Despite recording only in Spanish, he continued to be the best selling Latin artist in the 1990s, and was credited for popularizing the bolero genre into the mainstream market. He has sold around 60 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists.
Latin pop music, along with his personal life and showmanship on stage, has made Luis Miguel popular for nearly his entire career, which started in Mexico in 1982. Having won his first Grammy Award at the age of fourteen for his duet "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" with Sheena Easton, he is the youngest male artist in music history to have received this accolade. In 1991, the RIAA recognized the high sales for his 1991 album Romance, itself being the third best-selling music album in Mexico, and one of the best-selling Spanish language albums of all time. He was the first Latin artist to have been awarded two Platinum certified Spanish-language albums in the United States with ‘‘Romance’’ and ‘‘Segundo Romance’’ the latter earning him 35 platinum records throughout Central and South America. He is also recognized by Billboard, as the artist with the most top 10 hits on the Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart. His album Complices was released in 2008 and peaked at No.10 on the Billboard 200; it is the highest position a fully Spanish composed album has reached. His most recent album ¡México Por Siempre! was released in 2017, and it earned him his second No. 1 on the Billboard Regional Mexican Albums and achieved double platinum status.
Luis Miguel is also known for his high-grossing live performances. He is the first-highest grossing Latin touring artist since Boxscore began tracking touring data in 1990, with a towering total of $278.5 million. With the Luis Miguel Tour, which took place in 2010, he visited 22 countries in North America, South America and Europe, where he performed in a three-year span with a total of 223 shows all over the world, making it the longest and highest-grossing tour ever made by a Latin artist. He also holds the record for the most consecutive presentations in the Auditorio Nacional (National Auditorium) with a total of 30 consecutive concerts as well as the record for the most presentations in the same venue with a total of 258 concerts.
El Tiempo
Luis Miguel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nos va llevando con él
Cada segundo que corre
Nos queda menos por ver
En su marcha enloquecida
No conoce quien es quien
Se apodera de los pobres
Tiempo cruel, tiempo cruel
No perdonas ni a las flores
Del más bonito jardín
Las conviertes en primores
Y las destruyes al fin
Tiempo cruel tiempo cruel
Cuando yo estoy muy contento
Que veloz tú pasas por mí
Y cuando no tienes preciso
Que lento es tu transcurrir
Tiempo cómo te admiro
Por tu inexorable ley
Porque pasas para esclavos
Porque pasas para esclavos
Lo mismo que para un rey
Pasa el tiempo y cuando pasa
Nos va llevando con él
Cada segundo que corre
Nos queda menos por ver
En su marcha enloquecida
No conoce quien es quien
Se apodera de los pobres
Y de los ricos también
Tiempo cruel, tiempo cruel
The lyrics of Luis Miguel's song El Tiempo explore the concept of time and its relentless passage. The song starts by acknowledging that time passes by quickly and without discrimination, taking everyone with it. No matter who we are or what we do, time will keep on moving, and we will have less and less left to see. The lyrics get more philosophical, as they talk about time's cruel and unpredictable nature. Time does not spare anyone or anything, not even the most beautiful flowers in the garden, which it turns into ornaments only to destroy them in the end.
The artist expresses an admiration for time, noting its inexorable law and its impartiality, as it affects both slaves and kings alike. However, the song's overall tone is rather pessimistic, reflecting the inevitability of change and the transient nature of life. The chorus repeats the phrase "Tiempo cruel, tiempo cruel" (cruel time, cruel time) emphasizing that time is not always kind and can cause both joy and pain.
The lyrics of El Tiempo are an insightful commentary on the human condition and the fast-paced, unpredictable nature of time. The song's poignancy is further amplified by Luis Miguel's tender and emotive delivery.
Line by Line Meaning
Pasa el tiempo y cuando pasa
As time goes by, it takes us along with it.
Nos va llevando con él
It carries us with it.
Cada segundo que corre
Every passing second.
Nos queda menos por ver
We have less to see.
En su marcha enloquecida
In its frantic march.
No conoce quien es quien
It doesn't know who is who.
Se apodera de los pobres
It seizes the poor.
Y de los ricos también
And the rich too.
Tiempo cruel, tiempo cruel
Cruel time, cruel time.
No perdonas ni a las flores
You spare not even the flowers.
Del más bonito jardín
In the most beautiful garden.
Las conviertes en primores
You turn them into delicacies.
Y las destruyes al fin
And destroy them in the end.
Cuando yo estoy muy contento
When I am very happy.
Que veloz tú pasas por mí
How swiftly you pass by me.
Y cuando no tienes preciso
And when you don't have to hurry.
Que lento es tu transcurrir
How slow your passing is.
Tiempo cómo te admiro
Time, how I admire you.
Por tu inexorable ley
For your inexorable law.
Porque pasas para esclavos
Because you pass the same for slaves.
Lo mismo que para un rey
As you do for a king.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Luis Gallego Sanchez, Luisito Rey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind