Latin American beats had been joined with flamenco by gitanos since at least the 1950s, mixing complex strumming with rhythmic, percussive tapping on their guitars' tops. The new Reyes generation — soon to meet and join up with three guitar-playing brothers from the Baliardo family — began creating more pop-oriented songs. They played at roma parties and at street corners until they got their chance to record under the group's new name, Gipsy Kings.
Sharp-eyed individuals might have noted that all the left-handed members of the group play guitars strung upside-down; this is usually as a result of the individuals' not having their own guitars when growing-up. Borrowing and playing a right-hander's the wrong way up was the only way to learn.
Band's story
They became popular with their self-titled first album, Gipsy Kings, which included the songs "Djobi Djoba ", "Bamboleo " and the romantic ballad "Un Amor". The song "Volare" on their second album Mosaique is a rumba version of Domenico Modugno's Italian hit "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu". The Gipsy Kings were enormously popular in France and throughout Europe along with the middle east. In 1989, Gipsy Kings was released in the United States and it spent 40 weeks on the charts, one of very few Spanish language albums to do so. Their cover version of "Hotel California" is an excellent example of fast flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic strumming (this version was featured in the Coen Brothers' movie The Big Lebowski).
In 1991 the Gipsy Kings provided flamenco guitar and backing vocals on Bananarama's version of "Long Train Running", using the pseudonym "Alma de Noche" ("Soul of the Night"). Also in '91, for a multi-artist project called "Simply Mad About the Mouse" — a compilation of new versions of songs from Disney films — the Kings contributed an annaly-crafted, fast-paced rumba flamenca version of "I've Got No Strings" from "Pinocchio" - replete with feverish flamenco guitar leads and rhythmic hand-claps (palmas). The lyrics' enthusiasm for freedom, not being tied down, fit the gipsy creed perfectly.
Their 1993 album "Love and Liberte" won the Latin Grammy Award for "Best Pop Album of the Year," and contained the enduring song "Montana," an emotional account of Roma chased from their birthplace by prejudice and persecution.
The '95 compilation "The Best of the Gipsy Kings" went platinum, staying on the charts more than one year. Albums "Mosaïque," "Allegria," "Este Mundo," "Gipsy Kings Live," "Love & Liberte," "Tierra Gitana," "Cantos de Amor" and "Volare! - the Very Best of the Gipsy Kings" went gold.
Lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo — who has always written the group's instrumentals — released his first solo album, Essences, in 2001; a second self-titled one followed in 2003.
Flamenco purists criticized their use of drum kits, electronic bass, and electronic keyboards and rock and reggae beats. Defenders say they helped create a new style.
Gipsy Kings' total album sales worldwide now exceed 18 million; they toured worldwide again in 2007. They are the world's best-selling music group from France in history, according to their website, where dates and places of their current tour can be found.
Years active: from 1987 till present.
Members
Gipsy Kings are members of two related families: the Reyes and the Baliardos (Reyes means Kings in Spanish). They are cousins of the flamenco great Manitas de Plata, lead guitarist Tonino Baliardo married his granddaughter. Nicolas, Canut, Paul, Andre and Patchai Reyes are sons of flamenco singer Jose Reyes. The Gipsy Kings are:
Nicolas Reyes: lead vocals, guitar
Paul Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Canut Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Patchai Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Andre Reyes: backup vocals, guitar
Diego Baliardo: guitar
Paco Baliardo: guitar
Tonino Baliardo: lead guitar
Chico Bouchikhi was also a member of the Gipsy Kings, but quit after the album Mosaique.
Como Ayer
Gipsy Kings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo quiero ser si tu siempre a mi
La vida sera mas bella para mi
Que siempre yo sone
Ante mi juventud
Ahora mi vida
No tengo ganas de llorar
Las lagrimas no cayan mas
Eres para mi la forma
No sabes tu que siempre me quedo de ti
Tu seras mas bella que eras
Why tu lo siempre das
Lo voy a preguntar
Para mi seras la forma
No sabes tu me quedo siempre yo de ti
Tu seras mas bella que eras
Why tu lo siempre das
Lo voy a preguntar
Ahora mi vida
No tengo ganas de llorar
Why si los tiempos pasaran
Las lagrimas no cayan mas
The lyrics of Gipsy Kings' "Como Ayer" express a desire to return to the past and relive a time when the singer and their loved one were together. The line "Yo quiero ser si otra vez llegaras" (I want to be if you would arrive again) conveys a longing to reunite with the person they miss so much. The song suggests that being with that person would make life more beautiful and fulfilling, as reflected in the line "La vida sera mas bella para mi" (Life will be more beautiful for me).
The second verse reveals that the singer no longer feels like crying. Even if time passes, they know that they will not shed tears again, perhaps because they have already cried all they could. The song implies that the person the singer misses is the key to their happiness, as they describe them as "la forma" – the way, the shape or the essence of the person that they will always remain. The song thus represents the universal theme of lost love and the desire to go back in time and do things differently.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo quiero ser si otra vez llegaras
I wish you would come back to me again
Yo quiero ser si tu siempre a mi
I wish to always have your love
La vida sera mas bella para mi
My life will be more beautiful with you
Que siempre yo sone
Just like how I always dreamt
Ante mi juventud
In my youth
Ahora mi vida
Now in my life
No tengo ganas de llorar
I don't feel like crying
Why si los tiempos pasaran
And if time were to pass
Las lagrimas no cayan mas
Tears would no longer fall
Eres para mi la forma
You are the way for me
No sabes tu que siempre me quedo de ti
You don't know that I always think of you
Tu seras mas bella que eras
You will be more beautiful than before
Why tu lo siempre das
And you always give it
Lo voy a preguntar
I will ask you
Para mi seras la forma
You will be my way
No sabes tu me quedo siempre yo de ti
You don't know that I always think of you
Tu seras mas bella que eras
You will be more beautiful than before
Why tu lo siempre das
And you always give it
Lo voy a preguntar
I will ask you
Ahora mi vida
Now in my life
No tengo ganas de llorar
I don't feel like crying
Why si los tiempos pasaran
And if time were to pass
Las lagrimas no cayan mas
Tears would no longer fall
Lyrics © PEERMUSIC FRANCE, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: ANDRE REYES, FRANCOIS CANUT REYES, JACQUES PACO BALIARDO, MAURICE DIEGO BALIARDO, NICOLAS REYES, PATCHAI REYES, PAUL REYES, TONINO ANTOINE BALIARDO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Al Oe
Yo quiero ser si otra vez llegarás,
Yo quiero ser si tu siempre ya a mi querer
La vida será más bella para mí
Que siempre yo soñé
Ante mi juventud
Ahora mi vida cambiás
No tengo ganas de llorar
Y si los tiempos pasarán,
Las lagrimas no cayan más.
Eres para mi la flor más bella del jardín,
Lo sabes tú, que siempre me cuido de ti.
Como tu serás al ver la vida así
Y tu lo sentirás
Lo voy a preguntar.
Para mi serás la flor más bella del jardín,
Lo sabes tú, me cuido siempre yo de ti.
Cuando tu serás al ver la vida así
Y tu lo sentirás
Lo voy a preguntar
Al Oe
Yo quiero ser si otra vez llegarás,
Yo quiero ser si tu siempre ya a mi querer
La vida será más bella para mí
Que siempre yo soñé
Ante mi juventud
Ahora mi vida cambiás
No tengo ganas de llorar
Y si los tiempos pasarán,
Las lagrimas no cayan más.
Eres para mi la flor más bella del jardín,
Lo sabes tú, que siempre me cuido de ti.
Como tu serás al ver la vida así
Y tu lo sentirás
Lo voy a preguntar.
Para mi serás la flor más bella del jardín,
Lo sabes tú, me cuido siempre yo de ti.
Cuando tu serás al ver la vida así
Y tu lo sentirás
Lo voy a preguntar
Joao Igor Ferreira
Muito lindo em espanhol
womensway zara
شكرا
Bela Daniel
Son clásicos no pasan de moda, eternos 😍
Jorge Ivan Garcia Franco
Me encanta esta canción.
Diego Rivero
los reyes,nunca va a ver un grupo igual, es mas no hay ninguno inigualables!!!
Montse Ricart
Son muy buenos los Gipsy 💔💔💔💔
starclaps
Favorite song by these guys. totally awesome.
Jacqueline Saenz
Lo mejor de lo mejor👊
Estelita Ferreira
adoro as musicas do gisy kings