le and lo

[Bobbert]

In the song “Luna” that is sung by Ana Gabriel, I notice she sometimes uses “le” to refer to “him,” and other times, she uses “lo” to refer to "him."

The words are:

Luna, tú que lo ves, díle cuanto le amo
Luna, tú que lo ves, díle cuanto lo extraño

Esta noche sé que él está
Contemplándote igual que yo
A través de ti quiero dárle un beso
Tú que sabes de soledad
Aconséjale por favor
De que vuelva; convéncelo te ruego

Luna, tú que lo ves, díle cuanto es que sufro
Luna y díle que vuelva porque ya es mucho

Tú que sabes en donde está
Acaríciale con mi amor
Díle que él es a quien yo más, más quiero

Tú que sabes por donde va
Ilumínale con tu luz
Su sendero porque quizás
No es bueno, no es bueno
Quizás no es bueno
Y díle que lo quiero

Is it possible to use “lo” in the areas that I highlighted in red?

Does changing these to “lo” make the grammar incorrect?

Does using “lo” change the meaning?

Is there a reason why Ana would choose to use "lo" and other times she would choose to use "le" when referring to "him"?

Any and all comments and grammar explanations are appreciated.

[babymetal]

It's called Leísmo I think.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leísmo

[Bobbert]

Thank for your thought, babymetal.

I’m aware of the “leisimo” concept, but if it is “leisimo,” I wonder why she sang “tú que lo ves, “convéncelo,” and “díle que lo quiero.” The “leisimo” is not consistent.

I understand that lyrics many times do not follow grammar rules, so my more pressing question still is, am I correct to use “lo” in place of “le” in the areas I marked in red or will that make them incorrect?

I’m getting better with direct and indirect objects, so every time I hear these words, I question whether that’s the word choice I would have used.

[Rusty]

As you may have read, leísmo is accepted primarily in parts of Spain and it has regional usage elsewhere. It is only used if the direct object is a male.

If you aren't in an area where leísmo is used, you should not use it.
When in Rome, ...

The inconsistent usage of 'le' and 'lo' is disconcerting, since the singer is from Mexico, but she only misused the pronoun once (and it may be regional usage or habitual usage for her).

'Le' is correctly used as an indirect object pronoun when she sang 'aconséjale'. The structure is 'aconsejarle algo a alguien'.
'Acaríciale' is also correct, if the direct object is understood. She is asking the moon to caress (some part of) his body (the structure is 'acariciarle algo a alguien').
'Iluminarle algo a alguien' is the structure being used in 'ilumínale su sendero' (light the way for him).

By the way, no accent mark is needed for the imperative 'dile', as the stress will naturally fall on the penultimate syllable; likewise for 'dárle'.

[Bobbert]

Thanks, Rusty, for the great explanation.

This is kind of like when I questioned whether to use “lo” or “le” with the verb “creer” in a previous post. You and Angelica explained the full meaning of the verb, as you have done here, and that makes all the difference when determining whether it’s a direct or indirect object. I wish the dictionaries would give full, extended meanings and hints when looking up a verb.

I now have a few more verbs to add to my list that I need to be aware of when choosing a direct or indirect object.

Even though the song “Luna” is older, it’s a classic and I still play it often because Ana Gabriel is one of my favorite singing artists. So now I can sing along to the tape without having to questioning why Ana used “le” instead of “lo” every time I hear it.