Starting in your earliest childhood with the alphabet song, learning and music were intertwined. Learning with music doesn’t have to stop just because you’ve outgrown children’s songs, though. You can learn Spanish with music to supplement your existing knowledge of the language.
While listening to Spanish music on its own can be helpful, getting a little extra information can help you understand the songs much faster. That’s why we made Babbel Mixtapes, a guided playlist for which we selected nine Spanish songs and broke them down. Plus, all of the songs have something in common: they’re about love. Three are about new love, three are about established love and the last three are when love ends.
In this article, we’re going to give you a guide to read along with Babbel Mixtapes. You should start with the introduction starring Sebastian, our host for the series. Then, scroll through to each section to get a taste of each song, hear the commentary explaining its meaning, and read along with our Spanish tips and translations. Listen to the full playlist on Spotify here. Make sure to click the heart on the playlist to subscribe and find it easily whenever you want!
“Gavilán o Paloma” — La Lupita
English Title: “Hawk or Dove”
Synopsis: The song is sung from the perspective of a young, inexperienced man (the dove), who attempts to woo a woman by acting as though he’s older and wiser than he really is (and trying to be “a hawk”). Sadly, it doesn’t turn out too well for our young dove, who is intimidated by how forward his flirting partner is.
Lyric Excerpt
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Amiga, hay que ver cómo es el amor Que vuelve a quien lo toma Gavilán o paloma Pobre tonto Ingenuo charlatán Que fui paloma Por querer ser gavilán |
My friend, let’s see what love is like It comes back to the one who takes it Hawk or dove Poor fool Naive charlatan For I was a dove Trying to be a hawk |
Language Tip: Need to tell a romantic interest that you want to slow down? Use estate quieto if they’re a man and estate quieta if they’re a woman.
“Lento” — Julieta Venegas
English Title: “Slowly”
Synopsis: In this song, Julieta Venegas explains to prospective romantic partners that if they want to win her, they should move slowly and gently, because she isn’t ready to move quickly in a new relationship. Possibly useful advice to anyone!
Lyric Excerpt
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Si quieres un poco de mí Me deberías esperar Y caminar a paso lento Muy lento Y poco a poco olvidar El tiempo y su velocidad Frenar el ritmo, ir muy lento, más lento |
If you want a little bit of me You should wait for me And walk slowly Very slowly And little by little forget The time and its speed Slow down, go slow, more slow |
Language Tip: If you also want to address your future lover to tell them how to behave, you can use the second-person imperfect form of the verb deber: deberías (“you should”).
“El Baile y El Salón” — Café Tacvba
English Title: “The Dance and the Ballroom”
Synopsis: Rounding out our trio of songs about early love, this song by Café Tacuba is about two young lovers dancing in the middle of a Mexican ballroom. What sets this apart from the rest is that these lovers are both men during a time when same-sex relationships were not just taboo but violently oppressed in Mexico. In spite of it all, these two find love and happiness in each other.
Lyric Excerpt
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Yo que era un solitario bailando Me quedé sin hablar Mientras tu me fuiste demostrando Que el amor es bailar La vida es un gran baile Y el mundo es un salón Y hay muchas parejas bailando A nuestro alrededor |
Me, a dancing loner Was left speechless While you showed me That love is dancing Life is a grand dance And the world is a ballroom And there are many couples dancing Around us |
Extra Tip: This song switches between the first-person singular (I), the second-person singular (you) and the first-person plural (we) often. Listen closely to make sure you know which is being used and when!
“¿Cómo Fue?” — Benny Moré
English Title: “How Was It [That We Fell In Love]?”
Synopsis: This song and the next two move on from early love and go to more thoroughly established romance. In this particularly romantic song, Benny Moré sings about what made him fall in love with his amorcito.
Lyric Excerpt
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Fueron tus ojos o tu boca Fueron tus manos o tu voz Fue a lo mejor la impaciencia De tanto esperar tu llegada |
It was your eyes and your mouth It was your hands and your voice Maybe it was impatience From waiting so long for your arrival |
Extra Tip: Keep an eye (or an ear?) on how fue and fueron — the past tense of ser — are used depending on whether it’s referring to a singular or plural noun. Another fascinating aspect is that if you look at other versions of this song, you might see it styled in various ways: “Como Fue,” “¿Cómo Fue?” and even “Como Fué.” The accent on como depends on whether the title is a question (with accent) or not (without accent), but you may know that fué technically shouldn’t have an accent. Accent rules have changed over time, though. When the song first came out, the fué was considered correct.
“Felices los 4” — Maluma & Marc Antony
English Title: “Happy Four”
Synopsis: Love songs are usually about a couple, but not all relationships are made up of only two. Marc Antony and Maluma sing about four people who are — as the title suggests — part of a happy polyamorous relationship.
Lyric Excerpt
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Si conmigo te quedas O con otro tú te vas No me importa un carajo Porque sé que volverás Y si con otro pasas el rato Vamos a ser feliz, vamos a ser feliz Felices los 4 Te agrandamos el cuarto |
If you stay with me Or you go with another I don’t give a damn Because I know you’ll come back And if you hang out with someone else We’ll be happy, we’ll be happy Happy the four We enlarge the room |
Language Tip: Listen to how the singers use the ir a construction to talk about their future together.
“Tanto” — Jesse & Joy & Luis Fonsi
English Title: “So Much”
Synopsis: The final song in this section is a 2019 pop ballad by Jesse & Joy, accompanied by Luis Fonsi (of “Despacito” fame, along with his many other very successful songs). “Tanto” is all about the difficulty of expressing intense love for someone. The singer tries again and again to show her feeling, but really it’s best captured in the title of the song: “So Much.”
Lyric Excerpt
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Y hablar de sentimientos a mí no se me da Pero lo voy a intentar Te amo tanto Tanto que me siento tonta Tonta que me duela tanto cuando tú no estás Te amo tanto Y para que imagines cuánto Cuenta todas las estrellas y súmale una más |
And talking about feelings is not for me But I’m going to try I love you so much So much that I feel silly Silly that it hurts so much when you’re not here I love you so much And to imagine how much Count all the stars and add one more |
Language Tip: Like most languages, there’s more than one way to say “I love you.” Te amo is the strongest version, used to indicate passionate love. If you’re not ready for that commitment, te quiero is a bit less intense, and is suitable for family and friends.
“Llorarás” — Oscar D’León
English Title: “You Will Cry”
Synopsis: As you can tell from the English title of this song, “Llorarás” brings us into the breakups section of this playlist. This song is sung from the perspective of a wronged lover who is telling his soon-to-be ex that he’s going to leave her.
Lyric Excerpt
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Llorarás, llorarás, llorarás Como lo sufrí yo Oye, tú llorarás Nadie te comprenderá Todo lo malo que hiciste Oye mira, lo pagarás |
You’ll cry, you’ll cry, you’ll cry How I suffered Listen, you will cry No one will understand you Everything wrong you did Listen, look, you’ll pay for it |
Language Tip: Singing a song about how you’re going to make your lover cry is not very uplifting, but it’s certainly a good way to see how to use the future tense.
“El Perdón” — Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias
English Title: “The Forgiveness”
Synopsis: We’re shifting from anger to sadness in this song, as it’s sung from the perspective of a man who just found out his ex is getting married to someone else. Quite clearly, our singer isn’t quite over the ex, but hopes that she’s able to forgive him for what he’s done.
Lyric Excerpt
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Te estaba buscando Por las calles gritando Esto me esta matando, oh no Te estaba buscando Por las calles gritando Como un loco tomando |
I was searching for you In the streets screaming This is killing me, oh no I was searching for you In the streets screaming Like a madman drinking |
Language Tip: Look at how the verbs in this section take the ending -ando when they’re describing an ongoing action.
“Qué Hiciste” — Jennifer Lopez
English Title: “What Have You Done”
Synopsis: We couldn’t go through a playlist of Spanish songs without J.Lo, and she ends it with a bang. The song has her addressing her former lover, listing all the ways in which he’s wronged her. The lesson being, don’t wrong J.Lo.
Lyric Excerpt
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¿Que hiciste? Hoy destruiste con tu orgullo la esperanza Hoy empañaste con tu furia mi mirada Borraste toda nuestra historia con tu rabia Y confundiste tanto amor que te entregaba Con un permiso para asi romperme el alma |
What have you done? Today you destroyed hope with your pride Today you blurred my vision with your fury You erased our entire history with you rage And you confused so much love that I gave you With permission to break my soul |
Language Tip: This song mostly takes place in the past, and the verbs almost all end in -aste or -iste, which is the form for the second-person informal tú.