Determining imperative or interjection within artistic context
I was listening to Maná's Reloj Cucú. Part of the chorus says "Oye cucu papa se fue"
I looked up a few translations and the consensus seems to be "Hey Cucu clock dad left" - I'm just trying to see where the context was picked up for this intent. Both the interjection and imperative use of "Oye" seem to work here. To me "Listen Cucu Dad left" in the imperative seems to make the most sense as immediately after, it seems the speaker is commanding/pleading with the clock to "Prende la luz" (Turn on the light) and "Apaga el tiempo" (Stop/turn off time).
This doesn't change the overall message of the song or anything, but I'm trying to appreciate the subtlety of the speaker using "Oye" as an exclamation/interjection (to indicate surprise/anxiety) vs expressing the childish/irrational anthropomorphism of a clock via the imperative.
2 Answers
Oye is indeed an interjection spoken in imperative and very common. What ever clause follows doesn´t have to be imperative, but if it is then the verb of that clause must be conjugated to imperative as well, ie: Oye Cucú, prende la luz / Oye Cucú, quisiera que me prendieras la luz / Oye Cucú, la luz está apagada.
"Oye" is very much like "Hey!" in English. "Hey, Cucu, Dad has left."
