Song guide

Devuélveme a mi chica

Hombres G

Devuélveme a mi chica by Hombres G, line by line: what the lyrics mean, 26 expressions explained and 175 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. Estoy llorando en mi habitación

   I'm crying in my room

   This song is «Polvos Picapica» by the Spanish pop-rock group Hombres G, released in 1985. It became one of their signature hits and is remembered for its humorous, over-the-top portrayal of teenage jealousy and revenge fantasies.

2. Todo se nubla a mi alrededor

   Everything around me is getting cloudy

3. Ella se fue con un niño pijo

   She left with a posh boy

   pijo is a distinctly Spanish slang term for a wealthy, preppy, or upper-class person — roughly equivalent to 'posh boy' or 'preppy' in British/American English. It carries a strong connotation of superficiality and privilege.

4. Tiene un Ford Fiesta blanco

   He has a white Ford Fiesta

   The Ford Fiesta is used here as a deliberate symbol of ordinariness and modest wealth in Spain — it was one of the most common affordable cars on Spanish roads, making it an ironic detail for a supposedly 'posh' rival.

5. Y un jersey amarillo

   And a yellow jumper

6. Por el parque les veo pasar

   I see them walking through the park

7. Cuando se besan lo paso fatal

   When they kiss it makes me feel terrible

8. Voy a vengarme de ese marica

   I'm going to get revenge on that jerk

   marica is a Spanish slang insult. In this context it is used as a general-purpose insult meaning 'wimp' or 'jerk', though the word has a separate meaning as a homophobic slur. Its use here reflects the casual, juvenile register of the song's narrator.

9. Voy a llenarle el cuello de polvos picapica

   I'm going to cover his neck in itching powder

   polvos picapica (itching powder) is a classic prank-shop product — a powder made from the fine hairs of rose hips that causes intense itching on skin contact. It is a well-known childhood prank item in Spain and Latin America, giving the song its absurdly comic tone.

10. Sufre, mamón, devuélveme a mi chica

    Suffer, you idiot, give me back my girl

    mamón is a vulgar Spanish insult, literally related to suckling, used colloquially to mean 'idiot', 'jerk', or a stronger expletive. It is very common in informal and colloquial Spanish speech.

11. O te retorcerás entre polvos picapica

    Or you'll be writhing in itching powder

12. Sufre, mamón, devuélveme a mi chica

    Suffer, you idiot, give me back my girl

13. O te retorcerás entre polvos picapica

    Or you'll be writhing in itching powder

14. Le he quemado su jersey

    I burned his jumper

15. Se ha comprado cinco o seis

    He bought himself five or six

16. Voy a destrozarle el coche

    I'm going to trash his car

17. Lo tengo preparado, voy a ir esta noche

    I've got it all planned, I'm going tonight

18. No te reirás nunca más de mí

    You'll never laugh at me again

19. Lo siento, nene, vas a morir

    I'm sorry, kid, you're going to die

    nene is an affectionate term for a baby or small child, but used sarcastically here as a condescending address — similar to 'kid' or 'buddy' in English when used mockingly toward an adult.

20. Tú me quitaste lo que más quería

    You took away what I loved most

21. Y volverá conmigo, volverá algún día

    And she'll come back to me, she'll come back someday

22. Sufre, mamón, devuélveme a mi chica

    Suffer, you idiot, give me back my girl

23. O te retorcerás entre polvos picapica

    Or you'll be writhing in itching powder

24. Sufre, mamón, devuélveme a mi chica

    Suffer, you idiot, give me back my girl

25. O te retorcerás entre polvos picapica

    Or you'll be writhing in itching powder

26. Sufre, mamón, devuélveme a mi chica

    Suffer, you idiot, give me back my girl

27. O te retorcerás entre polvos picapica

    Or you'll be writhing in itching powder

28. Sufre, mamón, devuélveme a mi chica

    Suffer, you idiot, give me back my girl

29. O te retorcerás entre polvos picapica

    Or you'll be writhing in itching powder

Expressions and idioms in “ Devuélveme a mi chica”

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

Estoy llorando I am crying

estar + gerund forms the Spanish present continuous, equivalent to English 'to be doing something'. The verb estar (not ser) is always used for this construction.

se nubla it clouds over

nublarse is a reflexive/pronominal verb meaning 'to become cloudy'. The se signals a change of state rather than a deliberate action — a very common pattern in Spanish for describing things that happen to the environment or to people.

a mi alrededor around me

the fixed phrase a mi alrededor means 'around me / surrounding me'. alrededor on its own means 'around', but it requires a + possessive to attach to a person.

se fue con she left with

irse con + person means 'to go off with someone', often implying a romantic or social departure. The preposition con is governed by the verb here.

se fue she left / she went away

irse (reflexive of ir) means 'to leave / to go away', which is a stronger, more final departure than plain ir ('to go'). The reflexive se shifts the meaning from simple movement to departure.

por el parque through the park

the preposition por expresses movement through a space. English uses 'through' or 'around', but Spanish uses por for traversal of an area.

les veo pasar I see them go by

ver + object pronoun + infinitive is a perception verb construction: 'to see someone do something'. The infinitive pasar follows directly after the object pronoun les without any preposition.

lo paso fatal I have a terrible time / it makes me feel awful

pasarlo + adverb is a fixed colloquial construction meaning 'to have a (good/bad) time of it'. pasarlo bien = to have a good time; pasarlo fatal/mal = to have a terrible time. The lo is a dummy object referring to the situation.

Voy a vengarme I'm going to get revenge

ir a + infinitive is the standard Spanish periphrastic future, expressing an intention or near-future action. It is the direct equivalent of English 'going to do something'.

vengarme de to take revenge on

vengarse de + person is the fixed construction for 'to take revenge on someone'. The verb governs the preposition de, where English uses 'on'.

Voy a llenarle I'm going to fill (it) for him

ir a + infinitive again forms the periphrastic future. The clitic le attached to llenar is an indirect object pronoun referring to the rival, indicating the action is done to/for him.

llenarle el cuello de to fill his neck with

llenar + body part + de is a construction meaning 'to cover/fill a body part with something'. Spanish uses the definite article (el cuello) rather than a possessive for body parts when the owner is already indicated by the clitic le.

devuélveme a mi chica give my girl back to me

devolver + indirect object clitic + direct object means 'to give back / to return something to someone'. The personal a before mi chica is the Spanish 'personal a', required before a specific human direct object.

te retorcerás you will writhe

retorcerse is a reflexive verb meaning 'to writhe / to twist oneself'. The te is the reflexive pronoun for the 2nd person singular. The future tense here functions as a threat.

Le he quemado su jersey I burned his jumper

the indirect object clitic le before the auxiliary he is a classic example of clitic doubling in Spanish — le anticipates the beneficiary/victim of the action even though su jersey is the direct object. This is standard colloquial Spanish.

Se ha comprado He bought himself

comprarse (reflexive of comprar) means 'to buy for oneself'. The reflexive se signals that the subject is both the buyer and the beneficiary. This is the reflexive of interest, very common in colloquial Spanish.

Voy a destrozarle el coche I'm going to wreck his car

ir a + infinitive again for near-future intention. The clitic le on destrozar indicates the victim (him), while el coche is the direct object. Spanish uses the definite article with body parts and possessions when the owner is indicated by a clitic.

Lo tengo preparado I have it all ready / I've got it prepared

tener + direct object + past participle is a resultative construction meaning 'to have something in a state of readiness'. It differs from the perfect tense (haber + participle) by emphasising the current state rather than the completed action.

voy a ir I'm going to go

ir a + ir (infinitive of the same verb) is grammatically correct in Spanish and common in speech. It is the periphrastic future applied to the verb ir itself, meaning 'I'm going to go'.

reírse de to laugh at

reírse de is a pronominal verb + preposition construction meaning 'to laugh at someone/something'. Plain reír means simply 'to laugh'; the reflexive de construction adds the target of the mockery.

No te reirás nunca más de mí You will never laugh at me again

reírse de + person means 'to laugh at someone'. The verb governs de, where English uses 'at'. nunca más together means 'never again', and the double negation (no ... nunca) is standard in Spanish — unlike English, double negatives are grammatically required.

Lo siento I'm sorry

lo siento is the standard Spanish expression for 'I'm sorry'. Literally it means 'I feel it', using the neuter pronoun lo. It is a fixed phrase and cannot be deduced word-for-word.

vas a morir you're going to die

ir a + infinitive for near-future or inevitable outcome. Here it functions as a threat, with the same periphrastic future structure seen throughout the song.

lo que más quería what I loved most

lo que is a neuter relative pronoun meaning 'that which / what'. Combined with más + imperfect quería, it expresses 'what I loved/wanted most'. The imperfect quería conveys an ongoing past feeling rather than a single completed event.

volverá conmigo she will come back to me

volver + con + person means 'to come back to someone / to return to be with someone'. conmigo is the special fused form of con + mí (with me) — Spanish requires this fusion after con.

algún día someday / one day

algún día is a fixed temporal expression meaning 'someday / one day in the future'. algún is the shortened form of alguno before a masculine singular noun.

Vocabulary to learn from “ Devuélveme a mi chica”

The words the song uses most.

• ir went / left verb ·7
• el polvo powders noun ·7
• el picapica itching powder noun ·7
• sufrir suffer verb ·6
• el mamón idiot / jerk noun ·6
• devolver give back to me verb ·6
• la chica girl noun ·6
• retorcerse you will writhe / you will twist verb ·6
• tener he/she has verb ·2
• el jersey jumper / sweater noun ·2
• pasar to pass / to go by verb ·2
• haber I have verb ·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

• Present15
• Imperative12
• Future9
• Preterite2
• Imperfect1

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