Cuenta cuentos

Question

From a song (Carla Morrison): "Tú mi cuenta cuentos te olvidare lo juro, lo siento." I cannot make heads or tails of the first phrase. ? I searched for idiomatic phrases but found none. Any help would be appreciated.

I find Carla sings clearly she was brought up on the American Mexican border. She has no connection with Nicaragua - Mardle, Jul 20, 2017

Answer 1

I think this is what it says...

Tú me cuentas cuentos. Te olvidaré lo juro. Lo siento.

You tell me stories. I will forget you I swear. I'm sorry.

Edit: This was a good question and I've learned a new word, "cuentacuentos". So, my updated opinion is that she is most likely saying...

Tú mi cuentacuentos...You, my storyteller...

I just listened to the song and she definitely does say "tú me (or mi) cuenta (no -s) cuentos" Am I translating this wrong? The song is Déjenme llorar. - alba3, Jul 20, 2017

This looks good, Alba great work! :) - FELIZ77, Jul 20, 2017

Tu Me cuentas cuentos looks correct.... better than tu mi cuentas cuentos :) - FELIZ77, Jul 20, 2017

That makes perfect sense. So it should be, Tú me cuentas cuentos, or You tell me stories. It was the mi versus me as well as the lack of the second person singular that threw me. But I've been told that "s" is often dropped, esp in Nicaragua. - RolloMartins, Jul 20, 2017

There is no s because she definitely sings cuentacuentos. - Mardle, Jul 20, 2017

I think it is "cuentacuentos" now, meaning storyteller. - RolloMartins, Jul 20, 2017

As I said in my original answer, now backed up by Winkfish - Mardle, Jul 20, 2017

Answer 2

I found on the web the Spanish lyrics and the English translation. In fact a few sites give the same translation.

Eres tú la noche y yo tu sueño, tú mi cuentacuentos

You are the night and I'm your dream, you my storyteller

It's actually a beautiful song.

The only lyrics I found were the ones set out by the questioner so I am pleased you have found some that agree with my efforts at listening! - Mardle, Jul 20, 2017

So cuentacuentos is a word I wasn't familiar with, and it means "storyteller." So perhaps that is it! - RolloMartins, Jul 20, 2017

I wasn't familiar with cuentacuentos either. I agree that she must be saying, "you, my storyteller..." - alba3, Jul 20, 2017

Answer 3

I am not a native speaker. I like Carla Morrison. I have listened to the song which had the words you have noted, but I think they are wrong. I think she sings Yo tu sueño, Tu mi cuentacuentos te olvidaré te lo juro.

I am a little puzzled at how she says te olvidaré because she doesn't put the stress on the e, but future subjunctive isn't appropriate.

It doesn't change the meaning a lot as set out by alba. cuentacuentos is a word for a storyteller.

Hopefully a fan or a native speaker will give you a perfect transcript/ translation.

Thanks, Mardle! It did confuse me a bit once I listened to it and there was no -s on cuenta. - alba3, Jul 20, 2017

Answer 4

Rollo is correct. A "cuentacuentos" is a story teller.