La Tijera Lyrics in English Carlos Vives

“La Tijera” is Carlos Vives at his most playful and folkloric. Picture a lively night in Villanueva, a town famous for vallenato parties, where our singer dreams of dancing with a fiery morena. He begs her not to get “rabiosa” (too mad) and to keep their outing a secret from her strict grandmother. Why? Because if Grandma finds out that her granddaughter is a parrandera (hard-core party lover), the feared tijera – a metaphorical pair of scissors that “cuts” bad behavior – will come out to punish or gossip about her.

Behind the catchy accordion riffs and joyful shouts, Vives paints a humorous tug-of-war between youthful desire and traditional expectations. The narrator is smitten, his sadness gone, yet he knows their fun has limits set by family and society. In short, the song celebrates vallenato partying, flirty romance, and the comic threat of grandma’s scissors that keeps everyone on their toes.