Hey everyone! I keep seeing questions about DtMF pop up on this sub, but I haven't found anything that explains the lyrics the way I'd like it to be explained. So I've decided to make a post, not only because it's such a popular song but also because Spanish is quite advanced - there's tons of slang, idiomatic expressions, and word contractions that make it hard for someone learning to understand. And that's all happening in addition to how hard it is to hear the (super fast and hard-to-understand) lyrics!
I apologize in advance since this ended up being really long, but I wanted to breakdown the Spanish lyrics where I go from what I call the literal translation to a more natural figurative translation. Basically, it's how I think of things as I'm translating, and I wanted to add some intuition for certain expressions - especially since the way Spanish speakers express things is often similar to, but not exactly the same, as how an English speaker might say it.
Starting from the top!
Otro sunset bonito que veo en San JuanAnother beautiful sunset that I see in San Juan
Disfrutando de todas esas cosas que extrañan los que se vanEnjoying all those things that those who leave miss.
Disfrutando de means "enjoying," but it might be confusing why there's a "de*"* there. This is because de refers to where the enjoyment comes from. We are getting enjoyment "from" (or de) todas esas cosas.
Los que se van means "those that leave". Se van, literally translates to "they go themelves" using the verb irse (reflexive form of ir). Because irse emphasizes that they themselves are going somewhere, without specifying where, it can be better translated as "to leave".
So putting things together, Bad Bunny is talking about the people who left San Juan and enjoying the things that those who left the island miss - like the beautiful sunset mentioned in the first line.
Disfrutando de noche' de esas que ya no se danEnjoying those nights, the kind that just don't happen anymore.
Que ya no se danThat just don't happen anymore
Okay, so now Bad Bunny starts dropping letters. Noche' is just noches with "s" dropped - pretty straightforward. De esas que literally translates to "of those that", but can be said more naturally as "the kind that". Ya no se dan - literally "that no longer give themselves", and better said as "that no longer happen".
We have another reflexive verb here with darse. We all know that dar means "to give", or to present something. So it makes sense that used reflexively, darse means "to present itself**",** like when something shows up or happens.
Pero queriendo volver a la última vezBut wanting to go back to the last time
Que a los ojos te miréThat I looked you in the eyes
Miré means "I looked", te means "you" - a los ojos literally translates as "to the eyes". **In Spanish, you look "**to" someone's eyes rather than into them in English.
Y contarte las cosas que no te conté (Te parece' a mi crush, jaja)And tell you the things I didn't tell you (You look like my crush, haha)
Y tirarte la' foto' que no te tiré (Acho, jura'o te ves bien linda, déjame tirarte una foto)And take the pics of you I didn't take (Man, for real, you look really pretty, let me get a pic of you).
Tirarte means "to take pictures of you". Although we usually learn tirar = "to throw", here it means to take a picture. Think of it like the English phrase "shooting a photo" but here we're throwing it.
And now we have some slang and more dropped letters! In the parentheses, acho is slang for "man" or "dude" (short for muchacho). Jura'o is just jurado, meaning literally "I swear", or better translated as "for real."
Ey, tengo el pecho pela'o, me dio una matá'Hey, my chest is raw, that was a gut punch
El pecho pela'o literally means "the chest peeled" - pela'o is pelado with the "d" dropped. This phrase makes more sense translated as "my chest is raw" since Bad Bunny continues to say he feels emotional. Matá' is contracted from matada, meaning "a violent blow". So Me dio una matá' means "it gave me a blow", or more colloquially "it hit me hard."
El corazón dándome patá'My heart is kicking like crazy.
More dropped endings! Patá' is contracted from patada, meaning "kick." So literally it's "my heart giving me kicks," but translates more naturally as "my heart is kicking like crazy" from emotional stress.
Dime, baby, ¿dónde tú está'?Tell me, baby, where you at?
As you've probably guessed, está' is just estás. He's just not enunciating every sound.
Pa' llegarle con RoRo, Julito, KrystalSo I can pull up on you with RoRo, Julito, Krystal
Roy, Edgar, Seba, Óscar, Darnell y Big Jay, tocando batáRoy, Edgar, Seba, Oscar, Darnell and Big Jay, on the Batá
In the first line, pa' is just para. Llegarle means "to arrive to a location". Usually, le refers to another person, but here it refers to a place. This is a quirk of Caribbean Spanish, in which le **can replace phrases like "**a un lugar". In this case, le refers to the place his girl is at, and Bad Bunny's gonna go there with a bunch of friends.
We also get more differences between Spanish and English via the word tocando. Tocar means "to touch", and in Spanish, you tocar a musical instrument instead of playing it like in English. Batá is the drum that Bad Bunny and his friends are playing when they arrive to meet his girl.
Hoy la calle la dejamo' 'esbaratáToday we're gonna tear the street up.
'Esbaratá is just desbaratada, meaning "torn apart" or "destroyed." So literally, "the street, we leave it torn up."
Y sería cabrón que tú me toque' el güiroAnd it would be cool if you played my güiro
Cabrón is slang - it can be offensive in some contexts but here it means "cool" or "awesome". Next, toque' uses the subjunctive. This is because it expresses a hypothetical or emotional reaction via the phrase sería cabrón que.
We also have another musical instrument, the güiro, which is an instrument made from a long gourd. And it's used as an euphemism for something phallic... ;)
Yo veo tu nombre y me salen suspiro'I see your name and sighs just come out.
No sé si son petardo' o si son tiro'I don't know if they're firecrackers or shots.
Lots of missing letters here. Suspiro' is contracted from suspiros (sighs). Petardo' is contracted from petardos (firecrackers). Tiro' is contracted from tiros (gunshots). Bad Bunny is saying he can't control how excited he gets when he sees his girl's name.
Mi blanquita, perico, mi kiloMy white girl, my coke, my kilo.
A ton of slang in this line. Blanquita is the diminutive of blanca (white) and the -ita ending adds affection. And since it's feminine, I've translated it as "white girl". But here it's slang for cocaine. Perico, meaning "parakeet" is also slang for cocaine, since parakeets are energetic and talk a lot (similar to a person on drugs). Finally, kilo refers to "kilogram" and continues the drug references.
Basically, Bad Bunny is using a ton of drug metaphors to describe his intense addiction-like feelings for this person, who's his "drug".
Yo estoy en PR, tranquilo, peroI'm in PR, chill, but
Debí tirar más fotos de cuando te tuveI should have taken more photos of when I had you.
Debí darte más beso' y abrazo' las vece' que pudeI should've given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could.
We've reached the chorus! And also the lines where I've seen the most questions in this sub!
Debí means "I should have" - this expresses regret about something he didn't do in the past. And again we see tirar for taking photos. The phrase cuando te tuve literally means "when I had you," meaning "when we were together." More straightforward when broken down like this, but this line expresses a lot for how few words it has.
Beso' and abrazo' have the "s" dropped from besos (kisses) and abrazos (hugs). Similarly, las vece' has the "s" dropped from las veces, meaning "the times." This creates the phrase las veces que pude, or literally "the times that I could".
Overall these line captures deep regret - he's wishing he had been more physically affectionate during the opportunities he had with her.
Ey, ojalá que los mío' nunca se mudenHey, I hope my people never move.
Y si hoy me emborracho, pues que me ayudenAnd if I get drunk today, well, then they better help me.
Los mío' is just los míos, meaning "my people" or "my crew." Se muden is reflexive and means "they move" and the reflexive se shows they're moving themselves (to a new place).
Both muden and ayuden are also subjunctive, expressing a hope or wish. This connects to the earlier theme about Puerto Ricans leaving the island and he hopes his close friends never leave him behind.
Ey, hoy voy a estar con abuelo to'l día, jugando dominóHey, today I'm gonna be with my grandpa all day, playing dominoes.
Si me pregunta si aún pienso en ti, yo le digo que noIf he asks me if I still think about you, I tell him no
We've reached the 2nd verse!
Notice to'l día which is another abbreviation - from todo el día (all day). So now he's seeking comfort in family traditions by playing dominoes with his grandfather, which represents stability and connection to his roots when he's feeling emotional turmoil.
In the next line, aún means "still" and adds emotional weight. He's being asked if he STILL thinks about her, implying it's been some time. Also notice how in Spanish, pienso en ti means "I think about you" and uses en (meaning in). In Spanish, pensar en means "to think about" someone by having them inside your mind.
Que mi estadía cerquita de ti ya se terminóThat my time of being so close to you is over.
Ya se terminó, eyIt's really over, ey
Estadía means "stay" or "time spent" but it's more formal than just saying tiempo (time), showing that it was a meaningful period of time with her. Cerquita is the diminutive form of cerca (close) and the -ita ending adds intimacy. It's not just "close" but "so very close".
The phrase ya se terminó literally translates to "already it ended," but translates more naturally as "is over." The ya emphasizes the finality of it - their closeness is definitively finished, not just paused.
Que prendan la' máquina', voy pa' SanturceLet 'em fire up the rides, I'm off to Santurce.
Que prendan means "let them turn on". La' máquina' is contracted from las máquinas, literally "the machines," but here it is slang and refers to vehicles. Pa' is contracted from para again. Santurce is a district in San Juan known for nightlife - Bad Bunny's going from emotional vulnerability to going out and having fun with his crew.
Some people might find it confusing why que prendan starts with que and uses the subjunctive. One way you can think about it is by pretending that it says (espero) que prendan las máquinas - I hope that they turn on the machines. Since this is a wish or desire, prender takes the subjunctive. Or you can translate the word que as "let" in English so that he says "let them turn on their machines". This is an indirect command - he's really saying "Turn on your rides!" But it's softer than a direct command.
Aquí todavía se da cañaHere, they still turn it up.
Chequéate las babie', diablo, mami, qué dulceCheck out the babes, damn, mami, how sweet!
Se da caña literally means "cane is given," but this is slang meaning "they party hard" or "they turn it up." Kind of like hitting something with a cane to get it to try harder or work harder.
In the next line, chequéate combines "chequear" (to check) with the reflexive te - literally "check it out yourself" or "take a look yourself." Babie' is contracted from babies. Diablo literally translates as "devil," obviously here it's more of an exclamation like "damn" or "wow".
Hoy yo quiero beber, beber, beberToday I want to drink, drink, drink
Y hablar mierda hasta que me expulsenAnd talk shit until they kick me out.
The phrase hablar mierda literally means "to talk shit" (same as in English haha!). We have subjunctive with hasta que me expulsen since he hasn't actually been kicked out yet. He's saying he wants to drink and talk recklessly until they get kicked out.
'Toy bien loco ('Toy bien loco), 'toy bien loco ('Toy bien loco)I'm really crazy (I'm really crazy), I'm really crazy (I'm really crazy)
Cabrón, guía tú, que hasta caminando yo estoy que chocoDude, you drive, 'cause I'm so wasted I'm gonna crash even just walking.
'Toy bien loco ('Toy bien loco), 'toy bien loco ('Toy bien loco)I'm really crazy (I'm really crazy), I'm really crazy (I'm really crazy)
Vamo' a disfrutar, que nunca se sabe si nos queda pocoLet's enjoy ourselves, 'cause you never know if we're running out of time.
'Toy is abbreviated from estoy (I am). So now he's using alcohol and partying to cope with heartbreak, but it's making him act recklessly.
In the next line, cabrón - we saw it earlier but here its slang for "dude". Guía tú means "you drive" via the command form of "guiar." And yo estoy que choco - literally meaning "I am that I crash" an be translated into the more natural "I'm gonna crash".
Finally, vamo' a disfrutar literally means "let's go to enjoy" (another dropped "s" here), but translates more naturally to "let's enjoy ourselves." The phrase nunca se sabe means "you never know" but Spanish uses the se in this impersonal construction, literally "it is never known". Si nos queda poco literally translates as "if little remains for us", or more naturally "we're running out of time".
Gente, lo' quiero con cojone', los amoFolks, I f***ing love y'all, I love you.
Gracias por estar aquí, de verdadThanks for being here, for real.
Ok, now we're at the interlude where Bad Bunny starts talking really fast. I hope there some people still reading this! :)
More dropped "s" with lo' from los (you all), and cojone' from cojones. The phrase con cojone' is an idiomatic expression that literally means "with balls," but it's used to intensify emotions (similar to English usage. Bad Bunny's saying "I freaking love you" to all his besties.
Para mí e' bien importante que estén aquíFor me, it's really important that y'all are here.
Cada uno de ustede' significa mucho para míEach one of you means a lot to me
Dropped "s" in e' from es, and ustede' from ustedes.
We get the subjunctive (so many hopes and dreams in this song!) with estén. After expressions like es importante que**, Spanish requires the** subjunctive mood to express the speaker's emotional reaction or judgment about the situation.
Así que, vamo' pa' la foto, vengan pa'cáSo, let's get in the picture, come on over!
Métase to'l mundo, to'l corillo, vamo'Everybody get in, the whole crew, come on!
ZumbaHit it!
I'm sure everyone can recognize the dropped letters by now. Vamo' is vamos. Pa' la foto is para la foto. Pa'cá is para acá. To'l mundo" is todo el mundo. There's more but you get the gist.
Vengan is the command form of venir, so he's saying "come over for this group photo". Métase is a another command and means "get in" or put yourself in the photo (it's reflexive).
Corillo is slang for your crew / close friends. It's the diminutive form of corro (circle) and refers to his tight circle of friends that he wants in his picture.
Ya Bernie tiene el nene y Jan la nenaBernie already has his boy, and Jan her girl.
Ya no estamo' pa' la movie' y las cadena'We're not about that flashy life and chains anymore.
Finally the we have arrived at verse 3 - the last verse!
El nene and la nena - these are affectionate terms for "boy" and "girl" and are more tender than just niño and niña. Abbreviations: estamo' from estamos, pa' la movie' from para la movies - referring to the flashy, show-off lifestyle you see on TV. And las cadena' from las cadenas (the chains) - as in the expensive jewelry chains that symbolize wealth and status in hip-hop culture.
So now his friend group has matured - they've moved from partying to having families, which affects the whole crew's dynamic.
'Tamos pa' las cosa' que valgan la penaWe're about the things that are worthwhile.
Ey, pa'l perreo, la salsa, la bomba y la plenaHey, for the perreo, the salsa, the bomba, and the plena.
Chequéate la mía cómo es que suenaPeep the way mine sounds.
Ton of dropped letters here. Pa' las cosa' from para las cosas and pa'l perreo from para el perreo.
We get an idiomatic expression with valgan la pena - literally meaning "are worth the pain," but better translated as "are worthwhile". Also valgan is subjunctive and expresses their values and what they consider worth their time. This continues Bad Bunny's theme from the previous lines - they've matured beyond flashy materialism to focus on things that truly matter, like family and music that connects them to their heritage.
Chequéate again combines chequear (to check) with the reflexive te - literally "check for yourself" - or more naturally, "peep" or "listen to" Bad Bunny's music and his sound. While cómo es que literally translates to "how is it that", it's more commonly phrased as "the way that" his music sounds. So now after listing all the traditional Puerto Rican music styles, he's inviting people to listen to his own musical contribution.
Debí tirar más fotos de cuando te tuveI should have taken more photos of when I had you.
Debí darte más besos y abrazo' las veces que pudeI should've given you more kisses and hugs whenever I could.
Ojalá que los mío' nunca se mudenI hope my people never move.
Y que tú me envíe' más nude'And that you send me more nudes.
Y si hoy me emborracho, que Beno me ayudeAnd if I get drunk today, Beno's gonna have to help me.
Ok, last section - we've made it to the outro! Most of it is repeats from the chorus so I'm going to focus on the last 2 lines.
We have a dropped "s" and subjunctive combined into one word with envíe'. The phrase que tú me envíe' uses subjunctive because it's a continuation of ojalá que from the previous line to express his hope that she'll send him photos. We also get some Spanglish with nude' (nudes).
Lastly the phrase que Beno me ayude uses subjunctive again in his hope that Beno will help him if he gets drunk again.
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Phew, okay that was a lot! If any of you are still reading this, I'm very flattered and hope you found it helpful to think of the song lyrics this way. Please let me know if you thought any parts were particularly useful, or was too obvious and I could have skipped them - I tried to be thorough but this turned out really, really long. And if you think any of the lyrics should be interpreted differently let me know too.
Also if you like it I'm open to doing more of these! If you've got song requests, please send them my way and I'll look into posting another (hopefully shorter) breakdown.
