Gypsy Woman
Joe Bataan Lyrics
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Round the campfire light
A lovely woman in motion
With hair as dark as night
Her eyes were like that of a cat in the dark
That hypnotized me with love
She was a gypsy woman
She was a gypsy woman
She danced around and round
To a guitar melody
From the fire her face was aglow
How she enchanted me
Oh how I'd like to hold her near
And kiss and forever whisper in her ear
I love you gypsy woman
I love you gypsy woman
All through the caravan
She was dancing with all the men
Waiting for the rising sun
Everyone was having fun
I hate to see the lady go
Knowing she will never know
That I love her
That I love her
Gypsy woman
She was gypsy woman
Gypsy woman
Gypsy woman
All through the caravan
She was dancing with all the men
Waiting for the rising sun
Everyone was having fun
I hate to see the lady go
Knowing she will never know
That I love her
I love her
Gypsy woman
Gypsy woman
She was gypsy woman
Gypsy woman
She was gypsy woman
She was gypsy woman
The lyrics of Joe Bataan’s song “Gypsy Woman” describes a moment of intense fascination and attraction towards a mysterious woman who appears out of nowhere in a caravan. The lyrics evoke a sense of exoticism and enchantment surrounding this woman, who is described as having dark hair and captivating eyes that hypnotize the narrator with love. The woman dances around the campfire to a guitar melody, entrancing all the men around her. The narrator longs to hold her near, kiss her and whisper in her ear “I love you gypsy woman”. However, despite the magic of the moment, the narrator knows that the woman is destined to leave them forever without ever knowing his love for her.
The lyrics of “Gypsy Woman” are filled with a sense of longing and desire, as the narrator is bewitched by this woman who represents a fleeting moment of passion and romance. The beautiful imagery of the caravan and the campfire evoke a sense of wanderlust and adventure, while the guitar melody adds to the romantic ambiance of the song. The lyrics also touch upon themes of cultural difference and otherness, as the woman is described as a “gypsy” and her allure is linked with her exoticism and otherworldly qualities.
Line by Line Meaning
From nowhere through the caravan
Out of thin air she appeared amidst a crowd of travelers
Round the campfire light
She moved in graceful circles around the fire
A lovely woman in motion
A stunning woman dancing with grace
With hair as dark as night
Her hair was black as coal
Her eyes were like that of a cat in the dark
Her eyes, distinct like that of a feline predator in the shadows
That hypnotized me with love
Her alluring stare bewitched me into an infatuation of love
She was a gypsy woman
A woman of free-spirited lifestyle, belonging to the nomadic or ethnic Romani people
She danced around and round
She spun with vivacious energy
To a guitar melody
The sound of a guitar accompanied her lively movements
From the fire her face was aglow
Her radiant face glowed from the light of the flames
How she enchanted me
She captivated me with her charm
Oh how I'd like to hold her near
I yearned for the privilege of holding her close to me
And kiss and forever whisper in her ear
To caress and whisper sweet nothings into her ear for eternity
I love you gypsy woman
My affection for this nomadic lady was immeasurable
All through the caravan She was dancing with all the men
She danced with any man who wanted to engage her
Waiting for the rising sun
She danced till sunrise
Everyone was having fun
People were losing themselves to the music and merriment, including me
I hate to see the lady go
It pained me to watch her depart
Knowing she will never know
I'm aware that she will never know about my true feelings towards her
That I love her
That my love for her was pure and real
Gypsy woman
A woman who possessed the culture, mystery, and passion of her ethnicity
She was gypsy woman
She embodied the characteristics of her forebears, a thorny rose among the weeds.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Curtis L Mayfield
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Born Peter Nitollano, of African-American/Filipino parents, Joe Bataan grew up in Spanish Harlem, where he ran with Puerto Rican gangs and absorbed R&B, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Rican musical influences. His music career followed a pair of stints in Coxsackie State Prison. Self taught on the piano, he organized his first band in 1965 and scored his first recording success in 1967 with "Gypsy Woman" on Fania Records, . The tune was a hit with the New York Latin market despite the English lyrics sung by Joe, and exemplified the nascent Latin Soul sound. In early anticipation of the disco formula, "Gypsy Woman" created dance energy by alternating what was fundamentally a pop-soul tune with a break featuring double timed hand claps, . Joe would take this tendency even further on his influential Salsoul, which fused funk and latin influences in slick yet soulful orchestrations. Salsoul remains influential as a rare groove cult item, but pointed to the future at the time of its release. The LP embodied the artist's highly deliberate and culturally aware musical concept. Bataan theorized the '70s next big thing as a hybrid: an Afro Cuban rhythm section playing Brazilian influenced patterns over orchestral funk. In many ways, his vision was on the money, though most of the money would go to others, and mainstream stardom would elude him. He did, however, get in on the ground floor of the new trend as an early hit maker. His biggest commercial move was a Salsoul production released under the Epic umbrella, and promoted to the new disco market as Afrofilipino, which included 1975's "The Bottle", a much anthologized classic that drives an R&B horn arrangment with a relentless piano montuno.
Always in touch with the street, Joe Bataan picked up on rap very early in the game. His minor rap hit, "Rap-O, Clap-O" was a bit more successful in Europe than in the States, and is remembered as rap's debut in the European market. Nevertheless, his legacy remains his gritty and realistic Latin soul lyrics, his self identification as an "Ordinary Guy", and his highly personal and prophetic merger of Latin and soul influences.
Larry
Joe’s version here has a slow groove, when he performs this live the pace is much more intense and the energy he produces is intoxicating,
will make your whole body move 💃🏽🕺
Israel SANCHEZ-COLL
GYPSY WOMAN is a song written by Curtis Mayfield and originally released by The Impressions as a single in 1961. The song was also included on their 1963 album debut The Impressions. The above lyrics are for the original The Impressions version of GYPSY WOMAN as released in 1961 and 1963. The Impressions -- "Gypsy Woman / As Long As You Love Me"
Dennis Mc laurin
Brian Hyland did a 1970 cover version that went to # 3.
I prefer the original.
Indie_cake_tj
Su voz es como seda en mis oídos, un placer escuchar esta canción 🤌
Hawaiian Essence
My FAVORITE version!! Love the beat & voice that goes with this💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼💃🏼🔥
Sunny Island
1:55🔥
Languid
strictlynorton
Love when an artist is brave enough to radically reinterpret another's song but what JB has done to Curtis' alltime classic is utterly stunning.
Dabigkahuna76 Thanos
No
Brumsy
couldn't agree more ... dare I say that the cover surpasses the original ?
Mike Stander
Great to hear a version of this song I'd never heard before with a slowed down tempo and different lyrics. I never realized they were saying "She smokes pot" in the background. Lol