Ayer Lyrics in English by Juan Luis Guerra

Exiliado means “exiled” or “banished,” usually describing someone forced away from their home or country. In the song, the singer uses it poetically in “exiliado de tus besos” to express feeling shut out from the person’s affection, making the word feel dramatic and emotionally vivid.

Juan Luis Guerra, an artist from the Dominican Republic, gives longing a wonderfully strange shape in “Ayer.” The singer searches for a woman but cannot see her, even though she fills his dreams and thoughts. He says, “Te amé de oído por primera vez” [I first loved you by ear], then pushes the idea further with “Voy a amarte de oído / A escucharte con ojos” [I’m going to love you by ear / to listen to you with my eyes]. These playful lines suggest that ordinary senses are not enough when desire and imagination take over. He is separated from her kisses, her skin, and her body, so he turns silence, moonlight, tears, coffee, and dreams into substitutes for her presence.

The song then shifts from lonely searching to a direct invitation: “Vísteme de infinito el corazón” [Dress my heart in infinity] and “Jubílame el temor de amarte” [Retire my fear of loving you]. The language is romantic and a little extravagant, especially when he asks her to fill the emptiness he feels without her. The repeated line “Te fui buscando ayer y no te pude ver” [I went looking for you yesterday and I couldn’t see you] gives the song its ache, while the later teasing phrases, such as “Suéltame ese amor, mamita” [Let that love loose on me, baby], make the longing more playful. He cannot hold her physically, but he keeps reaching for her through memory, fantasy, kisses, and music, insisting that their love remains connected even when she is nowhere to be seen.