La cucaracha (Meaning: the cockroach) is a famous Mexican folk song. The song became popular in the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution, with its lyrics making reference to the fight between revolutionaries and politicians. This post explains the vocabulary and grammar of the lyrics.

La cucaracha – the cockroach

La cucaracha – Spanish lyrics and English translation

La cucaracha, la cucaracha
Ya no puede caminar
Porque no tiene, porque le falta
Mari*uana que fumar

The cockroach, the cockroach
Can’t walk anymore
Because he doesn’t have, because he lacks
Mari*uana to smoke

(this repeats)

Con las barbas de Carranza
Voy a hacer una toquilla
Pa’ ponérsela al sombrero
Del señor Francisco Villa

With the whiskers of Carranza’s beard
I’m going to make a panama hat
To put a hat on
Mr. Francisco Villa

(verse repeats)

(chorus)

Qué bonita cucaracha
Para echarme una bailada
Empezando por la noche
Hasta ahí en la madrugada

(verse repeats)

What a pretty cockroach
To dance with me
Starting at night
Until dawn

(chorus)

Ya murió la cucaracha
Ya la llevan a enterrar
Entre cuatro zopilotes
Y uno que otro gavilán

The cockroach is dead
They are already taking it to bury it
Among four vultures
And one or two hawks

(verse repeats)

(chorus repeats two times)

Vocabulary and grammar of the Spanish lyrics

In this section, we highlight vocabulary and grammar from the Spanish lyrics and provide explanations.

Ya no puede caminar

This line translates to “Can’t walk anymore”. Ya in Spanish has many usages and meanings including anymore, already and now.

Porque no tiene, porque le falta

This line means “Because he doesn’t have, because he lacks”. Tiene is the third-person singular (él, ella) form of tener (to have). The verb faltar a + subject means both to lack and to miss.

Con las barbas de Carranza

This line transltes to “With the whiskers of Carranza’s beard”. Une barba means beard in Spanish. Carranza makes reference to Venustiano Carranza, a Mexican president during the Mexican Revolution who was killed in 1920.

Voy a hacer una toquilla

This line translates to “I’m going to make a panama hat”. Voy a hacer (I’m going to make) is an example of the near future tense. Una toquilla is a type of hat made from palm fibre.

Pa’ ponérsela al sombrero

This line translates to “To put a hat on”. Pa’ is a shortening of para (to, for, in order to). The verb poner means both “to put” and “to wear”. Ponérsela translates literally to “to put it on him”.

Del señor Francisco Villa

This line translates to “Mr. Francisco Villa”, making reference to Francisco (Pancho) Villa, the famous Mexican revolutionary.

Qué bonita cucaracha

This line translates to “What a pretty cockroach”. Meanings of qué include what and which. Qué + noun can translate to “What a + noun!”.

Para echarme una bailada

This line translates to “To dance with me”. The verb echar translates to “to throw” or “to drop” but has a wide range of usages in Spanish slang. Una bailada is related to bailar (to dance).

Empezando por la noche

This line translate to “Starting at night”. Empezando is the progressive present form of empezar (to start).

Hasta ahí en la madrugada

This line translates to “Until dawn”. Translations for ahí include there, over there and then. La madrugada can translate to dawn, early morning and sunrise.

Ya murió la cucaracha

This line translates to “The cockroach is dead”. Murió is the third-person singular form or morir (to die) in the preterite tense.

Ya la llevan a enterrar

This line translates to “They are already taking it to bury it”. La in this line is a direct object pronoun meaning “it”.

Entre cuatro zopilotes

This line translates to “Among four vultures”. The preposition entre means both between and among.

Y uno que otro gavilán

This line translates to “And one or two hawks”. The expression uno que otro means “one or two”.

More Spanish songs

• Cielito Lindo
• Guantanamera
• La Bamba
• Querida
• La Bamba
• El Son de la Negra
• México Lindo y Querido

Reference

• Wikipiedia

Spanish songs | Lessons by David Issokson