Song guide

Cuán lejos voy

Sara Paula Gómez Arias

Cuán lejos voy by Sara Paula Gómez Arias, line by line: what the lyrics mean, 26 expressions explained and 222 words translated with their grammar. Learn Spanish from the song, free.

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. Me contemplo por la orilla del agua

   I gaze at myself by the water's edge

   This song is the Spanish-language version of 'How Far I'll Go' from the Disney film Moana (2016). The opening image of gazing at the sea reflects Moana's longing to sail beyond the reef, which is forbidden by her father.

2. Desde que yo recuerdo

   For as long as I can remember

3. No sabiendo el por qué

   Not knowing why

4. Nunca la perfecta niña he sido

   I have never been the perfect girl

5. De vuelta al agua he venido

   I have come back to the water

6. Es duro y lo intentaré

   It's hard, but I will try

7. Una y otra vez, cada ruta que hay

   Time and time again, every route there is

8. Sendas que tomé me regresarán

   The paths I took will bring me back

9. Al lugar aquel donde anhelo estar

   To that place where I long to be

10. Y no hay que ir jamás

    And you should never go there

    The line 'you should never go there' refers to the rule on Moana's island that no one is permitted to sail beyond the reef — a central conflict of the story.

11. Es el punto en que están cielo y mar me llama

    It's the point where the sky and the sea meet — it calls to me

    The horizon where sky meets sea is a recurring visual and thematic symbol throughout Moana, representing the boundary between the known world and the unknown adventure that calls to her.

12. ¿Y yo qué sé cuán lejos es?

    How am I supposed to know how far away it is?

13. Si el viento en mi vela veo acompañarme

    When I see the wind accompanying me in my sail

14. Un día sabré, y si voy

    One day I will know, and if I go

15. Ignoro aún que tan lejos voy

    I still don't know how far I'm going

16. Yo sé bien que todos en la isla

    I know full well that everyone on the island

    The island referred to is Motunui, a Polynesian island in the film. The song contrasts the contentment of the islanders with Moana's restless desire to explore beyond its shores.

17. Son felices en su isla, por designio todo es

    They are happy on their island; by design, everything is

18. Yo sé bien que todos en la isla

    I know full well that everyone on the island

19. Cumplen bien sus papeles

    They play their roles well

20. El mío es rodar tal vez

    Maybe mine is to wander

    The word rodar literally means 'to roll' or 'to drive', but in this lyrical context it carries the sense of wandering or roaming freely — a poetic choice that captures Moana's undefined, restless destiny.

21. Puedo liderar, darnos fuerza hoy

    I can lead, give us strength today

22. Y contenta estar, seguir mi actuación

    And be happy, continue my performance

    The metaphor of life as a performance (actuación) reflects Moana's internal conflict: she is expected to play the role of future chief, smiling and leading, while her true calling pulls her elsewhere.

23. Mi voz interior canta otra canción

    My inner voice sings a different song

24. ¿Qué está mal en mí?

    What is wrong with me?

25. Una luz veo en el mar relucir intensa

    I see an intense light shining on the sea

26. ¿Y yo qué sé cuán alto va?

    How am I supposed to know how high it goes?

27. ¿Y será que me dice desde ahí "ya ven a mí" ?

    And could it be that from there it says to me, 'come to me'?

    The voice calling from the horizon is ambiguous — it could be the ocean itself, which in the film is portrayed as a sentient, guiding force that chose Moana for a special mission.

28. Que quiero ver que hay más allá

    I want to see what lies beyond

29. Sí voy a cruzar

    Yes, I am going to cross

30. El punto en que el cielo es el mar me llama

    The point where the sky meets the sea calls to me

31. ¿Y yo qué sé cuán lejos es?

    How am I supposed to know how far away it is?

32. Si el viento en mi vela veo acompañarme

    When I see the wind accompanying me in my sail

33. Por fin sabre, cuán lejos voy

    Finally, I will know how far I'm going

Expressions and idioms in “Cuán lejos voy”

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

Me contemplo I gaze at myself

contemplar used reflexively (me contemplo) means to gaze at oneself; the plain verb contemplar means to contemplate or observe something external — the reflexive pronoun me turns the action back on the subject

por la orilla along the edge / by the shore

por + la orilla expresses movement or position along a boundary; por here conveys 'along' or 'by the side of', not 'through' or 'because of'

Desde que yo recuerdo For as long as I can remember

desde que + present tense verb is a fixed temporal construction meaning 'ever since' or 'as far back as'; English uses 'for as long as I can remember' but Spanish uses the present tense recuerdo, not a past tense

el por qué the reason why / the why

por qué (two words, with accent on qué) is the interrogative 'why'; when preceded by the article el it becomes a noun phrase meaning 'the reason' or 'the why' — a common nominalisation pattern in Spanish

he sido I have been

haber + past participle forms the present perfect tense in Spanish; he sido uses the irregular participle of ser (sido) to express a state that has held up to the present moment

he venido I have come

haber + past participle forms the present perfect; he venido uses the irregular participle of venir (venido) and expresses an action completed with relevance to the present

De vuelta al agua Back to the water

de vuelta is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'back' or 'on the return'; it is not the same as volver (to return) — de vuelta functions like an adverb of direction and is very common in everyday speech

Una y otra vez Time and time again / Over and over

una y otra vez is a fixed idiomatic expression meaning 'again and again' or 'time after time'; it cannot be deduced word-for-word — una vez means 'once' and otra vez means 'again', but together they form a set phrase for repetition

me regresarán will bring me back

regresar is normally intransitive ('to return'), but here it is used transitively with the indirect object pronoun me, meaning 'to bring me back'; this causative use of regresar is more common in Latin American Spanish than in Spain

anhelo estar I long to be

anhelar + infinitive means 'to long to do something'; anhelar is a more literary/poetic verb than querer or desear, conveying deep yearning

no hay que ir you should never go / one must not go

hay que + infinitive is an impersonal construction expressing obligation or necessity ('one must'); negated as no hay que, it means 'one must not' or 'you should not' — it applies to people in general, not a specific person

me llama it calls to me

llamar + indirect object pronoun (me llama) means 'to call to someone'; the subject here is the horizon/sea, and the construction is the same pattern as 'me gusta' — the thing doing the calling is the grammatical subject

¿Y yo qué sé? How am I supposed to know? / What do I know?

yo qué sé is a colloquial rhetorical expression meaning 'how should I know?' or 'what do I know?'; the word order (subject before interrogative) is characteristic of emphatic or rhetorical questions in Spanish

veo acompañarme I see it accompanying me

ver + infinitive is a perception verb construction; ver + infinitive (rather than ver + gerund) is standard in Spanish to describe witnessing an action — 'I see [something] do [something]'

Un día sabré One day I will know

un día + future tense is a common construction for expressing an indefinite future moment; sabré is the irregular future of saber (the stem changes to sabr-)

Yo sé bien que I know full well that

saber bien que is an emphatic construction; bien here intensifies the verb saber, similar to English 'I know perfectly well that' — bien is not describing how something is done but reinforcing certainty

por designio by design / by decree

por + noun expresses cause or means; designio is a formal/literary word for a plan or divine decree — the phrase por designio implies that the order of things is predetermined or ordained

Cumplen sus papeles They play their roles

cumplir un papel is a fixed expression meaning 'to play a role' or 'to fulfil a function'; papel literally means 'paper' but in this context means 'role' (as in a theatrical role) — a common figurative use

tal vez maybe / perhaps

tal vez is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'perhaps' or 'maybe'; it is interchangeable with quizás and a veces is NOT the same — a veces means 'sometimes', while tal vez expresses uncertainty

Puedo liderar I can lead

poder + infinitive is the standard modal construction for ability in Spanish, equivalent to English 'can/to be able to + verb'; the infinitive follows directly with no preposition

seguir mi actuación to continue my performance

seguir + noun or infinitive means 'to continue' or 'to keep doing'; actuación can mean a theatrical performance, an act, or a role one plays — here it reinforces the metaphor of life as a performance

¿Y será que...? And could it be that...?

será que is a rhetorical construction using the future tense of ser to express conjecture or wonder — 'could it be that...?' or 'I wonder if...?'; the future tense in Spanish is often used this way to speculate

quiero ver I want to see

querer + infinitive is the standard construction for 'to want to do something'; no preposition is needed between querer and the following infinitive, unlike English 'want to'

más allá beyond / further on

más allá is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'beyond' or 'further away'; allá on its own means 'over there', but más allá together conveys the idea of something past the visible horizon — it can also be used figuratively for the afterlife or the unknown

voy a cruzar I am going to cross

ir a + infinitive is the periphrastic future construction in Spanish, equivalent to English 'going to + verb'; it expresses a near or decided future action and is extremely common in both speech and song

Por fin Finally / At last

por fin is a fixed idiomatic phrase meaning 'finally' or 'at last'; it expresses relief or resolution after a long wait — not to be confused with al final ('in the end') which is more neutral

Vocabulary to learn from “Cuán lejos voy”

The words the song uses most.

• ser been verb ·10
• saber knowing verb ·8
• ir to go verb ·6
• haber I have verb ·5
• estar to be verb ·4
• ver I see verb ·4
• el mar sea noun ·3
• la isla island noun ·3
• el agua water noun ·2
• venir come verb ·2
• otro another adjective ·2
• la vez time / occasion noun ·2

Verbs in the song, and the form being sung

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

Grammar you'll meet in this song

• Present39
• Future5
• Preterite1
• Imperative1

Learn Spanish with more songs

• 

  Waka Waka (Esto es África)

  Shakira

• 

  Me Gustas Tu

  Manu Chao

• 

  Duele El Corazon

  Enrique Iglesias

• 

  Hips Don't Lie

  Shakira, Wyclef Jean

• 

  NUEVAYoL

  Bad Bunny

• 

  Canción Del Mariachi

  Antonio Banderas