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.
La Malagradecida
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
esta noche es tu castigo,
esta noche aunque no quieras
te vas a venir conmigo.
Yo te quiero tu quien sabe
tu quien sabe si me quieras
yo te busco y no te encuentro
Porque sabes, porque sientes
porque tienes un hombre en la vida
me desprecias, me maldices
y te largas malagradecida
Cuantas cosas han pasado
desde el dia en el que me dejaste,
yo me acuerdo, tu te acuerdas
y acordarse es un desastre
Dale fuerzas al pasado
dale fuerzas al presente
para vernos cara a cara
y olvidarnos frente a frente
Porque sabes, porque sientes
porque tienes un hombre en la vida
me desprecias, me maldices
y te largas malagradecida
The opening lines of José Alfredo Jiménez's song "La Malagradecida" convey a sense of vengeance and retribution. The singer declares that this night is his chance for revenge and that his lover's punishment is imminent, even if she does not want it to happen. The following lines reveal the complicated nature of their relationship: the singer loves this woman, but he is unsure if she loves him in return. He looks for her, but she finds him easily, indicating a mismatch in their level of investment.
The rest of the song explores the reasons behind their breakup and the pain that it has caused them. The singer acknowledges the existence of another man in the woman's life, which adds a layer of complexity to the situation. The woman's apparent ingratitude and unkindness are also highlighted, with the singer using the term "malagradecida" (ungrateful) to describe her. Despite the lingering feelings of hurt and bitterness, the singer suggests that they can come face to face, give strength to each other in the present, and forget each other in the future.
Line by Line Meaning
Esta noche es mi revancha
Tonight is my revenge
esta noche es tu castigo,
Tonight is your punishment
esta noche aunque no quieras
Tonight even if you don't want
te vas a venir conmigo.
You'll come with me
Yo te quiero tu quien sabe
I love you, who knows if you love me
tu quien sabe si me quieras
Who knows if you love me
yo te busco y no te encuentro
I look for you and can't find you
tu me encuentras donde quiera
You find me anywhere
Porque sabes, porque sientes
Because you know, because you feel
porque tienes un hombre en la vida
Because you have a man in your life
me desprecias, me maldices
You despise me, curse me
y te largas malagradecida
And you leave ungrateful
Cuantas cosas han pasado
How many things have happened
desde el dia en el que me dejaste,
Since the day you left me
yo me acuerdo, tu te acuerdas
I remember, you remember
y acordarse es un desastre
And remembering is a disaster
Dale fuerzas al pasado
Give strength to the past
dale fuerzas al presente
Give strength to the present
para vernos cara a cara
To see each other face to face
y olvidarnos frente a frente
And forget each other face to face
Contributed by Grace T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Paco Varela
Que fuerza que energía se siente al escuchar al Rey de Reyes El gran José Alfredo Jiménez, viva el Rey
Marvin Araya
JOSÉ ALFREDO EL MÁS GRANDE COMPOSITOR LATINOAMERICANO Y UNA DE LAS GRANDES VOCES
Salvador Muro
Este Señorón si era bueno para componer no fregaderas y bueno para cantar
elisabetng1
DE LOS MAS CHINGONES QUE SALIO DE MEXICO!
Thomas Horsley
kamelia la tejana
Yaya R
ME GUSTA ESTA CANCIÓN... ARRIBA ESTA MÚSICA..
SandraCB
Grande interprete!!!
Marcos Martinez
CUAL INTERPRETE EEEEEEEEEEE? ESTE ERA COMPLETO GRACIAS A DIOS TAMBIEN MEXICANO!
luvedi44
José Alfredo Jimenez; Antonio Aguilar y El Charro Avitia, los mas rancheros entre los rancheros
Dream Fighter
Cuco Sánchez y también Aceves mejía