José Alfredo Jiménez (born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico on 19 Jan… Read Full Bio ↴José Alfredo Jiménez (born in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico on 19 January 1926 - died 23 November 1973 in Mexico City, Mexico) was a legendary Mexican singer-songwriter in the ranchera style. His songs are considered part of the Mexican musical heritage and comparable, for instance, to what Woody Guthrie meant to American folk music.

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.

Yo No Se Matar
José Alfredo Jiménez Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yo no se matar
pero voy a aprender.

Tengo que acabar
con ese querer
que te hace llorar.

Yo no puedo ver

que te haga sufrir
y que no te quiera.

Yo no puedo ver
que venga por ti
a la hora que quiera.

Me agobia la envidia
me muero de celos
se dobla mi orgullo
se dobla y se quiebra
porque yo quisiera
aunque sea un minuto
cambiarme por el.

Me agobia la envidia
me muero de celos
se dobla mi orgullo
se dobla y se quiebra
porque yo quisiera
aunque sea un minuto
cambiarme por el.

Yo no se matar
pero voy a aprender.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of José Alfredo Jiménez's song Yo No Se Matar convey a sense of desperation and longing to protect someone he loves from harmful situations caused by a toxic relationship. He admits that he is not capable of killing anyone, but that he will learn to do so just to end the suffering of his lover. He cannot stand to see them crying and being mistreated by someone who does not appreciate them. He is burdened by envy and consumed with jealousy, causing his pride to bend and break as he wishes desperately to be in the other person's shoes, even for just one minute.

The song speaks to the lengths someone may go to protect someone they love and serves as a reminder of how toxic relationships can harm people, mentally and physically. The singer's desperation to rescue his partner from a terrible relationship, even by resorting to violent ways, demonstrates the powerful impact love can have on individuals.

Line by Line Meaning

Yo no se matar
I don't know how to kill

pero voy a aprender.
but I will learn.

Tengo que acabar
I have to put an end

con ese querer
to that love

que te hace llorar.
that makes you cry.

Yo no puedo ver
I can't bear to see

que te haga sufrir
you suffer

y que no te quiera.
and that they don't love you.

Yo no puedo ver
I can't bear to see

que venga por ti
that they come for you

a la hora que quiera.
at any time they want.