They are ambiguous, and have been interpreted to portray prohibited romance between same-sex couples, modern society's views of romantic relationships, and to Romeo & Juliet. A review in The Monitor felt that the lyrics portrayed the forbidden love that Selena and Pérez hid from her overbearing father. Musically, the titular song is "an emotional uptempo ballad" which showcases the singer's "passionate side". In "Cobarde", the protagonist calls her partner a "coward" upon learning on his inability to face her after feeling reticent about his affair. Two other tracks, "Ya No" and "Si Una Vez", delve into heartaches of failed relationships with the protagonist in the former song angrily refusing to take back a cheating partner. Selena's vocals were called "strong [and] raspy" in "Si Una Vez". Suzette particularly liked because Selena gave "that attitude" in the song. "Tus Desprecios" has a storyline typical of mariachi recordings, concerning dysfunctional and volatile relationships. The track uses the traditional Tejano conjunto (small band) style and includes a trilling accordion motif. On the day Selena recorded the song, she was suffering from a bronchitis episode. Perone wrote that the song showed Selena's ease with pop, Latin, and Tejano styles. Writing for The Miami Herald, Mario Tarradell described "Tus Desprecios" and "Si Una Vez" as having a more traditional Tejano sound than the rest of the tracks on Amor Prohibido but found them riddled with synthesizers and digital processing. Another track, "No Me Queda Más", uses the identical style of ranchera songs, with the female singer agonizing over the end of a relationship. The lyrics explore an unrequited love in which a woman wishes the best for her former lover despite her own agony. Jose Feliciano express his take on the song, noting a sense of sorrowfulness in the lyrics, while finding cognitive parallels to Selena's life, and noticed a comparison of compositions that are typically recorded by Pedro Infante. Selena's voice was admired for being powerful and emotive, while her vocals were found to have been subdued and solemn and were sung in a desperate and emotional way. Hispanic magazine praised Selena's vocal interpretations in "No Me Queda Más", citing the singer's ability to tackle such a song reserved for established musicians twice her age. Joe Nick Patoski of The New York Times, recognized the melody of "Fotos y Recuerdos" from the Pretenders' new wave sound, that played on a rock en español groove