🎶 La Canción – Bad Bunny & J Balvin | Spanish Lyrics Translation & The Song That Brings Everyone Back

The collaboration that defined an era

Before Latin trap fully dominated global charts, before Benito was headlining everything everywhere, there was Oasis — the joint project between Bad Bunny and J Balvin.

And La Canción became that track.

Not the loudest.

Not the most aggressive.

But the most relatable.

It’s about something simple and devastating:

You think you’re over someone…

Until that song plays.

If DTMF was nostalgia for home,

La Canción is nostalgia for a person.

And it hits.

For learners, this is:

  • Fast Caribbean pronunciation
  • Informal contractions
  • Emotional storytelling
  • Regret structures
  • Slang

Solid B1–B2 listening level.

  1. The collaboration that defined an era
  2. 🎧 Listen First
  3. 🎵 La Canción – Spanish → English Translation
  4. 📚 Vocabulary & Cultural Breakdown (Let’s Go Deeper)
  5. 🧠 Quiz Time!
  6. Final Thoughts

🎧 Listen First

Bad Bunny & J Balvin – La Canción (Official Video)

Play it once casually.

Play it again and feel the regret creeping in.

🎵 La Canción – Spanish → English Translation

Pensaba que te había olvida’o, eh

I thought I had forgotten you

Pero pusieron la canción, eh, eh, eh

But they played the song

Que cantamos bien borrachos

That we sang really drunk

Que bailamos bien borrachos

That we danced really drunk

Nos besamos bien borrachos los dos

We kissed really drunk, both of us

Pensaba que te había olvid’o, eh

I thought I had forgotten you

Pero pusieron la canción, eh, eh, eh

But they played the song

Que cantamos bien borrachos

That we sang really drunk

Que bailamos bien borrachos

That we danced really drunk

Nos besamos bien borrachos los dos

We kissed really drunk, both of us

Pensaba que te había olvida’o

I thought I had forgotten you

Justo cuando creía

Just when I believed

Que por comerme a dos o diez te olvidaría

That by hooking up with two or ten I would forget you

Cogí un respiro y me salí de la vía

I took a breath and went off track

Y como un pendejo no sabía lo que hacía

And like an idiot I didn’t know what I was doing

Nunca lo superé

I never got over it

Nunca te superé

I never got over you

Hasta me aprendí to’a las baladas en inglés

I even learned all the English ballads

Respiré y conté hasta tres

I breathed and counted to three

Eres la fantasía oscura de Kanye West, bebé

You’re Kanye West’s dark fantasy, baby

Hace tiempo lo barato me salió caro

Cheap things ended up costing me a lot

Yo solo twitteo, balas locas disparo

I just tweet, shoot crazy bullets

¿Cómo olvidar la bellaquera en el carro?

How could I forget the desire in the car?

¿A que guio solo?

Now I drive alone?

Y hace tiempo que no venías a mi cabeza

It’s been a while since you came to mind

Pero ya van par de cervezas

But I’ve already had a couple of beers

Y me acordé de cómo tú me besas

And I remembered how you kiss me

De to’ los polvos encima ’e la mesa

Of all the times on top of the table

Y en el carro, la playa y el motel

And in the car, the beach, and the motel

En casa de tu pai, cuando yo te iba a ver

At your dad’s house, when I used to see you

Las veces que tu mai nos llegó a coger

The times your mom almost caught us

Tú brincando moja’íta, sudando Chanel

You jumping around, soaked, sweating Chanel

Yo sé que lo nuestro es cosa de ayer

I know what we had is from yesterday

Y me pone contento que te va bien con él

And it makes me happy that things are going well for you with him

Yo ni te extrañaba ni te quería ver

I wasn’t even missing you or wanting to see you

Pero pusieron la canción que te gustaba poner

But they played the song you used to like to play

Y me acordé de ti cuando me hiciste feliz

And I remembered you when you made me happy

Se acabó, pues me fui

It ended, so I left

Yo mismo me río de mí porque

I even laugh at myself because

Y yo pensaba que tu nombre estaba muerto

And I thought your name was dead

Pero te soñé despierto

But I dreamed of you awake

Hoy salí pa’ la calle suelto

Today I went out into the street free

Sin sentimientos, el corazón desierto

Without feelings, heart deserted

📚 Vocabulary & Cultural Breakdown (Let’s Go Deeper)

💔 1. “Te había olvidado” – Past Perfect

Structure:

Había + past participle

This is past perfect.

  • Te había olvidado
  • Me había ido
  • Había pensado

It means:

“I had…”

So:

“I thought I had forgotten you.”

Not just forgot.

Thought I had already forgotten.

That’s emotional miscalculation.

🍻 2. “Par de cervezas”

Caribbean Spanish shortcut.

  • Par de = a couple of

Examples:

  • Par de días
  • Par de cosas

Extremely common in Puerto Rico.

🚗 3. “Me salí de la vía”

Literal:

“I went off the road.”

Meaning:

“I lost control.”

Metaphor for emotional derailment.

🧠 4. “Nunca te superé”

Superar = to get over.

  • Superar una ruptura
  • Superar un miedo

This is breakup Spanish 101.

🎵 5. Cultural Reference

“Eres la fantasía oscura de Kanye West”

Reference to Kanye’s album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

Bad Bunny connects Latin heartbreak to global pop culture.

🧠 Quiz Time!

1️⃣ “Te había olvidado” is:

A. Present tense

B. Conditional

C. Past perfect

D. Future

E. Imperative

2️⃣ “Par de cervezas” means:

A. Many beers

B. One beer

C. A couple of beers

D. No beers

E. Expensive beers

3️⃣ “Nunca te superé” means:

A. I never surpassed you

B. I never avoided you

C. I never understood you

D. I never got over you

E. I never forgave you

4️⃣ “Me salí de la vía” suggests:

A. Physical accident

B. Emotional derailment

C. Leaving the city

D. Ending the relationship

E. Winning

5️⃣ “Tu nombre estaba muerto” is an example of:

A. Literal death

B. Hyperbole

C. Future tense

D. Command

E. Question

✅ Answers

1-C, 2-C, 3-D, 4-B, 5-B

Final Thoughts

Bad Bunny doesn’t scream heartbreak.

He shrugs it off.

Laughs at himself.

Says he moved on.

Then the DJ presses play.

And suddenly he didn’t.

If you want help decoding fast Caribbean Spanish and understanding emotional nuance without getting lost:

📩 Write to me at

effietrumpet19@gmail.com

Because sometimes

the hardest Spanish

is the one that sounds like a memory.

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