Song guide

A Dios Le Pido

Juanes

A Dios Le Pido by Juanes, line by line: what the lyrics mean, 23 expressions explained and 453 words translated with their grammar. Learn Spanish from the song, free.

62 lines translated 453 words explained 23 expressions

Lyrics with English translation, line by line

Each line as sung, what it means, and — where it needs one — why it's said that way.

  1. Que mis ojos se despierten con la luz de tu mirada, yo

    May my eyes awaken to the light of your gaze, I

    This song is 'A Dios le pido' by Colombian singer-songwriter Juanes, released in 2002 on his album 'Un día normal'. It became one of the best-selling Latin singles of the 2000s and won multiple Grammy awards.

  2. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  3. Que mi madre no se muera y que mi padre me recuerde

    May my mother not die, and may my father remember me

    The personal references to his mother and father suggest the song draws on Juanes's own family experiences. The fear of losing a parent and the wish to be remembered are universal themes that resonated widely with audiences across Latin America.

  4. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  5. Que te quedes a mi lado y que más nunca te me vayas, mi vida

    Stay by my side and never leave me again, my love

    'mi vida' as a term of endearment is extremely common across Latin America and Spain. It reflects a cultural tendency to use words for precious things (life, sky, heart, soul) as affectionate addresses to loved ones.

  6. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  7. Que mi alma no descanse cuando de amarte se trate, mi cielo

    May my soul never rest when it comes to loving you, my darling

    'mi cielo' ('my sky/heaven') as a term of endearment is used throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In this song, Juanes uses both 'mi vida' and 'mi cielo' to address his beloved, a stylistic choice that elevates the emotional register.

  8. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  9. Por los días que me quedan, y las noches que aún no llegan, yo

    For the days I have left, and the nights that are yet to come, I

  10. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  11. Por los hijos de mis hijos y los hijos de tus hijos

    For my children's children and your children's children

  12. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  13. Que mi pueblo no derrame tanta sangre y se levante mi gente

    May my people not shed so much blood, and may my people rise up

    This line reflects the social and political violence that plagued Colombia during the late 1990s and early 2000s, particularly the armed conflict involving guerrilla groups, paramilitaries, and drug cartels. Juanes has been a prominent advocate for peace in Colombia.

  14. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  15. Que mi alma no descanse cuando de amarte se trate, mi cielo

    May my soul never rest when it comes to loving you, my darling

  16. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  17. Un segundo más de vida para darte

    One more second of life to give you

  18. Y mi corazón entero entregarte

    And to give you my whole heart

  19. Un segundo más de vida para darte

    One more second of life to give you

  20. Y a tu lado para siempre yo quedarme

    And to stay by your side forever

  21. Un segundo más de vida, yo

    One more second of life, I

  22. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  23. Que si me muero sea de amor

    If I die, let it be from love

  24. Y si me enamoro sea de vos

    And if I fall in love, let it be with you

    'vos' instead of 'tú' is a hallmark of Rioplatense Spanish (used in Argentina and Uruguay) and also common in Colombia, where Juanes is from. In Colombia, voseo (using vos) is especially prevalent in the Antioquia region, Juanes's home region.

  25. Y que de tu voz sea este corazón

    And may this heart be yours through your voice

  26. Todos los días a Dios le pido

    Every day I ask God

  27. Que si me muero sea de amor

    If I die, let it be from love

  28. Y si me enamoro sea de vos

    And if I fall in love, let it be with you

  29. Y que de tu voz sea este corazón

    And may this heart be yours through your voice

  30. Todos los días a Dios le pido

    Every day I ask God

  31. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  32. Que mis ojos se despierten con la luz de tu mirada, yo

    May my eyes awaken to the light of your gaze, I

  33. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  34. Que mi madre no se muera y que mi padre me recuerde

    May my mother not die, and may my father remember me

  35. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  36. Que te quedes a mi lado y que más nunca te me vayas, mi vida

    Stay by my side and never leave me again, my love

  37. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  38. Que mi alma no descanse cuando de amarte se trate, mi cielo

    May my soul never rest when it comes to loving you, my darling

  39. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  40. Un segundo más de vida para darte

    One more second of life to give you

  41. Y mi corazón entero entregarte

    And to give you my whole heart

  42. Un segundo más de vida para darte

    One more second of life to give you

  43. Y a tu lado para siempre yo quedarme

    And to stay by your side forever

  44. Un segundo más de vida, yo

    One more second of life, I

  45. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

  46. Que si me muero sea de amor

    If I die, let it be from love

  47. Y si me enamoro sea de vos

    And if I fall in love, let it be with you

  48. Y que de tu voz sea este corazón

    And may this heart be yours through your voice

  49. Todos los días a Dios le pido

    Every day I ask God

  50. Que si me muero sea de amor

    If I die, let it be from love

  51. Y si me enamoro sea de vos

    And if I fall in love, let it be with you

  52. Y que de tu voz sea este corazón

    And may this heart be yours through your voice

  53. Todos los días a Dios le pido

    Every day I ask God

  54. Que si me muero sea de amor

    If I die, let it be from love

  55. Y si me enamoro sea de vos

    And if I fall in love, let it be with you

  56. Y que de tu voz sea este corazón

    And may this heart be yours through your voice

  57. Todos los días a Dios le pido

    Every day I ask God

  58. Que si me muero sea de amor

    If I die, let it be from love

  59. Y si me enamoro sea de vos

    And if I fall in love, let it be with you

  60. Y que de tu voz sea este corazón

    And may this heart be yours through your voice

  61. Todos los días, yo

    Every day, I

  62. A Dios le pido

    I ask God

Expressions and idioms in “A Dios Le Pido”

The lines that don't mean what the dictionary says.

se despierten they awaken / they wake up
despertar used reflexively (despertarse) means 'to wake up' on one's own; the plain form despertar means 'to wake someone else up'. The reflexive se signals the subject acts upon itself.
con la luz de tu mirada to the light of your gaze
The preposition con ('with') here expresses the means or accompaniment by which the eyes awaken — a poetic usage where English would say 'to' or 'in'. Note also that mirada (from mirar, 'to look') is a nominalised verb meaning 'the act of looking / gaze', a common Spanish pattern.
A Dios le pido I ask God
This is the Spanish indirect-object construction: the noun Dios is preceded by the personal 'a' (required before a specific person as direct or indirect object), and le is a redundant indirect-object pronoun that duplicates Dios. This double-marking of the indirect object is standard in Spanish.
me recuerde remember me
recordar + indirect object pronoun (me) means 'to remember someone'. The me here is an indirect object ('remember me'), not a reflexive. Compare recordarse de, which means 'to remember' in some dialects.
no se muera may she not die
morirse (reflexive) is the standard way to express dying in Spanish; the plain morir exists but morirse is far more common in everyday speech. The reflexive se is part of the verb's meaning, not a separate action.
más nunca te me vayas never leave me again
más nunca is a Latin American Spanish intensifier meaning 'never again' (equivalent to nunca más in Spain). te me vayas uses irse (reflexive of ir) in the subjunctive; the double pronoun te me signals that the leaving affects the speaker ('you leave on me'). This ethical dative construction (me) adds emotional weight — it is not translatable word-for-word.
te quedes a mi lado you stay by my side
quedarse (reflexive) means 'to stay / to remain', a meaning-shift from plain quedar ('to be left over' or 'to arrange to meet'). The phrase a mi lado ('at my side') is a fixed locative expression for 'beside me / by my side'.
mi vida my love
vida literally means 'life', but as a term of endearment it functions like 'my love' or 'my darling' in English. This is a common affectionate address in Spanish-speaking cultures.
mi cielo my darling
cielo literally means 'sky' or 'heaven', but as a term of endearment it is equivalent to 'my darling' or 'my sweetheart' in English. It is widely used across Spanish-speaking countries.
cuando de amarte se trate when it comes to loving you
tratarse de is a fixed reflexive construction meaning 'to be about / to concern'. It requires the preposition de before the topic. The full pattern is 'cuando se trate de + infinitive', meaning 'whenever it is a matter of doing something'.
los días que me quedan the days I have left
quedar (non-reflexive) here means 'to remain / to be left'. The construction 'me quedan X días' is the standard Spanish way to say 'I have X days left' — the subject is the days, not the person, so the verb agrees with días (plural).
los hijos de mis hijos my children's children
Spanish expresses possession with de rather than an apostrophe-s. 'los hijos de mis hijos' literally means 'the children of my children', i.e. grandchildren. This de + noun chain is the standard possessive structure in Spanish.
se levante mi gente may my people rise up
levantarse (reflexive) means 'to rise up / to stand up', a meaning-shift from plain levantar ('to lift / to raise something'). In political or social contexts, levantarse carries the sense of a people rising in resistance or dignity.
para darte in order to give you
para + infinitive expresses purpose ('in order to do something'). darte is dar ('to give') with the 2nd-person clitic te attached to the infinitive — a common Spanish pattern where object pronouns attach to infinitives.
entregarte to give you / to hand over to you
entregar means 'to hand over / to deliver / to give'. With the clitic te attached, it becomes 'to give to you'. In a romantic context, entregar el corazón ('to give one's heart') is a fixed poetic expression for total devotion.
para siempre forever
para siempre is the standard fixed expression for 'forever / for always'. para here expresses duration extending into the future, not purpose.
a tu lado para siempre yo quedarme to stay by your side forever
quedarme is quedarse ('to stay/remain') in infinitive form with the 1st-person reflexive clitic me attached. The word order is inverted for lyrical effect — standard prose would be 'quedarme a tu lado para siempre'. para siempre is the fixed phrase for 'forever'.
sea de amor let it be from love
sea is the present subjunctive of ser ('to be'), used here to express a wish or desire. The construction 'que sea de + noun' means 'may it be from/of + noun'. de amor indicates the cause or origin.
me muero I die
morirse (reflexive) is the everyday Spanish way to say 'to die'. The reflexive me intensifies the personal nature of the action. In colloquial speech, me muero de can also mean 'I am dying of' (e.g. me muero de risa = 'I am dying of laughter').
me enamoro I fall in love
enamorarse is a reflexive verb meaning 'to fall in love'. The plain form enamorar means 'to make someone fall in love (with something/someone)'. The reflexive me changes the meaning entirely — the subject falls in love themselves.
sea de vos let it be with you
enamorarse de is the fixed verb-preposition construction meaning 'to fall in love with'. Spanish uses de where English uses 'with' after enamorarse. vos is the 2nd-person singular pronoun used in Rioplatense Spanish (Argentina, Uruguay) instead of tú.
de tu voz sea este corazón may this heart be yours through your voice
This is a poetic inversion of standard word order. The normal order would be 'que este corazón sea de tu voz'. Fronting 'de tu voz' gives it emphasis. ser de + noun expresses belonging or ownership in Spanish ('to belong to').
todos los días every day
todos los días is the standard Spanish expression for 'every day'. todos ('all') + definite article los + días ('days') together form this fixed time expression. It cannot be shortened to *todo el día, which means 'all day long' (a single day).

Vocabulary to learn from “A Dios Le Pido”

The words the song uses most.

Verbs in the song, and the form being sung

Present tense for each; the highlighted row is the one you'll hear.

pedir I ask / I request

sung: pido irregular
pedir — present tense
yo pido
tú pides
él / ella / usted pide
nosotros pedimos
vosotros pedís
ellos / ustedes piden

ser be / let it be

sung: sea irregular
ser — present tense
yo soy
tú eres
él / ella / usted es
nosotros somos
vosotros sois
ellos / ustedes son

morir die

sung: muera irregular
morir — present tense
yo muero
tú mueres
él / ella / usted muere
nosotros morimos
vosotros morís
ellos / ustedes mueren

enamorarse I fall in love

sung: enamoro
enamorarse — present tense
yo me enamoro
tú te enamoras
él / ella / usted se enamora
nosotros nos enamoramos
vosotros os enamoráis
ellos / ustedes se enamoran

quedarse stay / remain

sung: quedes
quedarse — present tense
yo me quedo
tú te quedas
él / ella / usted se queda
nosotros nos quedamos
vosotros os quedáis
ellos / ustedes se quedan

Grammar you'll meet in this song

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