Ser + gerundio use in "Arde el Cielo"

Question

Hola!

I love the song "Arde el Cielo" de Maná.

Here are the lyrics.

Here is the video. (It's so good, ah, I love it)

Why does he use "ser + gerundio"? [For example, fue llenando and fuimos hablando]

Another question I have is about the first line. Nos fue trabando la rutina - I do not understand what "trabando" is.

Also, in the video, at 3:13, I am having the hardest time understanding what deja que el viento borre las cenizas means.

Me gusta mucho esta canción también. :) Rayando el sol y no ha parado de llover son muy buena tambielén. Hola Sonrisa :) - EL_MAG0, Sep 16, 2011

Hola, A y P :D - SonrisaDelSol, Sep 16, 2011

Maná.... yess!! :) jeje Maná is a biblical term, I believe it is Manna, however they mean it by it's second definition, A positive energy! F.Y.I ;) - EL_MAG0, Sep 17, 2011

No sense semantically, perhaps, but the syntax is quite standard. - samdie, Sep 19, 2011

Answer 1

Deja que el viento borre las cenizas

Let the wind erase the ashes.

Nos fue trabando la rutina,

Fue llenando y fuimos hablando

It went filling and we went speaking.... ?

I have a friend from Mexico and I asked him what those last two sentences mean and he said they make no sense. Obviously the band means something by it.

Translation Note: Translation not accurate but gives a sense of meaning.

Saludos

Wrong translations. See Murkilator's reply for proper analysis. - samdie, Sep 17, 2011

Answer 2

This is what my friend told me when I asked him.

"No te quiebres la cabeza tratando de entender eso."

¡"No vale la pena"!

And he said, "nos fue trabando la rutina makes no sense.“ Is that right? Does anybody know what is meant“?

¡Gracias!

Answer 3

The translation for the part in your question doesn't convince me much. Also, it isn't ser + gerundio, it's ir + gerundio. Ir + gerund has a progressive feel to it and implies some sort of duration.

Ex) A lo largo de la vida vamos aprendiendo.

As for the lyrics, I'll venture a translation, but take it with a grain of salt.

trabar - 4. tr. Impedir el desarrollo de algo o el desenvolvimiento de alguien. (RAE)

Nos fue trabando la rutina - Routine was getting in our way

llenando de vacíos - filling with voids/emptiness

fuimos hablando la palabra - we went around speaking the word [of God] (the "went around" gives me the sense of progression/duration I feel from "fuimos hablando")

Y explotando en puros líos - and getting ourselves into trouble (taking "explotando" to mean "metiéndonos, could very well be wrong)

Oooooh, it means "ir". That would clear up some confusion. Muchas gracias! - SonrisaDelSol, Sep 17, 2011

I had a feeling it was ir + gerund too. As I have mentioned online translarions are usually not accurate. Infact the translation in my post is not either, I am sure of it. I just don't have the time at this moment to fix it. ;) - EL_MAG0, Sep 17, 2011

Amor_y_paz: "gerundio" not "gerund. If you wish to translate it, then "present participle". - samdie, Sep 19, 2011

Answer 4

Me gusta la canción, Rayando el sol, cada versión.

If you look up the translation for "Rayando el sol" you will probably find "Reaching for the sun" Rayando does not mean reaching, alcanzar means to reach. Rayando means scratching, hard like with a pen or something. The idea behind this poetry is to doodle scratch the sun with the idea that es más fácil llegar al sol que a tu corazón. Many songs of heartache written by Fher. I own every album I found by them, downloaded every song. Me encanta Maná.

Answer 5

That translation helped a lot, thanks

I still am a little confused as to why "ser" is used, and not "estar", though.

I didn't expect to be chosen as best answer as I had ??? in my answer. I was curious too. :) When I look up lyrics on google I include the word translation so that I can search for lyrics with translation. ;) - EL_MAG0, Sep 17, 2011

Lyrics do not always translate. :) - EL_MAG0, Sep 17, 2011

El placer es mío. ;) Bienvenida - EL_MAG0, Sep 17, 2011

Sonrisa, just a proposal: Why don't you change your title to ser + gerund for example, so that people see that it's a grammar question? - ianta, Sep 17, 2011

:) Great suggestion -- will do! - SonrisaDelSol, Sep 17, 2011