Amantes

The song 'Amantes' by Los Gigantes Del Vallenato, a Colombian Vallenato group, delves into the emotional turmoil and existential questioning of a person involved in a clandestine love affair. The lyrics express the pain and frustration of loving someone who cannot fully reciprocate that love in the open. The protagonist of the song is caught in a situation where the physical and emotional intimacies shared in secret are overshadowed by the reality of not being able to claim their lover publicly or even find them by their side when they wake up.

The repeated rhetorical questions in the lyrics highlight the futility of having pieces of a relationship without its full realization. The song's narrator is grappling with the bittersweet nature of their affair, where moments of passion are fleeting and overshadowed by the absence and secrecy that define their connection. The desire to be openly acknowledged and to be the one that their lover is with, not just in secret but in all aspects of life, is a central theme of the song.

The metaphor of wanting to be a drop of sweat on the lover's back, to be invisible yet ever-present, poignantly illustrates the yearning for closeness and the painful acknowledgment of the impossibility of their situation. The song's chorus encapsulates the essence of their predicament: they are lovers in a world of lies, without a future or a way out, existing in the shadows. 'Amantes' is a powerful portrayal of the complexities and heartache that come with loving someone you cannot fully have, and the longing for a love that is open and free from the constraints of secrecy.