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.
Serenata Huasteca
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pa' que sepas que te quiero
Tu a mi no me quieres nada
Pero yo por ti me muero
Dicen que ando muy errado
Que despierte de mis sueños
Pero se han equivocado
Que voy a hacer
Si de veras te quiero
Ya te adore
Y olvidarte no puedo
Dicen que pa' conseguirte
Necesito una fortuna
Que debo del cielo
Las estrellas y la luna
Yo no bajare la luna
Ni las estrellas tampoco
Y aunque no tengo fortuna
Me querrás poquito a poco
Que voy a hacer
Si de veras te quiero
Ya te adore
Y olvidarte no puedo
Yo se que hay muchas mujeres
Y que sobra quien me quiera
Pero ninguna me importa
Solo pienso en ti morena
Mi corazón te ha escogido
Y llorar no quiero verlo
El pobre mucho ha sufrido
Ahora tienes que quererlo
Que voy a hacer
Si de veras te quiero
Ya te adore
Y olvidarte no puedo
These lyrics are taken from the classic Mexican song, Serenata Huasteca, which tells a tale of a lovestruck man singing a serenade at the foot of his lover's window. He sings to let her know of his deep feelings for her, despite knowing that she does not feel the same way.
The singer sings about how people have advised him that he's mistaken and should wake up from his dreams. However, he disregards them and insists that he will be her owner. He acknowledges that he loves her and can't forget her, even though she does not reciprocate his love.
Furthermore, people say that he needs a fortune to win her over - something he cannot give. But, he declares that he doesn't need material things to make her love him. He asks her to love him little by little, and he will be content.
He also acknowledges that there are plenty of other women out there who might love him, but he only thinks about her. He chooses her and implores her to love him back, as his heart has suffered a lot, and he does not want to cry.
Overall, the song touches on the universal theme of unrequited love, and the singer's poignant serenade conveys the heart-wrenching sentiment behind the words.
Line by Line Meaning
Canto al pie de tu ventana
I sing beneath your window
Pa' que sepas que te quiero
So you know that I love you
Tu a mi no me quieres nada
You don't love me at all
Pero yo por ti me muero
But I die for you
Dicen que ando muy errado
They say I'm very wrong
Que despierte de mis sueños
That I wake up from my dreams
Pero se han equivocado
But they are mistaken
Porque yo he de ser tu dueño
Because I will be your owner
Que voy a hacer
What am I going to do
Si de veras te quiero
If I truly love you
Ya te adore
I already adore you
Y olvidarte no puedo
And I can't forget you
Dicen que pa' conseguirte
They say to get you
Necesito una fortuna
I need a fortune
Que debo del cielo
That I need the sky
Las estrellas y la luna
The stars and the moon
Yo no bajare la luna
I won't bring down the moon
Ni las estrellas tampoco
Nor the stars either
Y aunque no tengo fortuna
And even though I don't have a fortune
Me querrás poquito a poco
You will love me little by little
Yo se que hay muchas mujeres
I know there are many women
Y que sobra quien me quiera
And many who want me
Pero ninguna me importa
But none of them matter to me
Solo pienso en ti morena
I only think of you brunette
Mi corazón te ha escogido
My heart has chosen you
Y llorar no quiero verlo
And I don't want to see it cry
El pobre mucho ha sufrido
It has suffered a lot
Ahora tienes que quererlo
Now you have to love it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Daniel Cardozo Bogado, Jose Jimenez, Leonardo Lopez Aquino, Pedro Redes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Lanutriatraviesa
Qué linda era América Latina cuando no existía el reguetón
@danielcampanilla6753
Ando no existia spoty
@mirnagordian1118
Recuerdo que mí papá me la cantaba antes de dormir y ahora se a vuelto un himno para mi mí papá murió el tres de enero de este año y lloró cada que yo Escuchó está canción
@pedrocastro2368
Que en paz descanses te dejo un gran tesoro como recuerdo
@almaortiz6398
Mira Gordian un abrazo a usted Que linda canción le enseñó su bello padre yo lloro a mi mamita también
@aliciadaugherty1915
Ay Mirna mis condolencias por tu papi , pero que Bonito recuerdo tienes , yo escucho esta Musica por mis padres tambien ,pues no somos Mexicanos, pero esta clase de Musica te enamora, mi madre murio este año por el covid y mi padre en 1994, y me dejaron esta herencia de que me guste esta Musica! Cuidese Mirna y oraciones por su Mami
@gonorrheadischarges3021
.¿Traía los mariachis todas las noches?
@christinamarti4441
Un tesoro de recuerdo descanse en Paz tu papi desde el cielo te cuida 🙏
@galileahernandez6063
Todos hablan de la composición de José Alfredo, pero nadie habla del maravilloso arreglo musical de Ruben Fuentes.
Los dos unos grandes
@epuluribe2196
Excelente observacion, es el equipo completo