Song guide

Si No Estás

Íñigo Quintero

Si No Estás by Íñigo Quintero, line by line: what the lyrics mean, 31 expressions explained and 302 words translated with their grammar. Learn Spanish from the song, free.

55 lines translated 302 words explained 31 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. Sueñas, alto es el poder

    You dream; power is great

    The opening line sets up a contrast between dreaming and the reality of power — a recurring theme in Spanish-language pop about disillusionment with someone who seemed special or chosen.

  2. Que te han dado desde el cielo, no, no, no, no

    That they've given you from heaven, no, no, no, no

    «El cielo» (heaven/sky) is frequently used in Spanish pop and religious culture as a source of divine gifts or blessings, giving this line a quasi-spiritual tone about the person's perceived gifts.

  3. Que no sé a dónde voy

    I don't know where I'm going

  4. No es real

    It's not real

  5. Hace ya tiempo te volviste uno más

    It's been a while since you became one of us

    «Uno más» (one more / just another one) carries a dismissive or melancholic tone — the idea that someone who once seemed unique has become ordinary, blending into the crowd.

  6. Y odio cuando estoy

    And I hate it when I'm

  7. Lleno de este veneno

    Filled with this poison

  8. Y oigo truenos si no estás

    And I hear thunder when you're not here

  9. ¿Qué me has hecho, dónde estoy?

    What have you done to me? Where am I?

  10. Se me aparecen mil planetas de repente

    A thousand planets suddenly appear before me

    The image of a thousand planets suddenly appearing is a classic surrealist/psychedelic metaphor in Spanish pop for the overwhelming, mind-altering effect of love or obsession.

  11. Esto es una alucinación

    This is a hallucination

  12. Quiero ver tu otra mitad

    I want to see your other half

  13. Alejarme de esta ciudad

    To get away from this city

  14. Y contagiarme de tu forma de pensar

    And let your way of thinking rub off on me

  15. Miro al cielo al recordar

    I look up at the sky as I remember

  16. Me doy cuenta otra vez más

    I realize it once again

  17. Que no hay momento que pase

    May no moment pass

  18. Sin dejarte de pensar

    Without letting you stop thinking of me

  19. Esta distancia no es normal

    This distance isn't normal

  20. Ya me he cansa'o de esperar

    I'm already tired of waiting

  21. Dos billetes para amarte

    Two tickets to love you

    «Dos billetes» (two tickets) is a romantic metaphor — the idea of buying two tickets implies a shared journey or escape together, a common trope in love songs.

  22. No quiero ver nada más

    I don't want to see anything else

  23. Imposible, es demasiado tarde (demasiado)

    Impossible, it's too late (way too late)

  24. Todo es un desastre (es un desastre)

    Everything is a disaster (it's a disaster)

  25. Esto es una obsesión

    This is an obsession

  26. No me sirven tus pocas señales (tus señales)

    Your few signals aren't enough for me (your signals)

  27. Ya nada es como antes (como antes)

    Nothing is the same as before (as before)

  28. Me olvido de quien soy

    I forget who I am

  29. ¿Qué me has hecho, dónde estoy?

    What have you done to me? Where am I?

  30. No vas de frente, es lo de siempre

    You don't go straight — it's the same old story

  31. Y de repente estoy perdiendo la razón

    And suddenly I'm losing my mind

  32. Cien complejos sin sentido

    A hundred pointless hang-ups

    «Complejos» in Spanish colloquially refers to psychological hang-ups or insecurities (inferiority complexes, self-doubt), not physical complexes. The line describes the irrational anxieties that obsessive love produces.

  33. Me arrebatan tus latidos y tu voz

    Your heartbeat and your voice sweep me away

  34. Y ya no puedo má'

    And I just can't take it anymore

  35. Que no sé a dónde voy

    I don't know where I'm going

  36. No es real

    It's not real

  37. Hace ya tiempo te volviste uno más

    It's been a while since you became one of us

  38. Y odio cuando estoy

    And I hate it when I'm

  39. Lleno de este veneno

    Filled with this poison

  40. Y oigo truenos si no estás

    And I hear thunder when you're not here

  41. Imposible, es demasiado tarde (demasiado)

    Impossible, it's too late (way too late)

  42. Todo es un desastre (es un desastre)

    Everything is a disaster (it's a disaster)

  43. Esto es una obsesión

    This is an obsession

  44. No me sirven tus pocas señales (tus señales)

    Your few signals aren't enough for me (your signals)

  45. Ya nada es como antes (como antes)

    Nothing is the same as before (as before)

  46. Me olvido de quien soy

    I forget who I am

  47. ¿Y dónde estás?

    And where are you?

  48. La verdad es que ya van mil noches malditas

    The truth is, it's already been a thousand cursed nights

    «Mil noches malditas» (a thousand cursed nights) uses hyperbole — a very common device in Spanish romantic poetry and song to express the enormity of longing or suffering.

  49. Sin tu abrazo

    Without your embrace

  50. Es algo raro, estoy viciado a tu amor

    It's kind of strange — I'm addicted to your love

    «Viciado» comes from «vicio» (vice/addiction). Using addiction language for love is a well-established metaphor in Spanish pop, framing romantic obsession as a substance dependency.

  51. A tu amor

    To your love

  52. A tu amor, amor, no, no, no, no

    To your love, love, no, no, no, no

  53. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

    Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

  54. Quiero verte, verte, verte

    I want to see you, see you, see you

  55. Que se acabe ya

    Let it end already

Expressions and idioms in “Si No Estás”

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

te han dado they have given you
haber + past participle forms the present perfect tense in Spanish. Here the indirect object pronoun «te» (to you) is placed before the auxiliary «han», which is standard Spanish word order for object pronouns.
no sé a dónde voy I don't know where I'm going
When «dónde» introduces an indirect (embedded) question, Spanish still uses «a dónde» (or «adónde») with the preposition, mirroring the directional «ir a» construction. English drops the preposition in this context.
Hace ya tiempo It's been a while now
«Hacer» used impersonally in time expressions: «hace + time period» means 'it has been [time]' or '[time] ago'. This is a very common structure with no direct word-for-word English equivalent.
te volviste uno más you became just another one
«Volverse» (reflexive of «volver») is used to express a change of state, equivalent to 'to become'. Plain «volver» means 'to return'; the reflexive shifts the meaning entirely. «Uno más» literally means 'one more' but idiomatically means 'just another one of us/them'.
odio cuando estoy I hate it when I am
Spanish can omit the pronoun 'it' that English requires ('I hate it when'). The verb «odio» stands alone without a direct object pronoun, relying on context to supply the meaning.
Lleno de filled with / full of
«Lleno de» is the standard Spanish construction for 'full of' or 'filled with'. Note that Spanish uses «de» where English uses 'with' in this context.
si no estás when you're not here / if you're not here
«Si no estás» literally means 'if you are not (here)', but in song lyrics it often carries the sense of 'when you're not around'. «Estar» (not «ser») is used because it expresses a temporary state or location.
¿Qué me has hecho? What have you done to me?
«Hacer» + indirect object pronoun: «me has hecho» uses the present perfect of «hacer» (to do/make). The indirect object «me» (to me) precedes the auxiliary «has». This structure is very common for expressing what someone has done to you.
de repente suddenly / all of a sudden
«De repente» is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'suddenly'. It cannot be deduced word-for-word: «repente» alone is rarely used outside this expression.
Se me aparecen they appear before me / they appear to me
This is a 'reverse construction' (like «gustar»): the subject («mil planetas») appears after the verb, and «me» is the indirect object (the person experiencing the action). «Se» here marks the verb as pronominal/reflexive. The structure conveys that things appear to the speaker involuntarily.
Alejarme de to get away from / to distance myself from
«Alejarse de» is a reflexive verb + governed preposition construction. Plain «alejar» means 'to move something away'; the reflexive «alejarse» means 'to move oneself away / to distance oneself'. It always takes «de» before the thing being left behind.
forma de pensar way of thinking
«Forma de + infinitive» is a productive Spanish pattern equivalent to English 'way of + gerund'. The infinitive follows directly after «de».
contagiarme de tu forma de pensar to catch your way of thinking / to let your mindset rub off on me
«Contagiarse de» (reflexive) means 'to catch something from someone', as if a way of thinking were an infectious thing. «Forma de + infinitive» is a fixed pattern meaning 'way of doing something'.
al recordar upon remembering / as I remember
«Al + infinitive» is a fixed construction expressing simultaneity or immediate sequence: 'upon doing', 'when doing', 'as one does'. It is very common in Spanish and has no single-word equivalent in English.
Me doy cuenta I realize
«Darse cuenta (de)» is a fixed reflexive idiom meaning 'to realize'. It cannot be deduced from its parts: «dar» means 'to give' and «cuenta» means 'account/bill'. Together they form an idiomatic expression for becoming aware of something.
otra vez más once again / one more time
«Otra vez» means 'again / another time'. Adding «más» intensifies it: 'yet again / once more'. This is a common emphatic reinforcement in colloquial Spanish.
Que no hay momento que pase May no moment pass
«Que» at the start of a clause can introduce a wish or desire (equivalent to 'may' or 'let'). «Pase» is in the present subjunctive, triggered by the wish/desire meaning. «No hay momento» = 'there is no moment'.
Sin dejarte de pensar Without stopping thinking of you
«Dejar de + infinitive» means 'to stop doing something'. Here «dejarte» attaches the clitic «te» (you) to «dejar», making it 'to stop thinking of you'. «Sin + infinitive» means 'without doing'. The full phrase is ambiguous in the lyrics — it could mean 'without letting you stop thinking' or 'without stopping thinking of you'.
dejar de pensar to stop thinking
«Dejar de + infinitive» is a periphrastic construction meaning 'to stop doing something'. It is one of the most common verbal periphrases in Spanish and should be learned as a fixed pattern.
cansa'o de esperar tired of waiting
«Cansado/a de + infinitive» expresses being tired of a repeated action. Spanish uses the infinitive after «de» where English uses the gerund ('of waiting').
me he cansa'o de esperar I've gotten tired of waiting
«Cansarse de + infinitive» (reflexive) means 'to get tired of doing something'. The present perfect «me he cansado» expresses a state reached up to now. «Cansa'o» is a colloquial elision of «cansado», common in sung Spanish where the final 'd' of past participles is dropped.
Me olvido de quien soy I forget who I am
«Olvidarse de» (reflexive) means 'to forget'. Plain «olvidar» also means 'to forget' but «olvidarse de» is more colloquial and governs the preposition «de». Note that «quien» (without accent) is a relative pronoun here, not an interrogative.
No vas de frente You don't go straight / You're not being straightforward
«Ir de frente» is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to be straightforward / to go straight ahead (literally or figuratively)'. Used figuratively here to mean the person is not being honest or direct.
lo de siempre the same old thing / the usual
«Lo de + noun/adverb» is a neuter nominalisation: «lo de siempre» literally means 'the thing of always', idiomatically 'the same old story / the usual'. This pattern is very productive in Spanish.
perder la razón to lose one's mind
«Perder la razón» is a fixed idiom. «La razón» literally means 'reason/logic', but in this phrase it refers to one's sanity or grip on reality.
estoy perdiendo la razón I'm losing my mind
«Estar + gerund» forms the present progressive in Spanish, equivalent to English 'to be doing'. «Perder la razón» is a fixed expression meaning 'to lose one's mind / sanity'.
sin sentido pointless / nonsensical / without meaning
«Sin sentido» literally means 'without sense/meaning'. Used as an adjective phrase after a noun, it functions like English 'pointless' or 'meaningless'. It can also be used as a noun: «un sin sentido» = 'a nonsense'.
ya no puedo más I just can't take it anymore
«Ya no + verb» expresses that something that was true is no longer true: 'not anymore'. «No poder más» is a fixed expression meaning 'to be unable to take any more / to be at one's limit'. Together they form a very common colloquial expression of exhaustion.
ya van mil noches it's already been a thousand nights
«Van» (3rd pers. pl. of «ir») is used here in a time-counting construction: «van + number + time unit» means 'it has been [number] [time units]'. This is an idiomatic use of «ir» to count elapsed time, similar to «hace» but emphasising accumulation.
estoy viciado a tu amor I'm addicted to your love
«Viciado/a a» (from «viciar», to corrupt/addict) means 'addicted to' in colloquial Spanish. «Estar viciado a» follows the pattern of «estar + adjective» to describe a current state. It is more informal than «ser adicto a».
Que se acabe ya Let it end already / May it end now
«Que + subjunctive» at the start of a sentence expresses a wish or command directed at a third party: 'let it...', 'may it...'. «Acabarse» (reflexive) means 'to end / to run out / to be over'. «Ya» adds urgency: 'already / now'.

Vocabulary to learn from “Si No Estás”

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.

ser is

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

estar I am

sung: estoy irregular
estar — present tense
yo estoy
tú estás
él / ella / usted está
nosotros estamos
vosotros estáis
ellos / ustedes están

haber have (they)

sung: han irregular
haber — present tense
yo he
tú has
él / ella / usted ha / hay
nosotros hemos
vosotros habéis
ellos / ustedes han

ver to see

irregular
ver — present tense
yo veo
tú ves
él / ella / usted ve
nosotros vemos
vosotros veis
ellos / ustedes ven

ir I go / I'm going

sung: voy irregular
ir — present tense
yo voy
tú vas
él / ella / usted va
nosotros vamos
vosotros vais
ellos / ustedes van

Grammar you'll meet in this song

Learn Spanish with more songs

All songs Spanish phrase packs Word packs