
Ismael Rivera
Si yo pudiera lyrics with English translation
- Language
- Spanish
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1973
- Genre
- Salsa
- Length
- 3:22
Si yo pudiera transformar
If I could transform
A mi capricho
To my whim
La selva falguen que tengo que habitar
The wild jungle I have to inhabit
En un jardín con jazmines
Into a garden with jasmines
Escucharía la mar de serafines
I would hear the sea of seraphim
Oiría los clarines de la felicidad
I would hear the trumpets of happiness
Pondría palmeras bordeando las orillas
I would place palm trees lining the shores
Y los muchachos vacilando sus chiquillas
And the boys flirting with their girls
Bajo el embrujo de una luz crepuscular
Under the enchantment of twilight light
A soñar como yo en mis años de escolar
To dream like I did in my school years
Le cambiaría hasta el nombre a la ciudad
I'd even change the name of the city
Para tener más cerca la felicidad
To bring happiness closer
Le borraría de odios y de crimen
I'd erase it of hatred and crime
Y para terminar, y para terminar
And to finish, and to finish
Y para terminar
And to finish
Le llamaría Borinquen
I'd call it Borinquen
¡Lindo muchacho!
Pretty boy!
Dale mucho, Casabe
Give it a lot, Casabe
Pondría palmeras bordeando las orillas
I'd line the shores with palm trees
Y los muchachos vacilando sus chiquillas
And the boys hanging out with their girls
Bajo el embrujo de una luz crepuscular
Under the spell of a twilight glow
A soñar como yo en mis años de escolar
To dream like I did in my school days
Le cambiaría hasta el nombre a la ciudad
I would even change the name of the city
Para tener más cerca la felicidad
To have happiness closer at hand
Le borraría de odios y de crimen
I would erase all hatred and crime
Y para terminar, y para terminar
And to wrap it up, and to wrap it up
Y para terminar
And to wrap it up
Le llamaría Borinquen
I would call it Borinquen
¡Listo! Epa, jey, juega
Ready! Eh-eh, hey, play
Le llamaría Borinquen
I would call it Borinquen
Huellas al carapacho
Footprints to the shell
Le llamaría Borinquen
I would call it Borinquen
Le llamaría Borinquen
I would call it Borinquen
Le llamaría Borinquen
I would call it Borinquen
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- jazmines
- jasmine
- le
- Indirect object pronoun meaning “to him/to her/to you” (singular) or “to it” (in formal/impersonal uses), depending on context.A2
- mucho
- muchA1
- jey
- hey
- años
- yearsA1
- bajo
- lowA1
- bordeando
- bordering
- borraría
- would erase
- cambiaría
- would change
- capricho
- whimC1
About this song
Firmly fixed in the Latin music firmament as "El Sonero Mayor" (The Greatest Singer), Ismael Rivera was blessed with a gloriously husky voice, which he honed into a unique improvisational instrument.