“This Jealousy” Lyrics
Album: Para Siempre (Forever), 2007
Style: Orchestral ranchera, mariachi, regional Mexican from Jalisco
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Te miré,
Estabas tan bonita,
Tan sensual,
Te imaginé ajena y me hizo mal.
I saw you
You were so pretty,
So sensual,
I imagined you a stranger and it made me ill.
“The Great Fall” Lyrics
Album: Para Siempre (Forever), 2007
Style: Ranchera about the downfall of a relationship after infidelity, and the regret afterward.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
¡Ay, ay, ay, ja, ja, ja!
Por darle rienda suelta a mis antojos,
Por no tener conciencia del abismo,
Por eso ayer hice llorar sus ojos,
Y hoy mis ojos también hacen lo mismo.
For giving my whims free reign,
For not being aware of the abyss,
For that yesterday I made her eyes cry,
And today my eyes also do the same.
“Beautiful Beloved” Lyrics
Album: Personalidad (Personality), 1992
Style: Mariachi, regional Mexican, love song, romantic serenade
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Hermoso cariño,
Hermoso cariño
Que Dios me ha mandado
A ser destinado nomás para mí.
Beautiful beloved,
Beautiful beloved
That God has sent me
To be destined only for me.
Precioso regalo,
Precioso regalo
Del cielo ha llegado
Y que me ha colmado de dicha y amor.
Precious gift,
Precious gift
From heaven has arrived
And it fills me with bliss and love.
“Forever” Lyrics
Album: Para Siempre (Forever), 2007
Style: Romantic mariachi serenade to a lover after a rough relationship spot. Relationships take work, but their love is forever.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Vale más, un buen amor
Que mil costales de oro.
Vale más, un buen amor
Por eso eres mi tesoro.
It’s worth more, a good love,
Than a thousand sacks of gold.
It’s worth more, a good love,
That’s why you are my treasure.
“A Million Springs” Lyrics
Album: Para Siempre (Forever), 2007; Un Azteca en el Azteca (An Aztec in The Aztec), 2016
Style: Regional Mexican from Jalisco, with cello, guitar, and accordion. Song about unrequited love and serenades.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Te molesta si te hablo de mi amor,
Y me pides, por favor, olvide el tema,
Y que cambie la letra de mis canciones,
Y tu nombre, quite ya, de aquel poema.
It bothers you if I talk to you about my love,
And you ask me, please, to forget the topic,
And to change the lyrics of my songs,
And your name, to remove now, from that poem.
“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 Town Son”
Composer: José Alfredo Jiménez
Style: Ranchera about poverty with dignity.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Es mi orgullo haber nacido
En el barrio más humilde,
Alejado del bullicio
(Y) de la falsa sociedad.
It is my pride to have been born
In the most humble neighborhood,
Away from the hustle and bustle
(And) from the false society.
“The King”
Composer: José Alfredo Jiménez
Style: Ranchera very popular in Mexico. This is one of José Alfredo’s most famous songs.
Country: Mexico
Listen on YouTube: José Alfredo Jiménez (original), Vicente Fernandez, Alejandro Fernández, and now George Strait (possibly because of my translation? I don’t know, but if so, I am very honored!)
Yo sé bien que estoy afuera
Pero el día que yo me muera
Sé que tendrás que llorar.
(Llorar y llorar, x2)
I am fully aware that I am out
But the day that I die
I know that you will have to cry.
(Cry and cry, x2)
Dirás que no me quisiste,
Pero vas a estar muy triste
Y así te vas a quedar.
You will say that you did not love me,
But you will be very sad
And that is how you will stay.
“Our Vow” (1956) Lyrics
Composer: Benito de Jesús, famously sung by Julio Jaramillo.
Style: Pasillo, waltz-like originally. Many covers in different styles.
Country: Ecuador originally, but popular across Latin America.
Listen: Julio Jaramillo (Ecuador), José Feliciano (Puerto Rico), Javier Solis (Mexico), Vicente Fernández (Mexico) La Santa Cecilia (Mexican-American), Juanes (Colombia).
“Nuestro Juramento” is a well-known romance song across Latin America and arguably Julio Jaramillo’s most famous song. It is about human mortality and passion. It is two lovers who declare to continue loving each other forever, and to be devastated should the other die. The verb jurar means “to swear, to vow” and a juramento is an oath or a vow.
“Your Memory and Me”
Composer: José Alfredo Jiménez
Style: Ranchera, sad song about reminiscing at a bar about a lost love.
Country: Mexico
Listen: YouTube
Estoy en el rincón de una cantina,
Oyendo una canción que yo pedí.
Me están sirviendo ahorita mi tequila,
Ya va mi pensamiento rumbo a ti.
I am in the corner of a bar,
Listening to a song I myself requested.
They are serving my tequila to me right now,
Already my thoughts are on their way to you.
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