La Vida Pasa – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: José José

Lyrics & Translation

Immerse yourself in the soulful world of Spanish romantic ballads! By listening to 'La Vida Pasa,' you can master emotive vocabulary related to time, memory, and the human experience, all while experiencing the legendary vocal mastery of José José.

[English]

They watch her pass by

...

From corner to corner

The way she walks

Men gaze at

Her youth

They want to have it

And she offers it

It doesn't matter who

From a blue car

The door opens

Without hesitation

She approaches him

He is an older man

She goes with him

Indifferent

Life goes by

And in her letters, she writes to her family

That she is a secretary for an office boss

That it's a very good job, and everyone likes her

That she will send some money next month

That she misses home dearly and loves them all

They watch her pass by

In the early morning hours

Her youth

She looks tired

The reality

Her loneliness

Indifferent

Life goes by

And in her letters, she writes to her family

That she is a secretary for an office boss

That it's a very good job, and everyone likes her

That she will send some money next month

That she misses home dearly and loves them all

...

And in her letters, she writes to her family

That she is a secretary for an office boss

That it's a very good job, and everyone likes her

That she will send some money next month

That she misses home dearly and loves them all

And in her letters, she writes to her family

That she is a secretary for an office boss

That it's a very good job, and everyone likes her

...

[Spanish]

La ven pasar

De esquina a esquina

Su caminar

Los hombres miran

Su juventud

Quieren tener

Ella la ofrece

No importa quien

De un coche azul

Se abre la puerta

Sin titubear

Ella se acerca

Es un señor

Se va con él

Indiferente

La vida pasa

Y ella le escribe en sus cartas a su familia

Que es secretaria del jefe de una oficina

Que es un trabajo muy bueno, todos la quieren

Que va mandar un dinero el mes que viene

Que extraña mucho la casa y que los quiere

La ven pasar

De madrugada

Su juventud

Se ve cansada

La realidad

Su soledad

Indiferente

La vida pasa

Y ella le escribe en sus cartas a su familia

Que es secretaria del jefe de una oficina

Que es un trabajo muy bueno, todos la quieren

Que va mandar un dinero el mes que viene

Que extraña mucho la casa y que los quiere

Y ella le escribe en sus cartas a su familia

Que es secretaria del jefe de una oficina

Que es un trabajo muy bueno, todos la quieren

Que va mandar un dinero el mes que viene

Que extraña mucho la casa y que los quiere

Y ella le escribe en sus cartas a su familia

Que es secretaria del jefe de una oficina

Que es un trabajo muy bueno, todos la quieren

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
esquina es-ki-na A2	noun - corner
caminar ka-mi-nar A1	noun - walk
juventud hu-ben-tud B1	noun - youth
titubear ti-tu-be-ar C1	verb - to hesitate
indiferente in-di-fe-ren-te B2	adjective - indifferent
secretaria se-kre-ta-rja A2	noun - secretary
oficina o-fi-si-na A1	noun - office
extrañar eks-tra-nyar A2	verb - to miss
madrugada ma-dru-ga-da B1	noun - early morning
cansada kan-sa-da A1	adjective - tired
realidad re-a-li-dad B1	noun - reality
soledad so-le-dad B2	noun - loneliness
cartas kar-tas A1	noun - letters
dinero di-ne-ro A1	noun - money
trabajo tra-ba-ho A1	noun - work / job

Key Grammar Structures

• La ven pasar

  ➔ Direct Object Pronoun (DOP)

  ➔ The pronoun "la" refers to the person being watched, placed before the verb.

• Quieren tener

  ➔ Infinitive construction after a conjugated verb

  ➔ The verb "tener" is in the infinitive form, acting as the object of "quieren".

• Se abre la puerta

  ➔ Passive Se (Se pasivo)

  ➔ Using "se" to describe an action happening to a subject (la puerta) without an explicit agent.

• Y ella le escribe

  ➔ Indirect Object Pronoun (IOP)

  ➔ The pronoun "le" represents the recipient of the letters (her family).

• Que es secretaria

  ➔ Subordinate Noun Clause with "que"

  ➔ The "que" introduces a content clause acting as what she writes.

• Que va mandar un dinero

  ➔ Periphrastic future (ir + a + infinitive)

  ➔ "va mandar" indicates an action she plans to do in the near future.

• Que extraña mucho la casa

  ➔ Adverbial modifier "mucho"

  ➔ "mucho" modifies the verb "extraña" to indicate the intensity of the feeling.

• Su juventud se ve cansada

  ➔ Reflexive verb for perception/appearance

  ➔ "se ve" functions here as "looks" or "appears" rather than literal seeing.