Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (28 September 1932 – 15 September 1973) was a pe… Read Full Bio ↴Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez (28 September 1932 – 15 September 1973) was a pedagogue, theatre director, poet, singer-songwriter, and political activist from Chile. A distinguished theatre director, he devoted himself to the development of Chilean theatre, directing a broad array of works from locally produced Chilean plays, to the classics of the world stage, to the experimental work of Ann Jellicoe. Simultaneously he developed in the field of music and played a pivotal role among neo-folkloric artists who established the Nueva Canción Chilena (New Chilean Song) movement which led to a revolution in the popular music of his country under the Salvador Allende government. Shortly after the U.S. backed 11 September, 1973 Chilean coup he was arrested, tortured and ultimately machine gunned to death - his body was later thrown out into the street of a shanty town in Santiago. The contrast between the themes of his songs, on love, peace and social justice and the brutal way in which he was murdered transformed Jara into a symbol of struggle for human rights and justice across Latin America.

Aqui Te Traigo Una Rosa
Victor Jara Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Aquí te traigo una rosa
N'el campo la recogí
La mata queó' llorando
Como lloro yo por ti

Como que te fuiste
Como que te'vai
Como que me quieres

Y no me querís na'

Cuando a tu jardín entré
Tomé una rosa rosada
Y de a'entro le saqué
Tu persona retratada

La rosa cuando abotona
Dicen que es malo tomarla

Pa' que parezca bonita
Más vale será dejarla

Overall Meaning

The first verse of the song "Aquí te traigo una rosa", meaning "Here I bring you a rose", describes how the singer picked a rose in the field, and the bush remained crying, much like the singer's grief for the one to whom they are dedicating the song. The next verse reflects on the heartbreak of watching the person they love leave them, wondering how they could leave despite claiming to love them. The third verse describes how the singer took a pink rose from the person's garden and saw the other person's image reflected within its petals. The final verse states that it is sometimes best to leave roses untouched, so they may grow and be beautiful on their own.

The lyrics of this song are simple yet incredibly poignant, and they reveal the depth of the singer's heartbreak. It speaks of a person who has been left behind and is struggling to come to terms with their loss. The metaphor of the rose effectively conveys the themes of love and loss in this song.

Line by Line Meaning

Aquí te traigo una rosa
I bring you a rose

N'el campo la recogí
I picked it up from the field

La mata queó' llorando
The bush was crying

Como lloro yo por ti
Just like I cry for you

Como que te fuiste
It's like you left

Como que te'vai
It's like you're going away

Como que me quieres
It's like you love me

Y no me querís na'
But in reality, you don't love me at all

Cuando a tu jardín entré
When I entered your garden

Tomé una rosa rosada
I took a pink rose

Y de a'entro le saqué
And from the inside, I extracted