In the year 1967 in the city of Bilbao, eight Basque students decided to f… Read Full Bio ↴In the year 1967 in the city of Bilbao, eight Basque students decided to form a musical group to be known as Voces y Guitarras ("Voices and Guitars"), citing folk and spiritual music and The Beatles as influences. This group of siblings Amaya Uranga, Estibaliz Uranga, Izaskun Uranga, Roberta Uranga, brothers Rafael Blanco and Sergio Blanco, José Ipiña and Francisco Panera spent a year performing around their hometown before sending a demo cassette to producer Juan Carlos Calderón in Madrid. He took and immediate interest in the group and renamed them Mocedades ("Things of Youth").

Their most known song is "Eres Tu", which became second at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1973 (Luxembourg). Final Position: 2 - Total Points: 125. Eres Tu was accused of plagiarism. It was suggested by critics that the song was merely a copy of the Yugoslav entry of 1966, Brez Besed performed by Berta Ambroz. The Spanish entry was not sanctioned though and became a huge hit internationally - it even outsold the winner Tu Te Reconnaitras by Anne-Marie David.

Tómame o Déjame
Mocedades Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tómame o déjame

Tómame o déjame
Pero no me pidas que te crea más
Cuando llegas tarde a casa
No tienes porque inventar
Pues tu ropa huele a leña de otro hogar

Tómame o déjame
Si no estoy despierta, déjame soñar
No me beses en la frente
Sabes que te oí llegar
Y tu beso sabe a culpabilidad

Tú me admiras porque callo y miro al cielo
Porque no me ves llorar
Y te sientes cada día más pequeño
Y esquivas mi mirada en tu mirar

Tómame o déjame
Ni te espío ni te quito libertad
Pero si dejas el nido
Si me vas a abandonar
Házlo antes de que empiece a clarear

Tú me admiras porque callo y miro al cielo
Porque no me ves llorar
Y te sientes cada día más pequeño
Y esquivas mi mirada en tu mirar

Tómame o déjame
Y si vuelves trae contigo la verdad
Trae erguida la mirada

Trae contigo mi rival
Si es mejor que yo, podré entonces llorar (tómame o déjame)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Tómame o Déjame by Mocedades speaks about a strained relationship between two individuals. The singer of the song, who is presumably the woman in the relationship, tells her partner to either take her or leave her but not to expect her to believe the lies and excuses he comes up with whenever he comes home late. She also asks for him not to kiss her on the forehead because it makes her aware of his guilt, but to let her continue sleeping and dreaming.

The lyrics also depict a power dynamic where the woman knows her worth and chooses to exercise her freedom while keeping her partner at bay. She admires the beauty of the sky and keeps her tears hidden from him, which shows that she is emotionally strong, but her partner is gradually getting smaller in her eyes, and she can't stand his evasive gaze. She gives him the freedom to make his choices without any restrictions, but if he ever decides to leave her, she requests him to do it before daylight.

The song highlights the universal theme of love that is tumultuous and painful at times. The lyrics do not provide a solution, but the listener can sense that the singer is resigned to the fate of their relationship. The combination of the lyrics with the melancholic melody adds a layer of complexity to the song, making it one of the most iconic Spanish ballads.

Line by Line Meaning

Tómame o déjame
Take me or leave me

pero no me pidas que te crea más
But don't ask me to believe you anymore

cuando llegas tarde a casa
When you come home late

no tienes porque inventar
You don't have to make things up

pues tu ropa huele a leña de otro hogar.
Because your clothes smell like another home's fireplace.

si no estoy despierta, déjame soñar
If I'm not awake, let me dream

no me beses en la frente
Don't kiss me on the forehead

sabes que te oí llegar
You know I heard you arrive

why tu beso sabe a culpabilidad.
And your kiss feels guilty.

Tú me admiras porque callo why miro al cielo
You admire me because I keep quiet and look to the sky

porque no me ves llorar
Because you don't see me cry