Las luces de esta ciudad – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: División Minúscula

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the Spanish lyrics of División Minúscula's hit, "Las luces de esta ciudad." Learning through this song offers insight into contemporary Mexican rock, often blending emotive themes with evolving musical styles, making it a great piece for understanding modern Latin rock narratives.

[English]

I've knelt down and crawled to tell you

...

"Sorry", over and over

And at the same time I tell you I can't

Promise not to do it again

...

I've walked these painful steps

...

Just to make myself laugh

And I have a weird feeling

That there's something more than just surviving

And listen to me carefully

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

...

Probably I'll do it the other way around

Don't take it so personally

No, no, no-no-uh, oh-oh-oh

Sorry if I can't make it to dinner

...

Nor to breakfast either

I couldn't help making love to

The lights of this city

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

I'm probably somewhere out there

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

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

And listen to me carefully

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

Probably I'll do it the other way around

Don't take it so personally

No, no, no-uh, oh-oh-oh

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

Probably I'll do it the other way around

I'm not that young, nor that old

Today I know when I should give in

And it's not today

...

I've knelt down and crawled to tell you

Sorry, over and over

And at the same time I tell you I can't

Hey!

...

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

...

Probably I'll do it the other way around

Don't take it so personally

No, no, no-uh, oh-oh-oh

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

...

Probably I'll do it the other way around

I'm not that young, nor that old

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-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

¡Eh!

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
arrodillarse /aroðiˈʎarse/ C1	verb - to kneel down
arrastrar /arʝasˈtrar/ B2	verb - to drag or pull along
prometer /promeˈter/ B1	verb - to promise
sobrevivir /soβɾeβiˈβiɾ/ B2	verb - to survive
escuchar /eskuˈtʃar/ A2	verb - to listen
reír /reˈiɾ/ A2	verb - to laugh
presentimiento /pɾesentimjento/ C1	noun - premonition, feeling that something will happen
reflejo /reˈflexo/ B2	noun - reflection or image in a surface
ciudad /θjuˈðað/ (Spain), /sjuˈðað/ (Latin America) A1	noun - city
luz /luθ/ (Spain), /lus/ (Latin America) A1	noun - light
perdón /peɾˈðon/ B1	noun - forgiveness, pardon
ceder /θeˈðer/ (Spain), /seˈðer/ (Latin America) B2	verb - to give in or yield
arrastrado /arʝasˈtrado/ C1	adjective - dragged, shabby, humiliated
personal /peɾsoˈnal/ B2	adjective - personal, individual
joven /ˈxoβen/ A2	adjective - young
viejo /ˈbjeχo/ A2	adjective - old

Key Grammar Structures

• [translate:Me he arrodillado y me he arrastrado a decirte]

  ➔ Present perfect reflexive construction

  ➔ The verbs 'me he arrodillado' and 'me he arrastrado' use reflexive pronouns with the auxiliary 'he' to form the present perfect tense, showing completed actions affecting the subject.

• [translate:Prometer no hacerlo otra vez]

  ➔ Infinitive phrase with double object pronouns

  ➔ 'No hacerlo' combines negation, infinitive, and the pronoun 'lo' (it), showing how pronouns attach to infinitive verbs in Spanish.

• [translate:Y tengo un raro presentimiento que hay algo más que sobrevivir]

  ➔ Use of present indicative with subordinate clause

  ➔ The verb 'hay' introduces the subordinate clause 'que hay algo más', expressing a general truth or realization.

• [translate:Probablemente lo haga al revés]

  ➔ Subjunctive mood after probability adverb

  ➔ After 'probablemente', Spanish uses the subjunctive mood ('haga') because it expresses uncertainty or possibility.

• [translate:No te lo tomes tan personal]

  ➔ Negative imperative with pronoun placement

  ➔ In negative commands, pronouns precede the verb ('no te lo tomes'), unlike affirmative imperatives where they attach to the end.

• [translate:No pude evitar hacerle el amor a las luces de esta ciudad]

  ➔ Preterite with infinitive complement

  ➔ 'Pude' (I could) is preterite, followed by 'evitar hacerle', showing an action attempted in the past but completed.

• [translate:Y si me pierdo no me busques tan lejos]

  ➔ Conditional clause with negative imperative

  ➔ The clause 'si me pierdo' sets up a hypothetical situation, followed by 'no me busques', a negative command in the subjunctive mood used for instructions.

• [translate:Es que no quiero que me veas así]

  ➔ Causative expression with subjunctive in subordinate clause

  ➔ The phrase 'no quiero que me veas' uses the subjunctive 'veas' because it expresses desire or emotion.

• [translate:Hoy sé cuándo debo ceder]

  ➔ Use of indirect question with indicative

  ➔ The clause 'cuándo debo ceder' is an indirect question functioning as the object of 'sé', remaining in the indicative because it expresses factual knowledge.