I enjoy Jesse & Joy’s music anyway, but since their newest album Aire was released today, what better than to do a song off of that album.

“Lo Nuestro Vale Más” is a song by Mexican brother and sister duo Jesse & Joy. It was released in 2020, and appears on their 2020 album Aire. It reached #5 on the Mexican charts.

Song information from Wikipedia.

About the Artists

Jesse Eduardo Huerta Uecke and Tirzah Joy Huerta Uecke, who perform as Jesse & Joy, are a brother and sister duo from Mexico City, Mexico. Together with their father, they began writing music in 2001, when Jesse was 18 and Joy was 15. Their breakthrough came in 2006 with the release of their first album Esta Es Mi Vida, which reached the top twenty on the Mexican charts, and was certified platinum in Mexico. Three out of their first four studio albums in Spanish were certified platinum in Mexico, and the remaining album was certified gold. They have won six Latin Grammy Awards in various categories, and one Grammy Award. In 2019 Joy was recognized by the Latin Recording Academy as one at the Leading Ladies of Entertainment.

Biographical information from Wikipedia.

Cultural References, Idioms and Explanations

‘lo nuestro’ – In Spanish possessive pronouns can be used with articles to reference a noun that has already been defined. For example ‘Compramos camisas ayer. La tuya es rosa, y la mía es azul’ (We bought shirts yesterday. Yours is pink, mine is blue). Both pronouns reference the feminine singular ‘la camisa’. Here the use of the neutral ‘lo’ references ‘what is ours’ in a more generic sense, like what we have together. The possessive pronoun also appears in the bridge, ‘la nuestra’ referencing ‘la luz’ from the line before.

‘poquito’ – This is an example of the diminutive form in Spanish. This form is achieved by adding ‘-ito’ to the end of masculine nouns, or ‘-ita’ to the end of feminine nouns. While it can mean less than the normal form (in this case ‘a little bit’ vs ‘a very little bit’), often it is simply a stylistic change, with no change in meaning.

‘hacer mal’ – Literally meaning ‘to do bad’, this phrase means either ‘to do wrong’ or ‘to harm, wound, or injure’.

‘los dos’ – While this phrase literally means ‘the two’, in normal usage it often means ‘the two of us’ or ‘both of us’.

‘ir a’ – The verb ‘ir’ means ‘to go’. As in English, when this verb is used with a place, it implies movement towards that place. But when it is used with another verb, it implies that that action will be preformed in the future. For example ‘I am going to the store’ ‘(voy a la tienda’) vs ‘I am going to eat’ (‘voy a comer’).

‘dar lo que fuera’ – While this would translate literally to something like ‘to give that which was’, this phrase means ‘to give anything for’.

‘estar de acuerdo’ – As one would guess, this phrase means ‘to be in agreement’ or ‘to be on the same page’.

‘imposible de’ – I added this one to the list just to point out that translations cannot necessarily be done word for word. There are times that phrases need to be learned as one unit of meaning. In this case, where ‘de’ would normally be translated as ‘of’or ‘from’, following ‘imposible’ it means ‘impossible to‘.

‘tener ganas de’ -Literally meaning ‘to have desires, interests or urges of’, this phrase means ‘to feel like’ or ‘to be willing to’.

Song Lyrics with Grammatical Breakdown

Mouse over a term for grammatical information. A chart of the terms and grammatical information can be found here.

Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj Nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing Valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third person singular present Másmásmore, plus | adv

[Verse 1]
Mememe, to me, myself | pron | dir and indir obj, reflex niegonegarto deny, reject, refuse, prohibit | verb | first pers sing pres aato, into, by | prep aceptaraceptarto accept | verb | infin quequethat, than | conj hahaberto have | verb | third pers sing pres | aux verb used with the pp in the pret perf ganadoganarto win; to earn; to beat | verb | pp elelthe | def art | masc sing rencorrencorresentment | noun | masc sing
Prefieropreferirto prefer, would rather | verb | first pers sing pres | preferir … a… = to prefer … to … lucharlucharto fight, struggle | verb | infin aato, into, by | prep | than in comparisons decirnosdecir + nosto tell ourselves/each other | verb + pron | pron can be tacked on to end of infin adiósadiósgoodbye | adv
Dejemosdejarto let, allow; to leave | verb | first pers pl pres entrarentrargo into, come into, enter, get in | verb | infin ununa | indef art | masc sing poquitopocoa little bit | adj | dim form dedefrom, of | prep amoramorlove | noun | masc sing
Elelthe | def art | masc sing orgulloorgullopride | noun | masc sing hacehacerto do, to make | verb | third pers sing pres | hacer mal = do wrong; harm, wound, injure malmalbadly, bad, wrong | adv | | hacer mal = do wrong; harm, wound, injure, nosnosus, to us, for us, ourselves | pron | dir obj, indir obj, reflex dañadañarto damage, harm; to hurt, cause pain | verb | third pers sing pres aano equivalent in EN | prep | personal a, used when dir obj a person loslosthe | def art | masc pl dosdostwo | adj
Nononot | adv esserto be | verb | third pers sing pres quequethat, than | conj yoyoI | pron teteyou, to you, yourself | pron | dir and indir obj, reflex quieraquererto want | verb | first pers sing subj confrontarconfrontarto confront, face | verb | infin
Hablemoshablarto talk, speak | verb | first pers pl impera paraparafor, to, in order to | prep comprendernoscomprender + nosunderstand ourselves/each other | verb + pron | pron can be tacked on end of infin másmásmore, plus | adv

[Chorus]
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third pers sing pres esoesothat | pron yyand | conj másmásmore, plus | adv | | ,
Porporfor; because of; by | prep titiyou | pron | obj of a prep lolohim, it | pron voyirto go | verb | first pers sing pres | ir a + infin = to be going to do aato, into, by | prep intentarintentarto try | verb | infin,
Miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera alrededoralrededoraround | adv | | ,, hayhaberthere is, are | verb | third pers sing impers pres tantotantoso much, so many, so long | pron quequethat, than | conj arreglararreglarfix; sort out, straighten out, resolve; tidy up | verb | infin
Rompamosromperto break | verb | first pers pl impera elelthe | def art | masc sing silenciosilenciosilence | noun | masc sing paraparafor, to, in order to | prep continuarcontinuarcontinue | verb | infin
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third person singular present másmásmore, plus | adv

[Verse 2]
Mimimy | poss adj | masc and fem sing almaalmasoul | noun | fem sing estáestarto be | verb | third pers sing pres inquietainquietorestless, fidgety; worried, uneasy, troubled | adj | fem sing buscandobuscarlook for, search for | verb | ger ilusiónilusióndream, hope, wishful thinking; excitement, eagerness; illusion | noun | fem sing
Daríadarto give | verb | first pers sing cond | dar lo que fuera = give anything for lolohim, it, that | pron | masc sing | dar lo que fuera = give anything for quequethat, than | conj | | dar lo que fuera = give anything for fueraserto be | verb | third pers sing imperf subj | dar lo que fuera = give anything for porporfor; because of; by | prep revivirrevivirrevive, rekindle | verb | infin esteestethis | adj | masc sing amoramorlove | noun | masc sing
Nononot | adv estaremosestarto be | verb | first pers pl fut dedefrom, of | prep | | de acuerdo = in agreement, on the same page acuerdoacuerdoagreement, understanding | noun | masc sing | de acuerdo = in agreement, on the same page enenin, on, during | prep cadacadaeach, every | adj situaciónsituaciónsituation | noun | fem sing
Peroperobut | conj juntosjuntostogether | adj podemospoderto be able to | verb | first pers pl pres buscarbuscarlook for, search for | verb | infin soluciónsoluciónsolution, answer | noun | fem sing

[Chorus]
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third pers sing pres esoesothat | pron yyand | conj másmásmore, plus | adv | | ,
Porporfor; because of; by | prep titiyou | pron | obj of a prep lolohim, it | pron voyirto go | verb | first pers sing pres | ir a + infin = to be going to do aato, into, by | prep intentarintentarto try | verb | infin,
Miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera alrededoralrededoraround | adv | | ,, hayhaberthere is, are | verb | third pers sing impers pres tantotantoso much, so many, so long | pron quequethat, than | conj arreglararreglarfix; sort out, straighten out, resolve; tidy up | verb | infin
Rompamosromperto break | verb | first pers pl impera elelthe | def art | masc sing silenciosilenciosilence | noun | masc sing paraparafor, to, in order to | prep continuarcontinuarcontinue | verb | infin
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third person singular present másmásmore, plus | adv
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third person singular present másmásmore, plus | adv

[Bridge]
Lalathe | def art | fem sing luzluzlight | noun | fem sing esserto be | verb | third pers sing pres imposibleimposibleimpossible | adj | | imposible de = impossible to dedefrom, of | prep | | imposible de = impossible to apagarapagarturn off, put out, extinguish | verb | infin
Lalathe | def art | fem sing nuestranuestroours | poss adj | fem sing aúnaúnstill, yet, even | adv tienetenerto have | verb | third pers sing pres | tener ganas de = to feel like, be willing ganasganadesire, interest, urge | noun | fem sing | tener ganas de = to feel like, be willing dedefrom, of | prep brillarbrillarto shine, sparkle | verb | infin

[Chorus]
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third pers sing pres esoesothat | pron yyand | conj másmásmore, plus | adv | | ,
Porporfor; because of; by | prep titiyou | pron | obj of a prep lolohim, it | pron voyirto go | verb | first pers sing pres | ir a + infin = to be going to do aato, into, by | prep intentarintentarto try | verb | infin,
Miramirarlook, watch | verb | sec pers sing impera alrededoralrededoraround | adv | | ,, hayhaberthere is, are | verb | third pers sing impers pres tantotantoso much, so many, so long | pron quequethat, than | conj arreglararreglarfix; sort out, straighten out, resolve; tidy up | verb | infin
Rompamosromperto break | verb | first pers pl impera elelthe | def art | masc sing silenciosilenciosilence | noun | masc sing paraparafor, to, in order to | prep continuarcontinuarcontinue | verb | infin
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third person singular present másmásmore, plus | adv
Lolowhat is, what's, that which is | def art | neut, makes abs noun from adj nuestronuestroours | poss adj | masc sing valevalerto cost, be worth | verb | third person singular present másmásmore, plus | adv

Lyrics with Translation

Songs in any language often leave room for multiple interpretations. Following is my interpretation of the song lyrics.

Lo Nuestro Vale Más
What’s ours is worth more

[Verse 1]
Me niego a aceptar que ha ganado el rencor
I refuse to accept that resentment has won
Prefiero luchar a decirnos adiós
I’d rather fight than say goodbye (to each other)
Dejemos entrar un poquito de amor
Let’s let a little love in
El orgullo hace mal, nos daña a los dos
Pride does wrong, hurts both of us
No es que yo te quiera confrontar
It’s not that I want to confront you
Hablemos para comprendernos más
Let’s talk to understand each other more

[Chorus]
Lo nuestro vale eso y más,
What’s ours is worth that and more,
Por ti lo voy a intentar,
I’ll try it for you
Mira alrededor, hay tanto que arreglar
Look around, there’s so much to fix
Rompamos el silencio para continuar
Let’s break the silence to carry on
Lo nuestro vale más
What’s ours is worth more

[Verse 2]
Mi alma está inquieta buscando ilusión
My soul is troubled looking for illusion
Daría lo que fuera por revivir este amor
I’d give anything to rekindle this love
No estaremos de acuerdo en cada situación
We won’t agree in every situation
Pero juntos podemos buscar solución
But together we can look for a solution

[Chorus]
Lo nuestro vale eso y más,
What’s ours is worth that and more,
Por ti lo voy a intentar,
I’ll try it for you
Mira alrededor, hay tanto que arreglar
Look around, there’s so much to fix
Rompamos el silencio para continuar
Let’s break the silence to carry on
Lo nuestro vale más
What’s ours is worth more
Lo nuestro vale más
What’s ours is worth more

[Bridge]
La luz es imposible de apagar
The light is impossible to extinguish (turn off could be used here as well, but seems less poetic)
La nuestra aún tiene ganas de brillar
Ours (our light) still wants to shine

[Chorus]
Lo nuestro vale eso y más,
What’s ours is worth that and more,
Por ti lo voy a intentar,
I’ll try it for you
Mira alrededor, hay tanto que arreglar
Look around, there’s so much to fix
Rompamos el silencio para continuar
Let’s break the silence to carry on
Lo nuestro vale más
What’s ours is worth more
Lo nuestro vale más
What’s ours is worth more