La Hija De Juan Simón – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: ROSALÍA
• Album: Los Ángeles

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the profound beauty of the Spanish language through this classic flamenco copla. By listening to 'La Hija de Juan Simón,' you will encounter poetic, traditional vocabulary and learn how Spanish artists use emotive storytelling to convey universal themes of loss and devotion.

[English]

When I finished my sentence

When I finished my sentence

I felt so lonely and lost

She died of a broken heart, and I...

Who can blame her, when I know she died a good soul

She died of a broken heart, and I...

Who can blame her, when I know she died a good soul

They buried her in the afternoon

The daughter of Juan Simón

And Simón was known in the village

And Simón was the only undertaker in the village

And as he carried a shovel in one hand

And a hoe upon his shoulder

And they asked him something

And they all asked him, "Where are you coming from, Juan Simón?"

I am an undertaker, and I come...

I am an undertaker

And I come from burying

My own heart

...

[Spanish]

Cuando acabé mi condena

Cuando acabé mi condena

Me vi muy solo y perdido

Ella se murió de pena y yo

Quién la culpa si yo sé que murió siendo buena

Ella se murió de pena y yo

Quién la culpa si yo sé que murió siendo buena

La enterraron por la tarde

A la hija de Juan Simón

Y era Simón en el pueblo

Y era Simón en el pueblo el único enterrador

Y como en una mano llevaba la pala

Y en el hombro el azadón

Y algo le preguntaban

Y todos le preguntaban "¿De dónde vienes Juan Simón?"

Soy enterrador y vengo

Soy enterrador

Y vengo de enterrar

A mi corazón

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
condena konˈdena B2	noun - sentence (legal) / punishment
perdido perˈdiðo A2	adjective - lost
pena ˈpena B1	noun - sorrow / grief / pain
culpa ˈculpa B1	noun - guilt / fault
enterrar enterˈrar B1	verb - to bury
enterrador enterrraˈðor C1	noun - gravedigger
pueblo ˈpweβlo A2	noun - town / village / people
pala ˈpala A2	noun - shovel
hombro ˈombro A2	noun - shoulder
azadón azaˈðon C2	noun - hoe / mattock
corazón koɾaˈθon A1	noun - heart

Key Grammar Structures

• Cuando acabé mi condena

  ➔ Temporal clause with Preterite

  ➔ "Cuando" triggers the Preterite to indicate a completed action in the past.

• Me vi muy solo y perdido

  ➔ Reflexive verb for state of being

  ➔ "Me vi" (from verse) describes finding oneself in a specific mental or emotional state.

• Ella se murió de pena

  ➔ Reflexive 'se' for intransitive change of state

  ➔ The "se" here highlights the process of the subject undergoing a definitive change (death).

• Si yo sé que murió siendo buena

  ➔ Gerund expressing manner/simultaneity

  ➔ "Siendo" (ser) indicates the state of the person at the time of her death.

• La enterraron por la tarde

  ➔ Impersonal 'they' (Third-person plural)

  ➔ "Enterraron" uses the plural form without a specific subject to focus on the action performed by the community.

• Y era Simón el único enterrador

  ➔ Imperfect tense for description

  ➔ "Era" sets the background scene and describes a continuous state in the past.

• Y algo le preguntaban

  ➔ Direct Object pronoun placement

  ➔ "Le" is used here as a leísta form for the indirect object (Simón) answering questions.

• Vengo de enterrar a mi corazón

  ➔ Periphrasis 'venir de + infinitive'

  ➔ "Vengo de" indicates a very recent action in the past.