Las Luces De Esta Ciudad – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: División Minúscula

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the emotive world of Latin alternative rock with 'Las Luces De Esta Ciudad'. This song is a fantastic tool for learners of Spanish to practice vocabulary related to urban environments and expressions of emotion and longing, all set to a powerful melodic backdrop.

[English]

I've knelt down and crawled to tell you

"I'm sorry," over and over again

And at the same time, I'm telling you I can't

Promise not to do it again

I've taken these hurtful steps

Just to make myself laugh

And I have a strange feeling

That there's more to life than just surviving

And listen to me very carefully

No, don't tell me what to do, because you know

I'll probably do the exact opposite

Don't take it so personally

No, no, no-uoh, oh-oh-oh

Forgive me if I don't make it to dinner

Or even breakfast

I couldn't help but make love to

The lights of this city

And if I get lost, don't look too far for me

I'm surely out there somewhere

It's not that I'm hiding from my reflection

It's just that I don't want you to see me like this

And listen to me very carefully

No, don't tell me what to do, because you know

I'll probably do the exact opposite

Don't take it so personally

No, no, no-uoh, oh-oh-oh

No, don't tell me what to do, because you know

I'll probably do the exact opposite

I'm not that young, but not that old either

Today I know when I should give in

And it's not today

I've knelt down and crawled to tell you

I'm sorry, over and over again

And at the same time, I'm telling you I can't

No, don't tell me what to do, because you know

I'll probably do the exact opposite

Don't take it so personally

No, no, no-uoh, oh-oh-oh

No, don't tell me what to do, because you know

I'll probably do the exact opposite

I'm not that young, but not that old either

Today I know when I should give in

And it's not today

[Spanish]

Me he arrodillado y me he arrastrado a decirte

"Perdón", una y otra vez

Y al mismo tiempo te digo no puedo

Prometer no hacerlo otra vez

He caminado estos pasos hirientes

Solo por hacerme reír

Y tengo un raro presentimiento

Que hay algo más que sobrevivir

Y escúchame muy bien

No, no me digas qué hacer, pues sabes

Probablemente lo haga al revés

No te lo tomes tan personal

No, no, no-uoh, oh-oh-oh

Perdona si no llego a estar en la cena

Tampoco a desayunar

No pude evitar hacerle el amor a

A las luces de esta ciudad

Y si me pierdo no me busques tan lejos

Seguro estoy por ahí

No es que me esté escondiendo de mi reflejo

Es que no quiero que me veas así

Y escúchame muy bien

No, no me digas qué hacer, pues sabes

Probablemente lo haga al revés

No te lo tomes tan personal

No, no, no-uoh, oh-oh-oh

No, no me digas qué hacer, pues sabes

Probablemente lo haga al revés

No soy tan joven, menos tan viejo

Hoy sé cuándo debo ceder

Y no es hoy

Me he arrodillado y me he arrastrado a decirte

Perdón una y otra vez

Y al mismo tiempo te digo no puedo

No, no me digas qué hacer, pues sabes

Probablemente lo haga al revés

No te lo tomes tan personal

No, no, no-uoh, oh-oh-oh

No, no me digas qué hacer, pues sabes

Probablemente lo haga al revés

No soy tan joven, menos tan viejo

Hoy sé cuándo debo ceder

Y no es hoy

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
arrodillado a-ro-di-lla-do B2	verb/adjective - kneeling
arrastrado a-ras-tra-do B1	verb - dragged
perdón per-dón A1	noun - forgiveness
prometer pro-me-ter A2	verb - to promise
caminado ca-mi-na-do A1	verb - walked
hirientes hi-rien-tes B2	adjective - hurtful
presentimiento pre-sen-ti-mien-to C1	noun - hunch/foreboding
sobrevivir so-bre-vi-vir B1	verb - to survive
probable pro-ba-ble B1	adjective - likely
personal per-so-nal A2	adjective - personal
evitar e-vi-tar A2	verb - to avoid
luces lu-ces A1	noun - lights
reflejo re-fle-jo B1	noun - reflection
joven jo-ven A1	adjective - young
ceder ce-der B2	verb - to yield/give in

Key Grammar Structures

• Me he arrodillado y me he arrastrado

  ➔ Present Perfect

  ➔ Uses 'he' + past participle to describe actions that started in the past and have relevance to the present.

• No me digas qué hacer

  ➔ Negative Imperative (Subjunctive)

  ➔ The negative imperative in Spanish requires the subjunctive form 'digas' for 'tú'.

• Probablemente lo haga al revés

  ➔ Subjunctive for uncertainty

  ➔ The adverb 'probablemente' often triggers the subjunctive 'haga' to express doubt or possibility.

• No pude evitar hacerle el amor

  ➔ Preterite (Simple Past)

  ➔ 'Pude' is the irregular preterite form of 'poder', indicating a completed action in the past.

• No es que me esté escondiendo

  ➔ Subjunctive after 'no es que'

  ➔ The structure 'no es que' + subjunctive ('esté') is used to correct a false assumption.

• No soy tan joven, menos tan viejo

  ➔ Comparative structures

  ➔ Uses 'tan... como' (implied) to establish a comparison regarding age.

• Hoy sé cuándo debo ceder

  ➔ Interrogative pronoun in indirect speech

  ➔ 'Cuándo' functions as an interrogative adverb introducing a noun clause.