Tom Lehrer: Author Lyric Sheets
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Public-domain lyrics

Te Amo

Tom Lehrer

A bilingual love duet lets the audience understand a courtship that its two characters cannot quite translate.

Tom Lehrer: Author Lyric Sheets Text 37 Undated text
Public domainRomanceLanguageDuetComicTender
Complete public-domain lyrics

The source credits words and music to Lehrer, with thanks to Munro Edmonson. He sings in Spanish while she answers in English. After the opening solos, the parallel columns show overlapping parts; this reading presents each paired passage one voice at a time, with separate reprises and codas. The marked alternative Spanish couplet is excluded. Spelling, accents and line wraps follow the sheet rather than silently modernizing its Spanish.

He · Opening

Te amo, vida de mi vida,

Te amo con todo mi corazón.

Por tí yo muero, mi querida,

Déjame decirte mi pasión.

She · Opening

The moon is high above,

And I'm in the mood for love,

And I just love the song he is playing,

The night is so romantic,

But it's driving me just frantic,

Cause I don't understand a word he's

saying.

My troubles all might vanish

If I knew a little Spanish,

But I'm afraid it's only Greek to me.

And yet I wish I knew

Just what the guy would do

If I should say "Si, Si."

He · A request

Mi amor,

Un favor

Yo te pido.

Mi amor,

Un favor

Un besito de contestación.

She · Response

I think he said "amor."

I've heard that word before.

I'm almost sure that love

Is what he's thinking of.

There he goes again!

He · Reprise

Te amo,

vida

de mi vida.

Te amo

con todo

mi corazón.

Por tí

yo muero,

mi querida.

Déjame

decirte

mí pasión.

She · Reprise

The moon is high above,

And I'm in the mood for love,

And I just love the song that he's playing.

The night is so romantic,

But it's driving me just frantic,

'Cause I don't understand a word he's saying.

My troubles all might vanish

If I knew a little Spanish,

But I'm afraid it's only Greek to me.

And yet I wish I knew

Just what the guy would do,

If I should say "Si, Si."

He · Coda

Si, Si?

Si, Si?

Ella dice "Si, Si"!

She · Coda

Si, Si!

Si, Si!

So we shall see, Si, Si!

Credits

Written by Tom Lehrer

Words by Tom Lehrer, released into the public domain by the author. This is the author-published text edition, not a transcription of a particular performance.

Source & text edition

Author-published lyric sheet · Spanish and English duet

Tom Lehrer's November 26, 2022 declaration relinquishes copyright in lyrics he wrote. It does not grant rights to third-party music, photographs or album artwork. This edition uses only his words.

Read the author’s lyric sheet (PDF)

View copyright evidence · Author’s public-domain declaration

Retrieved 2026-09-08. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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