Él Lyrics in English by Carlos Rivera
"Él" is a child's-eye memory of a family coming apart, told by someone who was "muy pequeño pero estuve ahí" (very small, but I was there). Carlos Rivera sings it as a string of snapshots: the parents looking at each other, moving "de casa en casa" (from house to house) like "peregrinos" (pilgrims), shouting and chasing each other, then hugging while they looked after him.
The chorus is a lovely bit of Spanish for learners, because it is basically one phrase turned over and over: "Me acuerdo de ti y de él" (I remember you and him). Each round changes one word, from "sufriendo" (suffering) to "llorando" (crying), and later the verb shifts from "me acuerdo" (I remember) to "pensando en" (thinking about) and finally "amándolo a él" (loving him).
The whole song keeps "él" (him) a mystery, and the last two lines finally say who he is: "Mi padre también / Mi padre era él" (My father too / He was my father). It lands quietly, and it makes you want to play it again from the start knowing the answer.
