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.
Mi Manera
Gipsy Kings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Por eso ya
Tanto la olvido
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Yo sé, que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la miro
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
The lyrics of Gipsy Kings's "A Mi Manera" convey a feeling of resignation and acceptance of a lost love. The singer acknowledges that the person he/she had hoped would come back will not be returning, and so he/she is trying to forget and move on by finding a new love. However, he/she compares this new love to the previous one, claiming that it is just as good or even better, but at the same time, reminiscing about the old love.
The chorus of "Dejar y la vive, ay de este mundo, de tristeza, dejar y la vive, a mi manera" roughly translates to "Let her live, oh, in this world, of sadness, let her live, my way." The singer is urging himself/herself to let go of the old love and move on and start living life his/her way, without being tied down by regret or nostalgia.
Overall, the message of the song is about acceptance and choosing to move on with life, even when things don't go as planned.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo sé, que no vendrás
I know that you won't come
Por eso ya
That's why already
Tanto la olvido
I forget her so much
Dejar un nuevo amor
To leave for a new love
Tanto mejor
All the better
Ay como el mío
Oh, like mine
Dejar y la vive
To leave and live it
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Oh, from this world full of sadness
Dejar y la vive
To leave and live it
A mi manera
My way
Yo quiero ser
I want to be
Ay! nada más
Oh, nothing more
Prefieraré
I would prefer
Y recordar
And remember
Un nuevo amor
A new love
Tanto mejor
All the better
Quisiera olvidar
I would like to forget
Ay! todo lo mejor
Oh, everything that's best
Quisiera vivir
I would like to live
Ay nada más
Oh, nothing more
O si my way
Or if it's my way
Tanto la miro
I look at her so much
Lo lai lo lei
N/A
Lo lai lo lai
N/A
O si my way
Or if it's my way
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Spirit Music Group
Written by: Claude Francois, Gilles Thibaut, Jacques Revaux
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ezekiel
Lyrics:
Yo sé, que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la olvido
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Yo sé, que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la miro
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
Konstantin
Yo sé, que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la olvido
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Yo sé, que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la miro
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
Duka F
Lyrics
Yo sé, que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la olvido
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Yo sé, que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la miro
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
Ay! de este mundo, de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay! nada más
Prefieraré
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Ay! todo lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
Lo lai lo lei
Lo lai lo lai
O si my way
Dora Saunier
Yo se que no vendras
Por eso ya
Tanto la olvido
Dejan un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mio
Dejar y la vive
Ay deste mundo de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
Ay mi manera Yo quiero ser
Hay nada mas
Prefierare
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto Mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Tanto lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Hay nada mas
Personne Toutlemonde
Yo sé que no vendrás
Por eso ya
Tanto la olvido
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mío
Dejar y la vive
En este mundo de tristeza
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero ser
Ay nada más
Prefierare
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Quisiera olvidar
Tanto lo mejor
Quisiera vivir
Ay nada más
O si my way
Dulce Galvan
Yo se que no vendras
Por eso dia
Tanto la oblido
Dejar un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Ay como el mio
Dejar y la vive
En este mundo de tristessa
Dejar y la vive
A mi manera
Yo quiero se
Y nada mas
Prefierare
Y recordar
Un nuevo amor
Tanto mejor
Qui siera olvidar
Tanto la dejar
Qui siera vivir
Ay nada mas
O si my way
Random Dude
I’m a sinatra fan. I was watching that episode of better call Saul and I recognized the melody. This version is so beautiful.
Jonah R
same!
nick Deathpool
Something happened to me Random Dude and this is a beautiful version indeed.
R Pach
If you have an ounce of spanish or hispanic blood, this song will bring it to the surface. You will dance like an old timer.
Edit: You will do the Russel Peters Cubano spin.
E4U 1000
Same! I tried singing along but it didn’t go so well…
Gigi B 333 Byars
Its" the "most romantic
Julián Giraldo Murcia
My dad dedicated this song to my mom before he died. I've cannot remember him, I was 2 years old, but every time I hear It, it makes me feel that true love exists...
Yeee
I'm really glad they used this song in Better Call Saul - and what's even more awesome is that it actually caught the ears of so many of you.
Ladyhawk's Lair
It totally did. I immediately stopped and said, "I gotta look that up!" "My Way" with a Latin flavor conveys the very essence of the song. Perfecto!
Sonic Xtreme99
HOW LONG HAS THAT SHOW BEEN IN THE AIR FOR!?