bobby pulido at nrg & the trickiness of translating “desvelado”

remember when bobby pulido crushed it at nrg during a playoff game?

if u don’t,  good news! there’s a richyrocks video about it

 👇

desvelado — sleepless?

the title of pulido’s biggest hit desvelado is usually translated to english as “sleepless”.

sleepless is a solid translation for desvelado, but as the video explains, when talking about emotions in a relationship and their consequences, it’s much more common in english to use the phrase

can’t sleep

e.g. i can’t sleep. i’m in love NOT i’m sleepless because i’m in love

here’s a playlist of beloved bangers (awesome songs) to prove the point…

13 “can’t sleep” songs

we belong together – mariah carey
lyric: i can’t sleep at night when you’re on my mind
appears at: 1:29

blinding lights – the weeknd
lyric: i can’t sleep until I feel your touch
appears at:  1:29 (in the chorus)

psycho killer – talking heads
lyric: i can’t sleep ’cause my bed’s on fire
appears at: 00:33

mask off–future (kendrick lamar remix)
lyric: i done fucked so much, i can’t sleep
appears at: 3:00

fix u–coldplay
lyric: when u feel so tired but u can’t sleep
appears at: 00:25

nights are forever without u–england dan & john ford cooley
lyric: but I just can’t sleep for thinking of u
appears at: 1:35

dealer–lana del rey
lyric: i can’t sleep through the tears
appears at:  1:29 (in the chorus)

insomnia–faithless
lyric: i can’t get no sleep (a slight variation)
appears at: 00:48 (and several other times)

teenage dream–katy perry
lyric: the way u turn me on i can’t sleep
appears at: 00:58 (in the chorus)

lord knows–2pac
lyric: i can’t sleep so i stay up
appears at: 2:50

u really got me–the kinks
lyric: u got me so i can’t sleep at night
appears multiple times, first at: 00:17

streets–doja cat
lyric: i can’t sleep no more
appears multiple times, first at: 1:10

tainted love–soft cell
lyric: for i toss and turn i can’t sleep at night
appears at: 00:32

like the bobby pulido video says, sleepless is most commonly used in the phrase sleepless nights and it’s much less common to use it to describe a person

7 “sleepless” songs

fate of ophelia–taylor swift
lyric: it’s ’bout to be the sleepless night you’ve been dreaming of
appears at:  1:24

i remember u–skid row
lyric:  and through the sleepless nights
appears at:  1:12 (in the chorus)

separate ways–journey
lyric:  sleepless nights, losing ground, i’m reaching for u
appears at:  00:36

ghosts again–depeche mode
lyric:  a thousand midnights lost in sleepless lullabies
appears at:  1:00

human nature–michael jackson
lyric:  the city winks a sleepless eye
appears at:  00:16

https://youtu.be/UxnvqXGYpvY?t=16

i want u back–jackson 5
lyric: trying to live without your love is one long sleepless night
appears at: 1:19

without u–david guetta, usher
lyric: i can’t take one more sleepless night
appears at: 2:02

what do u think?

do u know any other songs that use can’t sleep or sleepless?  what are your favorite songs in these playlists? share your thoughts under leave a reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *