“She Who Got Away” Lyrics
Album: Album (AlbumTranslation), Year
Style: Ranchera. Regretful song about the one who got away.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
¡Ay, amor, amor mío, uy-ya!
Oh, love, my love, uh-ya!
Tengo dinero en el mundo,
Dinero maldito que nada vale.
Aunque me miren sonriendo,
La pena que traigo
Ni Dios la sabe.
I have money in this world,
Damn money worth nothing.
Though they see me smiling,
The sorrow I carry
Not even God knows it.
“I Woke Up in Your Arms” Lyrics
Style: Ranchera, love song
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Amanecí otra vez
Entre tus brazos
Y desperté llorando
De alegría.
I woke up again
In your arms
And I woke up crying
From joy.
“If They Let Us”
Style: Ranchera, romantic song about leaving to a happy new beginning with your lover
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Si nos dejan,
Nos vamos a querer toda la vida.
Si nos dejan,
Nos vamos a vivir a un mundo nuevo.
If they let us,
We will love each other our whole lives.
If they let us,
We will go live in a new world.
“Soul of Steel” Lyrics
Style: Ranchera
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Podrás tener mucha suerte,
Podrás andar por el mundo
Destrozando corazones.
You can have lots of luck,
You can travel the world
Destroying hearts.
“I Let Go of Your Rein” Lyrics
Style: Corrido, ranchera, sometimes a mariachi. This popular Mexican song is an epic “you’ll miss me, but go” breakup song.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube (José Alfredo Jiménez, Maná, Lupillo Rivera, Vicente Fernandez, and many more)
Se me acabó la fuerza
De mi mano izquierda.
Voy a dejarte el mundo
Para ti solita.
I lost the strength
On my left hand.
I am going to leave you the world
For your very own.
“The White Horse” Lyrics
Style: Corrido about a white horse, but it’s really about a road trip all over Mexico on a car (romanticized as a horse).
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
This song is about a road trip [es] that José Alfredo Jiménez took from Guadalajara (in central Mexico) to Baja California (just south of the United States southwest) on a white 1957 Chrysler. It is a good song to teach Mexican geography, since he mentions the places he passes on his journey.
Este es el corrido del caballo blanco,
Que en un día domingo feliz arrancara. *
Iba con la mira de llegar al norte, *
Habiendo salido de Guadalajara.
This is the narrative of the white horse,
That on a Sunday, happily took off. *
He went with the goal of reaching the north, *
Having left from Guadalajara.
“Four Paths”
Style: Ranchera, mariachi, forsaken love song. A song about picking your life path when you feel lost. The cuatro caminos refers to the four cardinal directions.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Es imposible que yo te olvide.
Es imposible que yo me vaya.
Por donde quiera que voy te miro.
Ando con otra y por ti suspiro.
It is impossible for me to forget you.
It is impossible for me to leave.
Because wherever I go, I see you.
I am with another and I sigh for you.
“May Things Go Beautifully For You”
Style: Sorrowful mariachi love song. This is a post-breakup song, with the narrator wishing his former lover nothing but good things. It sounds like he ended the relationship due to outside circumstances.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon. The song was also used for a 1978 Mexican film, but there is little information available online.
Ojalá que te vaya bonito.
Ojalá que se acaben tus penas,
Que te digan que yo ya no existo,
Y conozcas personas más buenas...
I hope that things go beautifully for you.
I hope that your sorrows end,
That they tell you that I no longer exist,
And that you meet better people…
“Thank You”, 1972
Style: Mariachi farewell song.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon.
José Alfredo Jiménez died 41 years ago on November 23, 1973.
My father is a huge fan of José Alfredo Jiménez. Once, when I was visiting home and helping him install a new music program, he started filling his playlist and found this song. He told me more about the legendary José Alfredo Jiménez, beloved and prolific singer-songwriter of Mexico. Jiménez died in 1973 of cirrhosis of the liver due to his drinking. He didn’t die sad or regretful, though. He died full of gratitude for his fans. He composed this last song, “Gracias” (Thank You) to express his love for everyone, and to let people know that he thought his life was wonderful, and that he had made peace with his upcoming death.
He picked his own epigram, arranged his own funeral, and settled his affairs. Here is an interview with José Alfredo Jiménez at the hospital. Fourteen days before his death, he left the hospital and drove to have dinner with his son, then they played dominos all night.
To this day, he is still internationally famous for his character- and story-driven lyrics. When people think of mariachi, ranchera, and corrido songs, they think of José Alfredo Jiménez.
¿Cómo puedo pagar
Que me quieran a mí
Por todas mis canciones?
How can I repay
That you all love me
For all my songs?
“The Coyote”, mid-20th century
Style: Corrido with mariachi music. This is the story of an unrequited love triangle that ended in the rival’s death.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube, Amazon
Le pinte un cuatro al coyote, y me fui para la sierra.
El Coyote era un bandido, nacido allá por mi tierra.
Lo conocí desde niño. Fuimos juntos a la escuela.
I drew a cross over the Coyote, and I left for the sierra.
The Coyote was a bandit, born near my hometown.
I knew him since we were kids. We went to school together.
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