January 19-Happy Birthday José Alfredo

The great Mexican singer/songwriter José Alfredo Jiménez would be 86 years old today. If his name isn't familiar to you, his music likely is. If you live in Mexico you encounter it everywhere--cantinas, taxis, the metro. His music is the standard fare of mariachis. The whole country can sing along with many of his songs. It goes well with tequila.

Listen to THIS CLIP from Youtube where you can hear the man himself singing his great paean to Mexican machismo. His music adds just a touch of mocking irony to the swagger of the lyrics:

Spanish

El Rey

Yo sé bien que estoy afuera
pero el dia en que yo me muera
sé que tendras que llorar

Llorar y llorar
llorar y llorar

Diras que no me quisiste
pero vas a estar muy triste
y asi te vas a quedar

Con dinero y sin dinero
hago siempre lo que quiero
y mi palabra es la ley
no tengo trono ni reina
ni nadie que me comprenda
pero sigo siendo el rey

Una piedra del camino
me enseñó que mi destino
era rodar y rodar

Rodar y rodar
rodar y rodar

Después me dijo un arriero
que no hay que llegar primero
pero hay que saber llegar

Con dinero y sin dinero
hago siempre lo que quiero
y mi palabra es la ley
no tengo trono ni reina
ni nadie que me comprenda
pero sigo siendo el rey.

English

The king

I know very well that I'm out (of your life)
but the day I die
I know you'll have to cry

to cry and cry
to cry and cry

You may say you never loved me
but you're going to be really sad
and that's how you're going to stay

With or without money
I always do what I want
and my words are the law
I don't have neither a throne nor a queen
nor anyone that understand me
but I keep being the king

A stone in the journey
taught me that my destiny
was to roll and roll

to roll and roll
to roll and roll

Then an arriero told me
that you don't have to arrive first
but you have to know how to arrive

With or without money
I always do what I want
and my words are the law
I don't have neither a throne nor a queen
nor anyone that understand me
but I keep being the king.

(from http://lyricstranslate.com)