Muéstrame el camino que yo voy (Despacito)

[bellatter]

¡Hola a todos!

Tengo una pregunta sobre la canción Despacito. Hay una línea que dice "muéstrame el camino que yo voy". ¿Qué significa eso? ¿Significa "show me the way that I'm going" (o sea, muéstrame el camino que ya estoy yendo), o "show me the way to go" (muéstrame el camino que quieres que vaya)?

No sé. La primera me parece mas literal, pero la segunda tiene mas sentido para mi.

[aleCcowaN]

I don't know the song but on a first glance it means "show me the way and I'll follow it". The use of present simple in "que yo voy" instead of future simple is meant to express that a decision has been instantly made or there are no doubts in the mind of the speaker. It can also express allegiance or blind trust.

EDIT:
I took a look and, to me, that part of the lyrics means (forgive my ESL):

By the way you looked I felt you were expecting for me to make a move.
Give me a clear signal and I'll be by you at once (this is the line you're asking about)

[poli]

Are those the Spanish lyrics to "I want you to show me the way"?
Well, come think of it, they don't match the music.

[bellatter]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

The use of present simple in "que yo voy" instead of future simple is meant to express that a decision has been instantly made or there are no doubts in the mind of the speaker. It can also express allegiance or blind trust.

Hmm... Supongo que este uso del presente simple es similar a la frase "tell me when the party is and I'm there" en íngles. ¿Cierto?

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by bellatter

Hmm... Supongo que este uso del presente simple es similar a la frase "tell me when the party is and I'm there" en íngles. ¿Cierto?

I'm not familiar with the English phrase.

In my local Spanish you may even use past simple "Decíme cuando me necesitás y ahí fui", symbolizing the action precedes the request because the person is much willing to do it.

[bellatter]

Algo me ocurrió...

Hay varios usos de la palabra "que." Por ejemplo:

1) Dame la comida que me gusta.
2) Dame comida que tengo hambre.

Is that right? I've been thinking that "que" in the phrase "muéstrame el camino que yo voy" was the usage #1, but is it actually #2?

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by bellatter

I've been thinking that "que" in the phrase "muéstrame el camino que yo voy" was the usage #1, but is it actually #2?

100% right.

For #1 it's required other matching tenses:

muéstrame el camino que tomaré mañana
muéstrame el camino que estoy usando (not much sense, but it's certainly #1)

The key is both muéstrame and voy being in Spanish indicative*, so que needs to be a conjunction (a causal one, this time) and not a pronombre relativo ("muéstrame el camino ese, el que yo sigo")

* If a pronombre relativo you would expect subjunctive: "te prestaré el libro que tú quieras"; or a comma, if indicative: "A mi entonces prometida, que finalmente me dejó, le gustaban los perros".

I know it's not easy. I just wanted to describe the way native speakers parse phrases. Moods are essential.