Tiempo – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: José José, Marco Antonio Muñiz
• Album: Y Algo Mas

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the depth of Spanish emotion through José José and Marco Antonio Muñiz's classic, 'Tiempo.' The song is a beautiful study in how the Spanish language captures the heartache and preciousness of time, offering listeners a chance to connect with profound themes through its rich melody and poetic lyrics about lost and cherished moments.

[English]

The wise virtue of knowing the right time

To love in time and let go in time

As the saying goes, give time to time

For of love and pain, time brings relief

That love I loved at the wrong time

Tortured me so much, for so long

That I never felt time passing by

So bitterly, as I did back then

To love, wanting like in another time

I still didn’t know that time is gold

How much time I wasted

Oh, how much time

And now that I have no time for love

How I long for the love of those times

The unfair joy of wasting time

To love, wanting like in another time

I still didn’t know that time is gold

How much time I wasted

Oh, how much time

And now that I have no time for love

How I long for the love of those times

The unfair joy of wasting time

The wise virtue of knowing the right time

[Spanish]

Sabia virtud de conocer el tiempo

A tiempo amar y desatarse a tiempo

Como dice el refrán dar tiempo al tiempo

Que de amor y dolor, alivia el tiempo

Aquel amor a quien ame a destiempo

Martirizome tanto y tanto tiempo

Que no sentí jamás correr el tiempo

Tan acremente, como en ese tiempo

Amar, queriendo como en otro tiempo

Ignoraba yo aun que el tiempo es oro

Cuanto tiempo perdí

Ay, cuanto tiempo

Y hoy que de amores ya no tengo tiempo

Amor de aquellos tiempos cuanto añoro

La dicha inicua de perder el tiempo

Amar, queriendo como en otro tiempo

Ignoraba yo aunque el tiempo es oro

Cuanto tiempo perdí

Ay, cuanto tiempo

Y hoy que de amores ya no tengo tiempo

Amor de aquellos tiempos cuanto añoro

La dicha inicua de perder el tiempo

Sabia virtud de conocer el tiempo

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
tiempo ˈtjempo A1	noun - time
amar aˈmar A1	verb - to love
desatarse desaˈtarse B1	verb - to untie oneself
refrán reˈfɾan A2	noun - saying
aliviar aliˈβjar A2	verb - to relieve
martirizar maɾtiɾiˈθar B2	verb - to torment
acremente akɾeˈmente B2	adverb - bitterly
ignorar iɣnoˈɾar A2	verb - to ignore
oro ˈoro A1	noun - gold
añorar aɲoˈɾar A2	verb - to yearn for
dicha ˈditʃa A2	noun - bliss
inicua iˈnikwa B2	adjective - unjust
virtud βirˈtuð A2	noun - virtue
perder peɾˈðer A1	verb - to lose
sabio ˈsaβjo A2	adjective - wise

Key Grammar Structures

• Sabia virtud de conocer el tiempo

  ➔ Feminine singular adjective agreement

  ➔ The adjective 'sabia' agrees in gender and number with 'virtud', both being feminine singular.

• A tiempo amar y desatarse a tiempo

  ➔ Infinitive after preposition

  ➔ The infinitive verbs 'amar' and 'desatarse' are used after the preposition 'a', which is common in Spanish.

• Que de amor y dolor, alivia el tiempo

  ➔ Relative pronoun 'que'

  ➔ The relative pronoun 'que' introduces a relative clause that describes 'el tiempo'.

• Amar, queriendo como en otro tiempo

  ➔ Gerund after preposition

  ➔ The gerund 'queriendo' is used after the preposition 'como', indicating a simultaneous action.

• Ignoraba yo aun que el tiempo es oro

  ➔ Emphasis with 'aun'

  ➔ The word 'aun' is used to emphasize the continuation of the ignorance despite circumstances.

• Cuanto tiempo perdí

  ➔ Neutral pronoun 'cuanto'

  ➔ The pronoun 'cuanto' is used in a neutral sense to refer to an unspecified amount of time.

• La dicha inicua de perder el tiempo

  ➔ Feminine singular noun with adjective

  ➔ The noun 'dicha' is feminine singular and agrees with the adjective 'inicua'.