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.
Tu Y Las Nubes
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ando volando bajo
Mi amor está por lo suelos
Y tú tan alto, tan alto
Mirando mis desconsuelos
Sabiendo que soy un hombre
Que está muy lejos del cielo
Ando volando bajo
Nomas porque no me quieres
Y estoy clavado contigo
Teniendo tantos placeres
Me gusta sentir tus pasos
Teniendo tantas mujeres
Tú y las nubes me tienen muy loco
Tú y las nubes me van a matar
Yo pa' arriba volteo muy poco
Tú pa' bajo no sabes mirar
Yo no nací pa' pobre
Me gusta todo lo bueno
Y tú tendrás que quererme
O en la batalla me muero
Pero esa boquita tuya
Me habrá de decir te quiero
Árbol de la esperanza
Que vives sólo en el campo
Tú dime si no la olvido
O dime si no la aguanto
Que al fin y al cabo mis ojos
Se van a llenar de llanto
Tú y las nubes me tienen muy loco
Tú y las nubes me van a matar
Yo pa' arriba volteo muy poco
Tú pa' bajo no sabes mirar
The lyrics to Jose Alfredo Jimenez's song "Tu Y Las Nubes" tell the story of a man who is hopelessly in love with a woman who doesn't love him back. He feels low and down on the ground, while she seems to be soaring high above him, looking down on his despair. The man is aware that he is far from perfect and has flaws, but he remains devoted to the woman nonetheless. He loves to feel her presence and hear her steps, even though he knows that she has other lovers. The man asks the tree of hope, a metaphor for nature and the divine, whether he should forget about the woman or keep hoping for her love. In the end, he is overwhelmed by his emotions and cries for the woman and the clouds that are driving him crazy.
The song captures the intensity, melancholy and despair of unrequited love. It highlights the power dynamics between two people in a relationship and the courage it takes to persist in the face of rejection. The use of natural imagery, such as clouds and trees, create a sense of timelessness and universality to the song. It is a classic example of the ranchera genre, which is characterized by its raw emotional power and poetic lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Ay ay ay, cariño mío, ríndete ya
Oh my darling, surrender already
Ando volando bajo
I'm flying low
Mi amor está por lo suelos
My love is on the ground
Y tú tan alto, tan alto
And you, so high up
Mirando mis desconsuelos
Watching my sorrows
Sabiendo que soy un hombre
Knowing that I'm a man
Que está muy lejos del cielo
Who is very far from the sky
Nomas porque no me quieres
Just because you don't love me
Y estoy clavado contigo
And I'm stuck with you
Teniendo tantos placeres
Even though there are so many pleasures
Me gusta sentir tus pasos
I like feeling your steps
Teniendo tantas mujeres
Even though there are so many women
Tú y las nubes me tienen muy loco
You and the clouds are driving me crazy
Tú y las nubes me van a matar
You and the clouds are going to kill me
Yo pa' arriba volteo muy poco
I don't look up very often
Tú pa' bajo no sabes mirar
You don't know how to look down
Yo no nací pa' pobre
I wasn't born to be poor
Me gusta todo lo bueno
I like everything that's good
Y tú tendrás que quererme
And you will have to love me
O en la batalla me muero
Or I will die in battle
Pero esa boquita tuya
But that little mouth of yours
Me habrá de decir te quiero
Will have to say I love you
Árbol de la esperanza
Tree of hope
Que vives sólo en el campo
That only lives in the countryside
Tú dime si no la olvido
You tell me if I won't forget her
O dime si no la aguanto
Or tell me if I can't bear it
Que al fin y al cabo mis ojos
Because in the end my eyes
Se van a llenar de llanto
Will fill with tears
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Jose Alfredo Jimenez Sandoval
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@noralopez5723
i love this music i grew up listening to it.
my mother had such aa amazing voice
oh my when she would start singing
ever one stop what ever they were doing
just to listen to my mother sing my mother had so much talent . but remember this is a mans world so she
didn’t fallow her (Dreams ) i find that so
saddening so much talent went to waste. she could’ve been someone
famous because not only was she talented she was beautiful ,
believe it or not she had these beautiful
blue eyes and blonde hair and a beautiful figure. ❤
and there’s nobody I mean nobody that could sing like her. She also know how to play the piano. sometimes after picking cotton all day my uncle would play his acoustic guitar and they would ask my mama to sing on the way home from the cotton fields. My grandparents made wine on the side .
So sometimes the grownups used to stay up, drinking wine and talk about hot the next day is going to be I guess AnyWho back to my mother she was a remarkable woman, but to me all that talent going to waste it’s sad. Somebody should’ve recorded her both of my sons can sing I can’t sing I sound like a goat
My voice is too deep , but not my sons
They can pitch the voice high and low and play any instrument you throw at them open at me. I love to cook and watch the expression on peoples faces when they taste my food that’s it.
And just because I like to cook, doesn’t necessarily mean I’m overweight oh no
😮 oops didn’t mean to offend anybody
OK it’s just me whenever. I say that I like to cook automatically they suggest to me to get on a diet ! And I’m like that’s rude, I said, I like to cook !!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂❤❤ dear God bless the Hearts
They’re just looking out for me , right?✌️✌️🙏
@Meximacizo
Gracias a dios x ser Mexicano!!!
@serafinfranco2481
S un hogullo ser mexicano pero es un privilegio ser guanajuatense
@joseledesma5393
El mejor compositor de rancheras con el mejor mariachi del mundo que locura
@LUCAHERNIE.
Hoy 19 de enero de 2024 JOSÉ ALFREDO JIMÉNEZ estaría cumpliendo 98 años.
@LUCAHERNIE.
HOY 19 DE ENERO DE 2021 JOSE ALFREDO JIMENEZ ESTARÍA CUMPLIENDO 95 AÑOS.
@col07fon
que vozarrón!!!! 🇨🇴 🇲🇽
@RC-ih9yv
Y los que le echan sus 2da voz ni se diga
@LUCAHERNIE.
JOSÉ ALFREDO JIMÉNEZ estaría cumpliendo 97 años hoy 19 de enero de 2023.
@enlacocinaconflori4004
Los amo mis mexicanos me encantan estos grandes cantantes q Dios los bendiga mis mexicanos hermosos SOY GUATEMALTECA …cuídense mucho y pido a Dios sus lindo país llegue La Paz y la tranquilidad q todos ustedes se merecen 🙏🙏🙏🙏
@Tlatoanimeh
¡Gracias señorita Flori por sus muy lindas palabras y deseos! Muchos mexicanos, como yo, sentimos un afecto muy especial por su bello país con el cual compartimos raíces ancestrales. Un abrazo muy fraternal y deseos de que todo lo que emprenda lo logre.