What it's about
The voice in the song looks back (ayer, hace un mes, anoche), decides to let go of the past (Ayer se fue, no vuelve más), and focuses on the present (Ahora mismo siento la emoción). Then it looks toward the future with hope (Mañana el sol va a despertar, el próximo año voy a volar). In the bridge, it reminds us that time passes very quickly and that we need to take control of our own lives.
Useful words and expressions
Past
- ayer: yesterday (the day before today)
- anoche: last night (the night of yesterday)
- hace un mes: a month ago (one month before now). Hace + period of time indicates how much time has passed.
- el pasado: the past (what already happened)
- dejar atrás: to leave behind; to forget or overcome something (historias que dejé atrás)
- hoy: today (this day)
- ahora mismo: right now (at this exact moment)
- en este instante: at this instant (the same as ahora mismo)
- actualmente: in the current time. Watch out! It doesn't mean actually in English, but currently.
- día a día: day by day (every day, little by little)
- mañana: tomorrow (the day after today)
- pronto: soon (in a short time)
- la semana que viene: next week (the coming week)
- el próximo año: next year (the coming year)
- en un abrir y cerrar de ojos: in the blink of an eye (very quickly, in a moment)
- sin parar: nonstop (continuously)
- sin dirección: aimlessly (without a clear destination)
- llevar el peso de mi cruz: to carry the weight of my cross; to bear the problems or difficulties of one's own life (figurative expression)
- tomar el control: to take control (to decide for oneself what happens)
Grammar
- Preterite tense (pretérito indefinido) for completed actions in the past: caminé, busqué, brilló, dejé, se fue.
- Present tense for what is happening now: siento, sigo, estoy, vivo, me subo.
- Ir a + infinitive for plans and the near future: el sol va a despertar, voy a volar.
- Simple future: cambiará, brillará, pasará.
- Gerund constructions for ongoing actions:
- ir + gerund (something progresses little by little): Los minutos van pasando.
- seguir + gerund (something continues): El reloj sigue girando.
- Se nos va: El tiempo se nos va means that time slips away from us and we lose it without realizing it.
Watch out for the rhyme
- Mañana el sol va a despertar: the normal way to say this is el sol va a salir. Despertar is a poetic image that rhymes with volar.
- En el presente de esta canción is a phrase forced by the rhyme with emoción; people don't say it like this in normal conversation.
- Voy a volar is figurative: it means to succeed or feel free, not to literally fly.