Guárdame El Secreto Lyrics in English by Felipe Peláez

This is a classic Colombian vallenato confession, and the setup is great: Felipe Peláez is out drinking with a close friend and decides to spill something big. He opens by counting his blessings, "Tengo todo lo que quise" (I have everything I wanted), and saying God has given him every dream and more. But he has learned there is a corner of the soul that keeps the things you can never say out loud.

Then comes the favour: "Pero te pido guárdame el secreto" (but I ask you, keep the secret for me). The secret is that the old love everyone thinks is over is not over at all. "Jamás me olvida y yo la quiero igual" (she never forgets me and I love her just the same). The backing vocals fill in the guilty details: she quietly celebrates his wins, his problems still hurt her even though she built a life in someone else's arms, and he feels bad about it because he already has "un verdadero amor" (a true love) at his side.

A couple of things to know as a learner. Parranda is a Caribbean Colombian word for a party or night of drinking and music, and the line "la parranda y la tristeza caben en una amistad" (partying and sadness both fit in a friendship) sums up the whole song. The spoken bits are pure vallenato tradition: shout-outs to friends and accordion players, plus nods to Barranquilla, the Colombian coastal city, and Miami. It ends on a toast, "brindemos salud por los años" (let's raise a toast to the years), which feels like exactly how this conversation would end.