A Great Verb In An Excellent Song

There's a great verb in Spanish - escarmentar* - which, like many verbs, has more than one meaning, but this is the meaning that captured my attention: "To learn from experience; to learn from one’s mistakes." It can also mean to learn from someone else's mistakes. You can hear this verb in the lyrics from the Spanish version of one of the most popular songs from the original Shrek movie, Hallelujah. See below for the lyrics and my English translation. (Just a quick reminder that the translations I provide here are designed for helping you understand the Spanish vocabulary, they're not designed to be the most poetic, or to hark back to the original English lyrics.)

Another word I want to point out in the lyrics is the conjunction/adverb "sino**," which has a track record of getting confused with the noun of the same spelling, or with "si no." See below for their separate meanings.

sino (conjunction/adverb) = but; but rather; but instead
sino (noun) = destiny; fate
si no = if not; else; or else; otherwise

 *Porque un día podamos escarmentar = Because one day we could learn from our mistakes
 **Y no gobierne la corrupción sino lo bueno y lo mejor del alma pura = And corruption doesn’t rule but instead goodness and the best of a pure soul

Aleluya Il Divo	Hallelujah Il Divo
Un soldado a casa hoy regresó Y un niño enfermo se curó Y hoy no hay trabajo en el bosque de la lluvia	A soldier returned home today And a sick child recovered And today there is no work in the rainforest
Un desamparado se salvó por causa de una buena acción Y hoy nadie lo repudia   Aleluya Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya	A refugee was saved because of a good deed And today no one repudiates him   Aleluya Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya
Un ateo que consiguió creer Y un hambriento hoy tiene de comer Y hoy donaron  a una iglesia una fortuna	An atheist found a way to believe And a hungry person today has something to eat And today they donated  a fortune to a church
Que la guerra pronto se acabará Que en el mundo al fin reinará la paz Que no habrá miseria alguna  Aleluya Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya	May the war soon come to an end May peace at last prevail in the world May there not be any poverty at all  Aleluya Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya, Aleluya
Porque la norma sea el amor Y no gobierne la corrupción sino lo bueno y lo mejor del alma pura Porque Dios nos proteja de un mal final	Because the norm is love And corruption doesn’t rule but instead goodness and the best of a pure soul Because God protects us from a bad end
Porque un día  podamos escarmentar Porque acaben  con tanta furia  Aleluya Aleluya, Aleluya,  Aleluya, Aleluya   Aleluya, Aleluya	Because one day  we could learn from our mistakes Because they’re done   with so much anger  Aleluya Aleluya, Aleluya,  Aleluya, Aleluya   Aleluya, Aleluya