Spanish Songs, Translated

What happens when one person remembers the night perfectly and the other one claims to remember absolutely nothing?

Borro Cassette by Maluma turns that awkward morning-after situation into a catchy reggaeton story full of Colombian slang, drinking vocabulary, flirting, and expressions that make much more sense once you stop translating them literally.

About the Song

Released in 2015 as part of Maluma’s album Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy, Borro Cassette plays with the idea of someone metaphorically “erasing the cassette” after a night of drinking and romance. The song became one of Maluma’s major early hits and was released through Sony Music Latin.

The title itself is deliberately old-school. A cassette is a physical tape, so borrar cassette literally evokes erasing a recording. In the song, it means that the woman claims she has no memory of what happened the night before.

Watch the official YouTube video⁠

🇪🇸 Reading Comprehension Level: B1-B2

The basic grammar is approachable, but this is definitely one of those songs where knowing textbook Spanish is not enough. There is a lot of colloquial Colombian Spanish, shortened forms, slang, idioms, and vocabulary related to partying and attraction.

We will focus on:

• Colombian and Latin American colloquial vocabulary
• Borrar cassette and figurative language
• Hacer estragos, no pasa na’, and a grito
• Para + infinitive and other useful structures
• Reflexive verbs such as acordarse, conocerse, and desvestirse
• The difference between acordarse de and simply recordar
• Informal shortened forms such as pa’, na’, and tomáte
• Understanding slang and meaning from context

🎶 Borro Cassette – Spanish Lyrics & English Translation

Ayer me besaste y no podías parar
Yesterday you kissed me and you couldn’t stop

Y me bailaste hasta el amanecer
And you danced with me until dawn

Cuando desperté yo te quise llamar
When I woke up, I wanted to call you

Y ahora me dice que borro cassete
And now she tells me she erased the cassette

Que no se acuerda de esa noche
That she doesn’t remember that night

Porque ella borro cassette
Because she erased the cassette

Dice que no me conoce
She says she doesn’t know me

Y quiero volverla ver
And I want to see her again

Y que los tragos, hicieron estrago en su cabeza
And that the drinks wreaked havoc on her head

Ella con cualquiera no se besa
She doesn’t kiss just anyone

Quiero que sepa que me interesa
I want her to know that I’m interested in her

Y no hay un día que no pare de pensar en su belleza
And there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t stop thinking about her beauty

Y que los tragos, hicieron estrago en su cabeza
And that the drinks wreaked havoc on her head

Que ella con cualquiera no se besa
That she doesn’t kiss just anyone

Quiero que sepa que me interesa
I want her to know that I’m interested in her

Y no hay un día que no pare de pensar en su belleza
And there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t stop thinking about her beauty

Te dije mami, tomáte un trago
I told you, baby, have a drink

Y cuando estés borracha, pa’ mi casa nos vamos
And when you’re drunk, we’ll go to my house

Me sorprendió cuando sacaste ese cigarro
I was surprised when you pulled out that cigarette

Tomaste tanto que lo has olvidado
You drank so much that you’ve forgotten it

Y tranquila ma’, no pasa na’
And don’t worry, babe, nothing’s wrong

Enloqueciste pero más na’
You went crazy, but that’s all

Pedías a grito que te besara
You were shouting for me to kiss you

En la escalera y en el sofá
On the stairs and on the sofa

Y tranquila ma’, no pasa na’
And don’t worry, babe, nothing’s wrong

Conozco ya tu debilidad
I already know your weakness

Los tragos solos un par de copas
Just a couple of drinks

Para conocerte en la intimidad
To get to know you intimately

Y tú mami como me dices que no te acuerdas
And you, baby, how can you tell me you don’t remember

Como mi cuerpo te calienta
How my body turns you on

Ven dímelo en la cara y no mientas
Come tell me to my face and don’t lie

Dejemos de jugar
Let’s stop playing games

Y tú mami como dices que no te acuerdas
And you, baby, how can you say you don’t remember

Como mi cuerpo te calienta
How my body turns you on

Ven dímelo en la cara y no mientas
Come tell me to my face and don’t lie

Dejemos de jugar
Let’s stop playing games

Ayer me besaste y no podías parar
Yesterday you kissed me and you couldn’t stop

Y me bailaste hasta el amanecer
And you danced with me until dawn

Cuando desperté yo te quise llamar
When I woke up, I wanted to call you

Y ahora me dice que borro cassete
And now she tells me she erased the cassette

Que no se acuerda de esa noche
That she doesn’t remember that night

Porque ella borro cassette
Because she erased the cassette

Dice que no me conoce
She says she doesn’t know me

Y quiero volverla a ver
And I want to see her again

Y que los tragos, hicieron estragos en su cabeza
And that the drinks wreaked havoc on her head

Ella con cualquiera no se besa
She doesn’t kiss just anyone

Quiero que sepa que me interesa
I want her to know that I’m interested in her

Y no hay un día que no pare de pensar en su belleza
And there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t stop thinking about her beauty

Y que los tragos, hicieron estragos en su cabeza
And that the drinks wreaked havoc on her head

Ella con cualquiera no se besa
She doesn’t kiss just anyone

Quiero que sepa que me interesa
I want her to know that I’m interested in her

Y no hay un día que no pare de pensar en su belleza
And there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t stop thinking about her beauty

Te estoy buscando para ver si los repetimos
I’m looking for you to see if we can do it again

Esa noche que bien lo hicimos
That night, we had such a good time

Entre tragos nos desvestimos
Between drinks, we undressed

Las botellas que nos tomamos
The bottles we drank

A la locura que nos llevaron
The craziness they led us to

Fue mucho lo que vacilamos
We had such a great time

Imposible no recordarlo
Impossible not to remember it

Y tú mami como dices que no te acuerdas
And you, baby, how can you say you don’t remember

Como mi cuerpo te calienta
How my body turns you on

Ven dímelo en la cara y no mientas
Come tell me to my face and don’t lie

Dejemos de jugar
Let’s stop playing games

Y tú mami como dices que no te acuerdas
And you, baby, how can you say you don’t remember

Como mi cuerpo te calienta
How my body turns you on

Ven dímelo en la cara y no mientas
Come tell me to my face and don’t lie

Dejemos de jugar
Let’s stop playing games

Yeah yo, yeah yo, ajaja

Pretty Boy

Dirty Boy Baby

Y yo soy Maluma baby, oh no

(Rude boy) Kevin ADG y Chan El Genio

Rude Boys

Bull Nene

Atlantic Music

Queu mi reina (Pretty Boy)

Cómo así que no se acuerda
What do you mean you don’t remember?

Hicimos el amor, la pasamos bien
We made love, we had a good time

Y me va a decir que borro cassete
And she’s going to tell me she erased the cassette

Na
Nah

📚 Vocabulary We Learned Through “Borro Cassette”

Spanish	English	How it works in the song
amanecer	dawn / to dawn	Hasta el amanecer = until dawn
despertar	to wake up	Cuando desperté = when I woke up
acordarse	to remember	Usually used as acordarse de algo/alguien
conocer	to know / meet	No me conoce = she doesn’t know me
estrago	damage, havoc	Usually appears in the plural hacer estragos
cabeza	head	En su cabeza = in her head
interesar	to interest	Me interesa = I’m interested in it/her/him
borrar	to erase	The central verb behind the title
trago	drink	Especially an alcoholic drink in this context
borracho/a	drunk	Intoxicated
sacar	to take out, pull out	Sacaste ese cigarro = you pulled out that cigarette
escalera	stairs / staircase	A useful everyday noun
debilidad	weakness	Conozco tu debilidad = I know your weakness
intimidad	intimacy	En la intimidad = intimately / in private
mentir	to lie	No mientas = don’t lie
repetir	to repeat	Si los repetimos = if we do it again
desvestirse	to undress	A reflexive verb
vacilar	to have fun / fool around	In Colombian/Caribbean contexts, can mean having fun or enjoying oneself
recordar	to remember	Imposible no recordarlo = impossible not to remember it
belleza	beauty	Pensar en su belleza = think about her beauty

“Acordarse” vs. “recordar”

This song gives us two useful ways of talking about remembering.

Ella no se acuerda de esa noche.
She doesn’t remember that night.

Imposible no recordarlo.
Impossible not to remember it.

Both involve memory, but their structures are different:

• Acordarse de algo = to remember something
• Recordar algo = to remember something

Notice that acordarse is reflexive and normally requires de:

Me acuerdo de ti.
I remember you.

But:

Te recuerdo.
I remember you.

This distinction is worth learning because you’ll hear acordarse de constantly in everyday Spanish.

🧠 Grammar We Learned Through “Borro Cassette”

Grammar point	Example from the song	What it teaches us
Poder + infinitive	No podías parar	Poder expresses ability or possibility. No podías parar = you couldn’t stop.
Hasta + noun/time	Hasta el amanecer	Hasta means “until” and marks the endpoint of an action or period.
Querer + infinitive	Te quise llamar	Querer + infinitive can mean “to want to do something.” Here, quise llamar = I wanted to call.
Querer que + subjunctive	Quiero que sepa	When the subject changes after querer que, Spanish uses the subjunctive. Quiero que sepa = I want her to know.
Dejar de + infinitive	Dejemos de jugar	Dejar de + infinitive means “to stop doing something.” Dejemos de jugar = let’s stop playing.
Para + infinitive	Para ver si los repetimos	Para + infinitive expresses purpose. Para ver = in order to see.
Estar + gerund	Te estoy buscando	Estar + gerund describes an action currently in progress. Te estoy buscando = I’m looking for you.
No hay + noun + que…	No hay un día que no pare de pensar…	No hay means “there isn’t / there are no.” The construction emphasizes that something happens every day.
No parar de + infinitive	No pare de pensar	No parar de means “to not stop doing something.” Here, he can’t stop thinking about her.

“Dejar de” is worth remembering

Dejar de + infinitive is one of those constructions that is much more useful than its literal translation suggests.

Dejemos de jugar.
Let’s stop playing games.

Other examples:

• Dejé de fumar. = I stopped smoking.
• Dejó de hablarme. = He/she stopped talking to me.
• No puedo dejar de pensar en eso. = I can’t stop thinking about that.

It is a very common way to talk about stopping an action or habit.

💬 Spanish Expressions We Learned Through “Borro Cassette”

Expression	Meaning	Usage
borrar cassette	to forget what happened	A playful metaphor based on erasing a recording
hacer estragos	to wreak havoc / cause serious effects	Often used for something that causes significant damage or consequences
con cualquiera	with just anyone	Ella con cualquiera no se besa emphasizes that she doesn’t kiss just anybody
no pasa na’	it’s okay / nothing’s wrong	Very informal shortening of no pasa nada
a grito	shouting / loudly	Pedir a grito means asking or demanding loudly
no parar de + infinitive	to not stop doing something	No parar de pensar = to keep thinking
dímelo en la cara	tell me to my face	A direct, confrontational expression
dejar de jugar	stop playing games	Can be literal or, as here, about stopping emotional games

“Hacer estragos”

This is one of the best expressions in the song.

Los tragos hicieron estragos en su cabeza.

The repetition is intentional and playful:

• trago = drink
• estrago = damage/havoc
• hacer estragos = to wreak havoc

So the singer is basically saying that the drinks caused quite a bit of chaos in her head.

Spanish loves this kind of wordplay.

“No pasa na’”

You will hear this constantly in informal Spanish:

No pasa nada.
Nothing’s wrong / It’s okay / No big deal.

In the song:

No pasa na’.

The final -da disappears in informal pronunciation and becomes na’.

You’ll encounter similar contractions in songs and casual speech:

• para → pa’
• nada → na’
• está → ta’ in some very informal speech

They are useful to recognize, but in formal writing, stick to the full forms.

🎯 Quick Spanish Quiz

B1-B2 Reading Comprehension

Read the Spanish lyrics and choose the best answer. These questions focus on understanding the meaning of the Spanish in context rather than translating every word individually.

1. What does

“borró cassette”

mean in the context of the song?

A. She physically broke a cassette player.
B. She recorded the night again.
C. She claims she doesn’t remember what happened.
D. She wants to listen to music from the night.

2. What does

“los tragos hicieron estragos en su cabeza”

suggest?

A. The drinks had a strong effect on her.
B. She spilled drinks on her head.
C. She bought too many drinks.
D. The drinks helped her remember everything.

3. Why does the singer say

“Dejemos de jugar”

?

A. He wants them to stop dancing.
B. He wants them to stop pretending and be honest about what happened.
C. He wants her to leave the party.
D. He wants to start a new game.

4. What does

“Ella con cualquiera no se besa”

imply?

A. She kisses everyone she meets.
B. She only kisses people she knows well.
C. She isn’t someone who kisses just anybody.
D. She doesn’t like kissing.

5. What does

“Te estoy buscando para ver si los repetimos”

mean?

A. I’m looking for you to see if we can do it again.
B. I’m looking for you because I lost something.
C. I’m trying to remember the lyrics.
D. I’m asking you to repeat what you said.

✅ Answer Key

1. C – Borrar cassette is the song’s metaphor for forgetting or claiming not to remember the events of the previous night.
2. A – Hacer estragos means to cause serious effects or wreak havoc.
3. B – He wants her to stop pretending she doesn’t remember or isn’t interested.
4. C – Con cualquiera means “with just anyone,” so the lyric emphasizes that she is selective.
5. A – Repetir means to repeat, and here it refers to repeating what happened that night.

📖 Want to Learn More Spanish?

If you’re looking for a structured way to build the fundamentals behind the Spanish you encounter in songs, Easy Spanish Step-by-Step by Barbara Bregstein is a useful companion.

It focuses on building Spanish progressively rather than throwing every grammar concept at you at once, making it particularly useful if you want to understand why sentences like “quiero que sepa,” “dejemos de jugar,” and “te estoy buscando” work the way they do.

Check it out on Amazon.com⁠

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.

❤️ Final Thoughts

Borro Cassette is a fun song to learn from because it is packed with the kind of Spanish that doesn’t always show up in beginner textbooks: no pasa na’, pa’, hacer estragos, vacilar, a grito, and the wonderfully ridiculous image of someone metaphorically deleting an entire night from their memory.

And then there’s the central tension of the song: one person says “I don’t remember,” while the other is basically saying, there is absolutely no way you forgot all of that.

Spanish has a phrase for that too, but perhaps we’ll save it for another song.

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