deje atrás

Y puede que eso sea cierto y un día también me iré

Que el amor no dura un siglo y el río no corre al revés

Y puede que se equivoquen, y el miedo nos juegue mal

Y por ahorrarnos dolores, el viento nos deje atrás

Nos deje atrás

Nos deje atrás

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
amar aˈmaɾ A1	verb - to love
libre ˈliβɾe A1	adjective - free
pinche ˈpin.tʃe B1	adjective - damn
hueva ˈwe.βa B2	noun - laziness
afinar afiˈnaɾ B1	verb - to refine
gestos ˈxestos A2	noun - gestures
olvidarnos olβiˈðaɾnos A2	verb - to forget
mirada miˈɾaða A1	noun - gaze
suspiro susˈpiɾo A2	noun - sigh
descifrar desθiˈfɾaɾ B1	verb - to decipher
seriedad seɾjeˈðað A2	noun - seriousness
terra ˈte.ra A1	noun - earth
volteamos bolˈte.a.mos A2	verb - to turn around
proponer pɾoˈpo.neɾ A2	verb - to propose
fugarnos fuˈɣaɾ.nos B2	verb - to escape together
rehacer re.aˈθeɾ B1	verb - to redo

Key Grammar Structures

• Yo sé que eres libre de irte, como también de quedarte

  ➔ Adjective + de + infinitive structure

  ➔ The preposition "de" connects the adjective "libre" to the following infinitives to indicate the nature of the freedom.

• Que baste con la mirada para decir que te quiero

  ➔ Subjunctive mood after emotional/desire expressions

  ➔ The verb "baste" is in the subjunctive mood because it expresses a wish or a desire that something be sufficient.

• Quizá por eso te vas, quizá por eso regresas

  ➔ Adverbial expression of probability

  ➔ "Quizá" is used to introduce an action that is presented as a possibility or hypothesis.

• Que el amor no dura un siglo

  ➔ Declarative clause with "que" indicating a belief or statement

  ➔ The conjunction "que" here introduces a statement of fact or belief regarding the nature of love.

• A mis labios que ahora te nombran, queditos pa no afrontar

  ➔ Relative pronoun "que" and colloquial prepositional reduction

  ➔ "Que" links the noun "labios" to the action, and "pa" is the colloquial shortening of "para".

• Yo te propongo un trato porque ya no puedo más

  ➔ Idiomatic expression with the verb "poder"

  ➔ "No poder más" is a set phrase meaning to be unable to endure or handle a situation any longer.

• Propongo mirarnos lento y hacer de la piel hogar

  ➔ Infinitive as the direct object of a verb

  ➔ The verb "propongo" is followed by infinitives ("mirarnos", "hacer") functioning as the object of the proposal.

• Y el miedo nos juegue mal

  ➔ Subjunctive mood after a conjunction indicating future uncertainty

  ➔ "Juegue" is in the subjunctive because it follows "puede que" (it may be that), expressing a possibility.