Below, I translated the lyrics of the song La Bicicleta by Carlos Vives from Spanish to English.
These lyrics have verified word for word translations. Click any lyric word to see the translation and hear the pronunciation!
Verse 1
I'm not going to do anything
Digging in the wounds of the past
Or: Searching through the wounds of the past
I'm not going to lose
I don't want to be a guy from somewhere else
In your way, easy-going
On a bike that takes you everywhere
A heartfelt vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is a popular folk music genre of Colombia
Chorus 1
A little letter I keep that I wrote to you
That I dream of you and that I love you so much
For a while now, my heart has been
Beating for you, beating for you
The one I keep that I wrote to you
That I dream of you and that I love you so much
For a while now, my heart has been
Beating for you, beating for you
Verse 2
I can be happy
Walking relaxed among people
I love you just the way you are
And I like you because you're different
In my way, disheveled
Despelucado means disheveled, when your hair is messy. Another similar word in Spanish is 'despeinado'
On a bike that takes me everywhere
A heartfelt vallenato
Vallenato primarily comes from Colombia's Caribbean region
Chorus 2
A little letter I keep that I wrote to you
That I dream of you and that I love you so much
For a while now, my heart has been
Beating for you, beating for you
The one I keep that I wrote to you
That I dream of you and that I love you so much
For a while now, my heart has been
Beating for you, beating for you
Verse 3
She is the favorite, the one who sings in the area
She moves her hips like a boat on the waves
She has bare feet like an adoring child
And her long hair is a sun that tempts you
She likes it when people call her the girl, the lola
She likes to be watched when she dances alone
She prefers being at home, wishing the hours wouldn't pass
She likes Barranquilla, she likes Barcelona
Barranquilla is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. Barcelona is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain.
Bridge 1
Take, take me on your bicycle
Listen to me, Carlos, take me on your bicycle
I want us to travel that area together
From Santa Marta to La Arenosa
Santa Marta is a city in Colombia. La Arenosa (meaning The Sandy) is another name given to Barranquilla, a large city in Colombia, located near the Caribbean Sea.
Bridge 2
Take, take me on your bicycle
So that we play bola-'e-trapo there in flip-flops
Bola-'e-trapo is the name of a traditional game of Barranquilla (city of Colombia). It's basically soccer played in the streets. Can be baseball too.
Because if some day you show Pique the Tayrona
The Tayrona National Natural Park is an area in the Colombian northern Caribbean region
Afterwards he won't want to go back to Barcelona
Prechorus
In my way, easy-going
On a bike that takes me everywhere
A heartfelt vallenato
Vallenato literally means 'born in the valley'
Chorus 3
A little letter I keep that I wrote to you
That I dream of you and that I love you so much
For a while now, my heart has been
Beating for you, beating for you
The one I keep that I wrote to you
That I dream of you and that I love you so much
For a while now, my heart has been
Beating for you, beating for you
Outro 1
Take, take me on your bicycle
Listen to me, Carlos, take me on your bicycle
Because if some day you show Pique the Tayrona
Pique is Shakira's long term partner. He is a football player, who plays for FC Barcelona.
Afterwards he won't want to go back to Barcelona
Outro 2
Take, take me on your bicycle
Listen to me, Carlos, take me on your bicycle
Because if you show my Pique the Tayrona
Afterwards he won't want to go back to Barcelona
Lyrics and Translations Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, Carlos Alberto Vives, Andres Eduardo Castro
Did you like this lyrics translation?
despelucado — disheveled / messy-haired
Despelucado is a fun, colloquial Colombian term for someone with messy, unkempt, or windblown hair. It’s a very visual and expressive word that you won't find in a standard textbook.
In "La Bicicleta," Carlos Vives sings, "A mi manera, despelucado / En una bici que me lleva a todos lados" (My way, with messy hair / On a bike that takes me everywhere). He uses it to describe a carefree, relaxed, and uncomplicated attitude that perfectly matches the song's joyful and free-spirited vibe.
This song is a love letter to a simple, happy life and to Colombia itself. Carlos Vives and Shakira sing about leaving the past behind, with Carlos declaring, "Nada voy a hacer / Rebuscando en las heridas del pasado" (I'm not going to do anything / Rummaging through the wounds of the past). Instead, they celebrate an easy-going love, riding a bike everywhere and being themselves. He describes himself as "descomplicado" (uncomplicated) and she describes herself as "despelucado" (disheveled), both perfectly happy with their carefree style.
The whole song feels like a fun road trip along the Colombian coast. They shout out their hometowns, Santa Marta and Barranquilla, and invite each other to explore. Shakira even teases her then-partner, the soccer player Piqué, singing that if he ever saw the beautiful Tayrona National Park in Colombia, "Después no querrá irse pa' Barcelona" (He won't want to leave for Barcelona afterward). It's a playful, sunny track about loving where you're from and who you're with.
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