Amor Eterno (meaning “Eternal Love”) is a song written by Juan Gabriel in 1984. This post provides an English translation of the Spanish lyrics in English and explains the lyrics vocabulary and grammar.
Amor Eterno Lyrics in English
Song background
Juan Gabriel wrote Amor Eterno upon getting news of his mother’s death in Acapulco in 1974. The theme of the song’s lyrics deals with the loss of a loved one and grief.
The song was first performed by the Spanish singer Rocío Dúrcal and Juan Gabriel gave his famous performance at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 1991. Amor Eterno is one of the greatest Spanish-language songs of all time and has been performed by many artists.
Amor Eterno Spanish lyrics translation in English
Tú eres la tristeza, ay, de mis ojos
You are the sadness, oh, of my eyes
Que lloran en silencio por tu amor
That cry in silence for your love
Me miro en el espejo y veo en mi rostro
I look in the mirror and see on my face
El tiempo que he sufrido por tu adiós
The time I have suffered for your goodbye
Obligo a que te olvide el pensamiento
I force myself to forget about you
Pues siempre estoy pensando en el ayer
Because I’m always thinking about yesterday
Prefiero estar dormido que despierta
I’d rather be asleep than awake
De tanto que me duele que no estés
It hurts me so much that you’re not here
(Chorus)
Cómo quisiera, ay
How I wish, oh
Que tú vivieras
That you were alive
Que tus ojitos jamás se hubieran
That your little eyes had never
Cerrado nunca y estar mirándolos
Never closed and I could be looking into them
Amor eterno
Eternal love
E inolvidable
And unforgettable
Tarde o temprano estaré contigo
Sooner or later I’ll be with you
Para seguir amándonos
To continue loving each other
Yo he sufrido tanto por tu ausencia
I have suffered so much because of your absence
Desde ese día hasta hoy no soy feliz
From that day until today I am not happy
Y aunque tengo tranquila mi conciencia
And although my conscience is clear
Sé que pude haber yo hecho más por ti
I know I could have done more for you
Oscura soledad estoy viviendo
I am experiencing dark loneliness
La misma soledad de tu sepulcro
The same loneliness of your grave
Tú eres el amor del cual yo tengo
You are the love I have
El más triste recuerdo de Acapulco
The saddest memory of Acapulco
(Chrous repeats)
Amor Eterno Spanish lyrics vocabulary and grammar
| SPANISH | NOTES |
| Tú eres | Estar (to be) conjugated in the second-person singular (tú) form |
| Que lloran | That cry. Llorar = to cry |
| Me miro | I look at myself. Mirarse: Reflexive verb meaning to look at yourself. |
| que he sufrido | That I’ve suffered. Present perfect tense of sufrir (to suffer) |
| que te olvide | That I forget you; Present subjunctive of olvidar (to forget) |
| estoy pensando | I am thinking. Progressive present tense of pensar (to think) |
| De tanto | Adverbial phrase meaning “for so much” |
| Cómo quisiera | How I wish. Quisiera = imperfect subjunctive form of querer (to want, to love) |
| Que tú vivieras | Vivieras = imperfect subjunctive of vivir (to live, to be alive) |
| se hubieran cerado | Cerar (to close) in the past perfect subjunctive (would have) tense |
| Amor eterno | Amor eterno (song title) meaning eternal love |
| Tarde o temprano | Spanish expression meaning sooner or later |
| estaré contigo | I’ll be with you. Estar (to be) conjugated in the simple future tense |
| Para | Preposition meaning for or “in order to” |
| seguir amándonos | To continue loving each other; Seguir (to continue) + present participle = To keep on + verb |
| por tu ausencia | Because of your absence; Preposition por can translate to for, by and because of. |
| desde…hasta | From…until= Both prepositions |
| no soy feliz | I’m not happy. Ser (to be) conjugated in the first-person singular in the present tense. |
| aunque | Conjunction meaning although, though, even if |
| pude haber yo hecho | I could have done. Hacer (to make, to do) in the conditional past perfect tense. |
| La misma soledad | The same loneliness; Mismo(a) = adjective meaning “same” |
| de cual | Literal translation “of which”, “from which” |
| recuerdo | Both a noun and verb: Memory and “I remember” |
Amor Eterno – Rocío Dúrcal
Other artists interpretations
Famous Mexican songs
- Querida (Juan Gabriel)
- Bésame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez)
- Por Tu Maldito Amor (Vicente Fernández)
- Volver, Volver (Vicente Fernández)
- El Rey (José Alfredo Jiménez)
- La Bamba
- México Lindo y Querido
Reference
Amor Eterno (Spanish Wikipedia page)
- México Lindo y Querido: Lyrics, Meaning, and Translation - May 10, 2025
- Learn Spanish with “Volver, Volver”: Lyrics & English Translation - May 8, 2025
- El Rey: Lyrics, Translation & Meaning in Spanish - May 7, 2025