Tu Recuerdo Y Yo Lyrics in English by Lupillo Rivera
La del estribo is a Mexican expression for the final drink before leaving, similar to "one for the road" in English. Literally, estribo means "stirrup," evoking the moment a rider puts a foot in the stirrup to leave. In the song, the singer orders this last tequila while asking the musicians to play one more song, giving the phrase a memorable blend of farewell and heartbreak.
“Tu Recuerdo Y Yo” puts us inside a cantina, where the singer sits in a corner, orders a song, and receives his tequila while his thoughts travel back to someone he has lost. He admits, “tu recuerdo es mi desgracia” [your memory is my misfortune], so remembering this person does not comfort him. It hurts. The song also points to betrayal and the bitterness of a love that ended badly: “La traición tan conocida que nos deja un mal amor” [the familiar betrayal that leaves us with a bad love]. The cantina is not a cheerful escape. It is where he goes to drink, listen, and keep thinking about her.
The most revealing detail comes at closing time. “La del estribo” [the one for the stirrup] is an idiom for the last drink before leaving, and the singer is already being served it. He says he no longer knows whether he has faith, then asks the musicians to play the song again: “que toquen otra vez la que se fue” [let them play again the one who left]. That wording gives the song a sad little twist: he knows the woman is gone, yet he keeps asking for the song connected to her. Tequila, a repeated melody, and one more drink become his way of staying with a memory he calls his misfortune.
