My Father's Gift

I learned to speak Spanish, in large measure because of my father (who didn’t know a word of Spanish). Don’t think I’ll explain that just yet.

I'm not sure how consistently I'll keep blogging in two languages, as it does take a lot of time.

But, this morning, I listened to a song in Spanish, and realized just what an amazing gift it can be to understand a foreign language.

I want to share the song with you. It’s called Quizás by Enrique Iglesias. Sorry, but I don't know how to add the actual music at this point. The conceptual translation is mine.

Hola viejo dime cómo estás
Hello old friend, tell me how you’ve been
Los años pasan y no hemos vuelto a hablar
The years pass and we never seem to talk
Y no quiero que te pienses
I wouldn’t want you to think
Que me ha olvidado de tí
That I’ve forgotten about you

Y por mi parte no me puedo quejar
Myself, I can't complain
Trabajando como siempre igual
Working hard as always
Aunque confieso en mi vida
Although I must confess that in my life
Hay mucha soledad
There is a lot of loneliness

En el fondo tú y yo somos casi igual
Deep down, you and I are just about the same
Y me vuelvo loco solo con pensar
It drives me crazy to think
Quizás la vida nos separe cada día más
Perhaps life will separate us yet another day
Quizás la vida nos aleje de la realidad
Perhaps life will remove us from reality
Quizás tú buscas un desierto y yo busco un mar
Perhaps you look for a desert and I look for the sea
Quizás que gracias a la vida hoy te quiero más
Perhaps thanks to life, today I love you even more

Hola viejo dime cómo estás
Hello old friend, tell me how you’ve been
Hay tantas cosas que te quiero explicar
There are many things I’d like to explain
Porque uno nunca sabe
Because one never knows
Si mañana esté aquí
Whether tomorrow will come
A veces hemos ido marcha atrás
At times, we have gone our separate ways
Y la razón siempre querías llevar
You always wanted to be right
Pero estoy cansado
But I’m tired
No quiero discutir
And not in the mood to argue

En el fondo tú y yo somos casi igual
Deep down, you and I are just about the same
Y me vuelvo loco solo con pensar
It drives me crazy to think
Quizás la vida nos separe cada día más
Perhaps life will separate us yet another day
Quizás la vida nos aleje de la realidad
Perhaps life will remove us from reality
Quizás tú buscas un desierto y yo busco un mar
Perhaps you look for a desert and I look for the sea
Quizás que gracias a la vida hoy te quiero más
Perhaps thanks to life, today I love you even more

Hola viejo dime cómo estás
Hello old friend, tell me how you’ve been
Los años pasan y no hemos vuelto a hablar
The years pass and we never seem to talk
Y no quiero que te pienses
And I wouldn’t want you to think
Que me ha olvidado de tí
That I’ve forgotten about you