Cancionera Lyrics in English by Natalia Lafourcade

In "Cancionera", Natalia Lafourcade sings to a cancionera, a woman who sings songs, and it feels a lot like she is singing to herself. She asks her to keep surprising her ("Cancionera no dejes de sorprenderme" [Songstress, don't stop surprising me]) and to bring back "aquella primavera" [that springtime] of their nights of youth. The requests are lovely and simple: "Cántame la luna, canta nuestro mar" [Sing me the moon, sing our sea].

Then the song turns into a pep talk. "No te mortifiques si las luces se te apagan" [Don't torment yourself if the lights go out on you] is advice for an artist who might lose the spotlight, and she warns that "las delicias de la fama" [the delights of fame] could betray their love. The key line is "Es tu historia la que cuenta" [It's your story that counts]. Notice the word todita, a sweet Mexican diminutive of toda: "Todita mi vida" means "my whole life", said with extra tenderness.