La Vida Es Más Compleja De Lo Que Parece Lyrics in English by Jorge Drexler
Jorge Drexler, the Uruguayan songwriter, opens this one with a strange, lovely image: "el velo semitransparente del desasosiego" (the semi-transparent veil of unease) that one day settled "entre el mundo y mis ojos" (between the world and my eyes). He admits he was set on not seeing what he saw. Then comes the line the whole song hangs on: "La vida es más compleja de lo que parece" (life is more complex than it seems).
The verses read like the end of a relationship told without a villain. Someone expected him to break and "subiste tu apuesta" (you raised your bet), a poker image. "Me hiciste sentir el sabor de mi propia cocina" (you made me taste my own cooking) is a Spanish way of saying he got a dose of his own medicine. He does not want the other person to take anything from him "que no te marque" (that doesn't leave a mark on you), and lets time decide whether the hurt was worth it.
By the end it is calm, almost generous: "cada cual seguirá su camino" (each will go their own way), and "cuánto te quise, quizás seguirás sin saberlo" (how much I loved you, maybe you'll never know). It is a grown-up breakup song, and the repeated chorus feels less like a complaint than a shrug.
For learners: listen for "se tiene lo que se merece" (you get what you deserve), a handy impersonal se construction.
