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.
Tierra Sin Nombre
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quiso adorar a dos hombres, y la vida le costo
Su corazón supo amarlos, porque ese fue su destino
Aunque sabia que adorarlos, era placer y martirio
Sucedió lejos de aquí, en una tierra sin nombre
Donde la ley nada puede, contra el cariño de un hombre
Con el correr de los días, ella pensó en su futuro
El que gano su cariño, solo vivía para amarla
Mientras el que la perdió, solo pensaba en matarla
Y se entrego a las cantinas, en donde todo bebía
Quiso convertir en odio, todo el amor que sentía
El mero día de la boda, más de la cuenta tomo
Y con un mal pensamiento, hacia el templo camino
Había jurado matarla, cuando casada saliera
Pa' que vestida de blanco, entre sus brazos muriera
Cuando salieron los novios, se oyeron varios balazos
Su pistola cayó al suelo, y ella cayó entre sus brazos
The lyrics of Tierra Sin Nombre by José Alfredo Jiménez tell the story of a woman who loved two men and paid a high price for it. The song begins by introducing the listener to the tragic tale of the woman who died trying to love two men. Her heart knew how to love them both, but she knew that it would bring both pleasure and misery. This story of love and loss happened in an unnamed land, where the law could not interfere with the love of a man.
As the days passed, the woman thought about her future and made a decision to give herself to one of the men she loved. The man who was able to capture her heart lived for the sole purpose of loving her, but the other man who lost her love turned to drinking and wanted to turn all of the love he had into hate. On the day of the wedding, the man who lost her love drunkenly swore to kill her when she emerged as a married woman. He wanted to see her dressed in white and then die in his arms, but when the newlyweds emerged from the church, gunshots were heard and she fell into the arms of her husband.
This song tells a story of love that brought so much pain and suffering to those who were involved. It highlights the power of love and how it can bring both pleasure and misery, and how it can drive people to do dangerous things. This glimpse into the tangled web of love and relationships is portrayed beautifully in this song by José Alfredo Jiménez.
Line by Line Meaning
Voy a cantarles la historia, de una mujer que murió
I will sing to you the story of a woman who died.
Quiso adorar a dos hombres, y la vida le costo
She wanted to love two men and it cost her life.
Su corazón supo amarlos, porque ese fue su destino
Her heart knew how to love them because that was her destiny.
Aunque sabia que adorarlos, era placer y martirio
Although she knew loving them was both pleasure and agony.
Sucedió lejos de aquí, en una tierra sin nombre
It happened far from here, in a land without a name.
Donde la ley nada puede, contra el cariño de un hombre
Where the law is powerless against a man's affection.
Con el correr de los días, ella pensó en su futuro
As the days went by, she thought about her future.
Y de los dos que quería, se entrego por fin a uno
And from the two she loved, she finally gave herself to one.
El que gano su cariño, solo vivía para amarla
The one who won her love lived only to love her.
Mientras el que la perdió, solo pensaba en matarla
While the one who lost her only thought of killing her.
Y se entrego a las cantinas, en donde todo bebía
And he indulged in the bars, where he drank it all away.
Quiso convertir en odio, todo el amor que sentía
He wanted to turn all the love he felt into hate.
El mero día de la boda, más de la cuenta tomo
On the very day of the wedding, he drank too much.
Y con un mal pensamiento, hacia el templo camino
And with a wicked thought, he walked towards the church.
Había jurado matarla, cuando casada saliera
He had sworn to kill her when she came out married.
Pa' que vestida de blanco, entre sus brazos muriera
So that, dressed in white, she would die in his arms.
Cuando salieron los novios, se oyeron varios balazos
When the newlyweds came out, several gunshots were heard.
Su pistola cayó al suelo, y ella cayó entre sus brazos
His gun fell to the ground, and she fell into his arms.
Writer(s): Jose Alfredo Jimenez
Contributed by Addison L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@gerardosanchezcandelaria1273
Voy a cantarles la historia, de una mujer que murió
Quiso adorar a dos hombres, y la vida le costo
Su corazón supo amarlos, porque ese fue su destino
Aunque sabia que adorarlos, era placer y martirio
Sucedió lejos de aquí, en una tierra sin nombre
Donde la ley nada puede, contra el cariño de un hombre
Con el correr de los días, ella pensó en su futuro
Y de los dos que quería, se entrego por fin a uno
El que gano su cariño, solo vivía para amarla
Mientras el que la perdió, solo pensaba en matarla
Y se entrego a las cantinas, en donde todo bebía
Quiso convertir en odio, todo el amor que sentía
El mero día de la boda, más de la cuenta tomo
Y con un mal pensamiento, hacia el templo camino
Había jurado matarla, cuando casada saliera
Pa que vestida de blanco, entre sus brazos muriera
Cuando salieron los novios, se oyeron varios balazos
Su pistola cayó al suelo, y ella cayó entre sus brazos
@noelalbertonunez9407
Todos los hispanoamericanos nos sentimos orgullosos de este gran compositor qué no nacen todos los días viva México lindo abrazos desde Honduras C.A.
@eribertohuertas1942
Desde Colombia,, un saludo. Para. Mi. Compadre José Alfredo, me se casi todas sus canciones
@anacabrerarincon8810
Jose Alfredo huistes y sequiras siendo unico en la vida con tus lindas canciones para toda ocasion viva México un saludo desde Colombia
@JuanCarlosMartinez-co8hy
Sin duda es un orgullo para siempre mi paisano José Alfredo Jiménez pocos como el por no decir ninguno Gracias por escuchar sus canciones !!!!
@user-xd8we1pu6n
Es lo mejor en musica ranchera y corridos les pone todo el sentimiento a lo que le canta sobre todo a la mujer aveces creo que soy yo el que esta cantando lo vivido y hasta me dan ganas de llorar
@caballeromoderno4276
Corrección
Tierra sin nombre. "Por" José Alfredo Jiménez.
El compositor de esta gran canción es Benjamín Sánchez Mota.
Gracias por compartirla con nosotros Gerardo.
@miltonojeda4766
saludos cordiales desde Costa Rica ..el gran José Alfredo Jiménez ...uno de los mejores compositores de México para el mundo ......
@LABELLA102
Que viva La Música Mejicana!!
Mis Respetos.
@pedronelpico4137
La producción musical de José Alfredo Jiménez, es extraordinaria, honor y gloria para México, Latinoamérica y el mundo
@501man9
Deben de hacer una pelicula con esta cancion.