Vuelve Lyrics in English Shakira

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Vuelve by Shakira from Spanish to English.
Cold as a salt statue
In a crystal mausoleum
Dry to the bone from crying
And dead like Tiberius might be in his crate
All in ruins like the Parthenon
Alone like Columbus ended up
Pale as a Mona Lisa
Bitter like a lemon
Wrinkled like an accordion
Like the Sphinx when it lost its nose
Like Alexander the Great
Without his sword and without his dart
Like a poor Christian in the middle of the Roman Empire
I look for something that can answer
Because I'm tired of thinking
How the seconds go by
And I survive this universal flood
With no more effort the explanation
Appears in an old drawer
And in less than a single fraction
The heart comes back to life and dresses in green
Like the Sphinx when it lost its nose
Like Alexander the Great
Without his sword and without his dart
Like a poor Christian in the middle of the Roman Empire
Come back, come back
Come back, come back
That my life slides down a drain
That my feet from standing still have calluses
I don't know how to tell you anymore that I miss you
And I've already spent over a year in this
Come back, come back
Come back, come back
That my boat is sinking in the mud
That from anguish I've bitten myself up to the elbows
That my world is empty and boring
That I'm dying to have you here with me
Come back, come back
Come back, come back
Lyrics and Translations Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shakira Mebarak, Luis Fernando Ochoa
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SONG MEANING

“Vuelve” finds Colombian superstar Shakira painting a larger-than-life picture of heartbreak. She stacks vivid images of decay and loneliness – from being “fría como una estatua de sal” to feeling “como Alejandro Magno sin su espada” – to show just how empty life feels without her lost love. All those crumbling monuments, defeated conquerors, and deserted explorers become metaphors for her own ruined spirit.

But beneath the dramatic comparisons beats a simple, urgent plea: come back. The chorus repeats “Vuelve, vuelve,” while she catalogs the everyday toll of separation – calloused feet, bitten elbows, a sinking boat. The moment her lover returns, “se viste de verde el corazón,” and hope sprouts again like fresh spring leaves. In short, the song turns history and mythology into a heartfelt postcard that says: my world is falling apart without you, so hurry home and revive it.

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