La Isla Bonita
♫ Madonna Lyrics

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Como puede ser verdad

Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song
A young girl with eyes like the desert
It all seems like yesterday, not far away

Tropical the island breeze

All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby

I fell in love with San Pedro
Warm wind carried on the sea, he called to me
Te dijo te amo
I prayed that the days would last
They went so fast

Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby

I want to be where the sun warms the sky
When it's time for siesta you can watch them go by
Beautiful faces, no cares in this world
Where a girl loves a boy, and a boy loves a girl

Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
It all seems like yesterday, not far away

Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby

Tropical the island breeze
All of nature wild and free
This is where I long to be
La isla bonita
And when the samba played
The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby

La la la la la la la
Te dijo te amo

La la la la la la la
El dijo que te ama

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Madonna's song "La Isla Bonita" speak about a dream of a magical place called San Pedro that she longs to return to. She describes the tropical island breeze, the wild and free nature, and the samba music that plays as the sun sets high in the sky. She recalls falling in love with a boy from San Pedro who told her "te amo" (I love you) and how she prayed for the days to last but they went so fast. She is enchanted by the beautiful faces and carefree atmosphere of the place where a boy loves a girl and a girl loves a boy.

The song is said to be inspired by a trip Madonna took to the island of San Pedro in Belize where she was fascinated by the multilingual nature of the place which features Spanish, English, and Creole-speaking inhabitants. Madonna has said that the song is a tribute to the Latino people who she admires and she wrote it as an attempt to fuse Spanish and English music. The Spanish words "La Isla Bonita" translate to "the beautiful island" and they capture the essence of the place that Madonna is dreaming of.

To Madonna, San Pedro represents a kind of utopian world where she can escape to, away from the madness of the city life. Through the lyrics, she creates a fantasy world where music, love, and nature coexist seamlessly, and one can be free to love and dance without judgment. The song's theme of a longing for a simpler and carefree life resonated with the people and the song quickly became one of Madonna's most popular songs.

Line by Line Meaning

Como puede ser verdad
How can it be true?

Last night I dreamt of San Pedro
I had a dream about San Pedro last night

Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song
Although I had never been there before, I knew the song

A young girl with eyes like the desert
I saw a young girl with eyes that resembled the desert

It all seems like yesterday, not far away
It feels like it was just yesterday, not a long time ago

Tropical the island breeze
The breeze on the island is tropical

All of nature wild and free
Nature is untamed and free

This is where I long to be
This is the place I desire to be

La isla bonita
The beautiful island

And when the samba played
When the samba music was played

The sun would set so high
The sun would set at a high point

Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
The sound pierced my ears and the sight caused a sharp sensation in my eyes

Your Spanish lullaby
The soothing Spanish song

I fell in love with San Pedro
I fell in love with the town of San Pedro

Warm wind carried on the sea, he called to me
The warm wind blowing from the ocean brought his voice to me

Te dijo te amo
He said 'I love you' to me

I prayed that the days would last
I wished that the days could be longer

They went so fast
But they passed by quickly

I want to be where the sun warms the sky
I want to be where the sun makes the sky warm

When it's time for siesta you can watch them go by
During siesta time, you can watch people go by

Beautiful faces, no cares in this world
The people have beautiful faces and aren't burdened by worries in this world

Where a girl loves a boy, and a boy loves a girl
Where a girl and a boy are in love with each other

La la la la la la la
A musical interlude

El dijo que te ama
He said that he loves you

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PATRICK LEONARD, BRUCE GAITSCH, MADONNA CICCONE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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