"Bésame Mucho" is a Spanish language song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez.

According to Velázquez herself , she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin.

She was inspired by the aria "Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruiseñor" from the Spanish 1916 opera Goyescasby Enrique Granados.

Bésame, bésame mucho,, Como si fuera esta noche la última vez., Bésame, bésame mucho,, Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después., , Quiero tenerte muy cerca,, Mirarme en tus ojos, verte junto a mí., Piensa que tal vez mañana, Yo ya estaré lejos, muy lejos de tí., , Bésame, bésame mucho,, Como si fuera esta noche la última vez., Bésame, bésame mucho,, Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte después.

Kiss me, kiss me a lot,, As if tonight was the last time., Kiss me, kiss me a lot,, I fear to lose you, to lose you afterward., , I want to have you very close,, See myself in your eyes, see you next to me., Think that maybe tomorrow, I'll be far, far away from you., , Kiss me, kiss me a lot,, As if tonight was the last time., Kiss me, kiss me a lot,, I fear to lose you, to lose you afterward.

Many interpretations use perderte otra vezinstead of the original perderte despues.

In a video from "TV Mexicana" from that time Consuelo Velázquez plays the piano herself and the singer sings perderte depues.

Perderte despuesmeans "to lose you in the future". Considering Velázquez was 15 when she wrote the song, this sentence reflects less experience and an innocent feeling.

Perderte otra vezmeans "to lose you again". This may have been modified to touch a more grown-up, experienced audience.

The lyrics were translated into English by Sunny Skylar. The phrase "bésame mucho" can be translated into English as "kiss me a lot".

"Bésame Mucho" is also known by translated names such as "Kiss Me Much", "Kiss Me a Lot", "Kiss Me Again and Again", "Embrasse-Moi", "Stale Ma Bozkavaj", "Suutele minua" and "Szeretlek én".

Emilio Tuero was the first to record the song. It is believed by some sources to be the most recorded song of all time.

The composition has been used on the soundtrack of numerous films including Great Expectations, Let It Be, A toda máquina, Moon Over Parador, Arizona Dream, Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, In Good Company, Paid, Juno, Mona Lisa Smile, Mivtza Savta, Ljubav i drugi zločini and Niravana by Gabriel Salvatores.

In 2007, Composer/Arranger and Jazz Trombonist Steve Wiest was nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement for his version of "Besame Mucho" that was recorded by Maynard Ferguson on The One and Only Maynard Ferguson.

In Jan. 2010, at the 52nd Grammy Awards, Herb Alpert was nominated for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.