The restaurant where he worked as a young man, "La Sirena" was frequented by Andres Huesca, who heard some of his compositions of the then young singer, among which was "Cuando el Destino" and "Yo". Huesca immediately decided to record this and following this in 1948 for the first time on the radio station XEX-AM and months after the XEW-AM, which was catapulted to fame. He married Paloma Gálvez and had two children, José Alfredo and Paloma.
He had no musical training—according to the singer Miguel Aceves Mejía, Jiménez didn't play an instrument and didn't even know the Spanish terms for "waltz" and "key". Nonetheless he composed more than 1000 songs. Among the most famous are "Ella", "Media Vuelta", "El Rey", "El Jinete", "Si Nos Dejan", "Amanecí Entre Tus Brazos", "Cuando el Destino", "El Caballo Blanco", "Llegó Borracho el Borracho" and "Que Te Vaya Bonito", as well as "Camino de Guanajuato", where he sang about his home State of Guanajuato as well as his home town of Dolores Hidalgo Guanajuato.
In addition to his own hit recordings, many of his songs have been recorded successfully by recording artists around the Spanish-speaking world, most notably by Pedro Infante, Rocío Durcal, Javier Solís, Pedro Fernández, Jorge Negrete, Vikki Carr, Luis Miguel, Lola Beltrán, Lucha Villa, Vicente Fernández and by Spaniards Julio Iglesias, Joaquín Sabina and Manolo García.
Jiménez passed at a young age, like others of his contemporaries: Negrete, Infante and Solís, the so-called "Three Mexican Roosters", or Tres Gallos Mexicanos all died young. He was struck-down by hepatitis at age 47 and is regarded, along with Agustín Lara and Juan Gabriel, as one of the best songwriters that Mexico has ever produced. He was certainly one of the most prolific composers in the history of popular music, world-wide.
Shortly before his death, he wrote and recorded his last song, "Gracias", thanking the public for all of the affection they had shown him. His tomb has become a place of pilgrimage for serious music fans from around the Spanish-speaking world.
Esta Noche
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Para ver si me puedo quitar
Una pena que traigo en al alma
Que me agobia y que me haré llorar
Si me encuentro por ahí con la muerte
A lo macho no la he de temer
Si su amor lo perdí para siempre
Ya traté de vivir sin mirarla
Ya luché por no ser infeliz
Y tan solo encontré dos caminos
O lograrla o dejar de vivir
Ésta noche le doy serenata,
No me importa perder o ganar,
Ésta noche le canto a la ingrata,
Tres canciones que la hagan llorar.
Si me matan al pie de su reja,
A lo macho me harían un favor,
Que más puedo pedirle a la vida,
Que morirme juntito a mi amor.
Ya traté de vivir sin mirarla,
Ya luche por no ser infeliz,
Y tan solo encontré dos caminos,
O dejarla o dejar de vivir.
The lyrics of José Alfredo Jiménez's "Esta Noche" convey a heart-wrenching tale of a man grappling with the pain of lost love. The song starts with the singer expressing his plan to go out and party, hoping to alleviate the anguish that he carries in his soul. He is not afraid of death, should he come across it, for he has already lost the love he had forever. The singer confesses that he has tried to live his life without looking back, but the only options he can find now are to either win her back or to quit living.
In the following stanza, the singer describes how he plans to serenade his love tonight, regardless of the outcome. Even if it is the last thing he does, he wants to make her cry three tears for him. He then concludes that if he were to die at her feet, all would be well, for there is nothing more he could ask for than to be with the love of his life in his final moments.
Line by Line Meaning
Esta noche me voy de parranda
Tonight I'm going out to party
Para ver si me puedo quitar
To see if I can remove
Una pena que traigo en al alma
A sorrow I carry in my soul
Que me agobia y que me haré llorar
That weighs me down and makes me cry
Si me encuentro por ahí con la muerte
If I come across death
A lo macho no la he de temer
I won't fear it like a man
Si su amor lo perdí para siempre
If I lost her love forever
Qué me importa la vida perder
What do I care about losing my life
Ya traté de vivir sin mirarla
I already tried to live without looking at her
Ya luché por no ser infeliz
I already fought to not be unhappy
Y tan solo encontré dos caminos
And I only found two paths
O lograrla o dejar de vivir
Either to win her or stop living
Ésta noche le doy serenata
Tonight I'll give her a serenade
No me importa perder o ganar
I don't care about losing or winning
Ésta noche le canto a la ingrata
Tonight I sing to the ungrateful one
Tres canciones que la hagan llorar
Three songs that make her cry
Si me matan al pie de su reja
If they kill me at the foot of her window
A lo macho me harían un favor
They would be doing me a favor like a man
Que más puedo pedirle a la vida
What else can I ask of life
Que morirme juntito a mi amor
Than to die together with my love
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SILVIA LILIAN BARRIE KNAPP, JUAN ROBERTO CAPOBIANCO, RAMON CIRIA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Miguel Guanuche
El gusto por esta canciones cada día se acrecienta, pese a la desaparición física del Maestro José Alfredo Jiménez. Soy eterno admirador de sus canciones. Saludos desde Machala - Ecuador.
Héctor Molina
Cada canción de José Alfredo decía algo, un sentir, una alegría. Qué no muera su música!
Alma Serrano
Mi padre fiel admirador de José Alfredo , hoy después de 45 años de su muerte todavía lo siento cerca de mi cuando escucho su música !
Parrandas Sanchez
Jamás pasará de moda está chingoneria de música viva el poeta de México y a seguir enamorandonos
Manuel Nunez San Roman
Don Jose AlfredoJimenez se acompañaba siempre del mejor Mariachi de Mexico. Su voz es maravillosa y el sonido del Mariachi es magnifico♥
Saul Vazquez
Este señor si es el REY DE LAS RANCHERAS
Yanet Posada
Este señor es el papá de todos los cantantes solo sus canciones hace grande s los interpretes
julia leon
Esta canción que me voy de parranda se la puede dedicar a tu novia pero aunque diga esta noche de canal á ingrato No importa yo se la puedes dedicar por cariño y todo sale Bye Yo soy Roberto Edmundo
Federico 03/02/71 Carreon
Muy buena observación, y la neta creo que si
Marta Mata
Yanet Posada Papá y abuelo. Bisabuelo etc etc