Four popular songs are used here: Amor imposible, Depredador, Lado oscuro and Estamos perdiendo el tiempo. The lyrics are not reproduced; instead, for each song you have its key vocabulary and the grammar it uses, so you can listen to it again and understand every structure.
Amor imposible
Topic: a love that ended; the singer has found someone else, but the old love comes back.
| Vocabulary | Meaning |
|---|---|
| marcharse | to leave, go away |
| el dolor, doler (me duele) | pain, to hurt |
| dejar (a alguien) / dejar de + inf. | to leave someone / to stop doing |
| olvidar(se) | to forget |
| la piel | skin |
| cuidar | to look after |
| cruzarse (en el camino de alguien) | to cross someone's path |
| salir adelante | to get through hard times |
| no hay vuelta atrás | there's no going back |
| un ideal | an ideal |
Grammar: pretérito indefinido for the events of the story (Units 19–20); pretérito perfecto for pain that continues (Unit 18); dejar de + inf. (Unit 36); imperfect for feelings (Unit 22); quisiera (Unit 38); future será (Unit 25); aunque + indicative (Unit 44).
Depredador
Topic: a woman betrayed by a false lover ends up in prison and returns for revenge.
| Vocabulary | Meaning |
|---|---|
| el depredador | predator |
| el engaño / engañar, falso | deceit / to deceive, false |
| entregar | to give, hand over |
| las rejas, la condena | prison bars, sentence |
| el hueco | hole |
| la verdad, la soledad, amargo | truth, loneliness, bitter |
| la venganza | revenge |
| la sangre, llorar | blood, to cry |
| herido, suplicar perdón | wounded, to beg forgiveness |
| temblar (tiembla) | to tremble |
| la traición, la serpiente, envenenar | betrayal, snake, to poison |
| torcido | twisted |
| la jefaza (colloq., augmentative of jefa) | the big boss (f.) |
| iluso | naive, deluded |
Grammar: future of threat (-rás, -rá: Unit 25); ir a + inf. with pronouns (Unit 15); tan pronto como + subjunctive (Unit 35); venir a + inf. (Unit 36); gerunds (descubriendo, sufriendo: Unit 16); volverse + adj. (Unit 46); pa' = para (L6); augmentative -aza (L5); imperative tiembla (Unit 23).
Lado oscuro
Topic: someone comes back from a dark period, stronger, settling old scores.
| Vocabulary | Meaning |
|---|---|
| la oscuridad, oscuro | darkness, dark |
| arrasar | to sweep away, destroy |
| los males | evils |
| la factura, cobrar | bill, to collect payment (tener facturas que cobrar = to have scores to settle) |
| la oportunidad | opportunity |
| el recuerdo, borrar | memory, to erase |
| el desastre | disaster |
| regresar | to return |
| platicar (Mexico) | to chat |
| la agonía | agony |
| las ganas | desire |
| suplicar | to beg |
Grammar: venir + gerund (Unit 36); ya verás (future, Unit 25); como antes (comparison, Unit 26); indefinido hicieron (Unit 20); imperative ven and regálame with attached pronoun (Unit 23); a donde sea (wherever) + subjunctive (Unit 33); se acabó (it's over, Unit 37).
Estamos perdiendo el tiempo
Topic: a love song; two people who are apart and should not waste any more time.
| Vocabulary | Meaning |
|---|---|
| perder el tiempo | to waste time |
| sanar, la herida | to heal, wound |
| respirar | to breathe |
| el deseo | desire |
| en serio | seriously |
| la madrugada | early morning (after midnight) |
| hacer falta (me haces falta) | to need / miss someone |
| la sonrisa, el tesoro | smile, treasure |
| ahogarse | to drown, suffocate |
| un instante | an instant |
| atrapar | to catch |
Grammar: estar + gerund (Unit 16); imperatives with pronouns, affirmative and negative (ven, dame, no te vayas: Unit 23); es que (Unit 44); lo que (Unit 33); por dentro (inside, por: Unit 34); diminutives juntito, besito, carita (L5); merecerse (to deserve, -zco: Unit 6); morir por (to be dying for).
A good method for songs: (1) listen once without the text; (2) read the vocabulary above; (3) listen again and write down every verb you recognise, with its tense; (4) sing along. Songs fix structures in memory better than any table.