Los Super Seven is a predominantly Latin American supergroup which debuted … Read Full Bio ↴Los Super Seven is a predominantly Latin American supergroup which debuted in 1998. Organized by manager Dan Goodman, the collective has issued three albums to date, with wildly varying personnel; no one player features on all three releases with the exception of Ruben Ramos, (aka El Gato Negro, an American Tejano music performer).
The group won a Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album in 1999 for its self-titled album. Their musical style has changed with each incarnation, blending sounds from Tejano, mariachi, Cuban, Afro-Peruvian, Brazilian, blues, rhythm and blues, country, jazz and rock. The personnel included the members of The Texas Tornados, Los Lobos, Calexico, Ozomatli, and other famed musicians.

Los Super Seven is a studio album released by supergroup Los Super Seven. It was released in September 15, 1998 by RCA Nashville. Freddy Fender and Flaco Jiménez, both from Texas Tornados, formed Los Super Seven, along Joe Ely, Rick Trevino, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas (of the Los Lobos' fame), and Tejano vocalist Ruben Ramos. The album peaked at number-one in the Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart and reached top ten in the Billboard Top Latin Song chart. Los Super Seven earned them the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Performance at the 41st Grammy Awards. A portion of the proceeds of the album were destined to the National Council of La Raza a non-profit organization that represents Latino interests and causes.

Discography
Los Super Seven (1998)
Canto (2001)
Heard It on the X (2005)

Members on Los Super Seven
Joe Ely – guitar, vocals
Freddy Fender – vocals
David Hidalgo (of Los Lobos) – guitar, vocals
Flaco Jimenez – accordion, vocals
Ruben Ramos – vocals
Cesar Rosas (of Los Lobos) – guitar, vocals
Rick Treviño – guitar, vocals
Doug Sahm – vocals
Max Baca – bajo sexto, vocals
Joel Guzman – accordion, vocals
Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos) – Producer
Rick Clark – Music consultant
Dan Goodman – Executive producer
Dave McNair – Engineer/mixer

Members on Canto
Wil-Dog Abers (of Ozomatli) – bass
Susana Baca – vocals
David Hidalgo – bass, guitar, percussion, arranger, drums, vocals, requinto
Raul Malo (of the Mavericks) – vocals
Ruben Ramos – vocals
Rick Treviño – vocals
Cesar Rosas – bass, guitar, vocals, guitarron, jarana
Alberto Salas – piano, arranger
Caetano Veloso – guitar, vocals
Conrad Lozano (of Los Lobos) – guitarron
Louie Perez (of Los Lobos)
Cougar Estrada (of Los Lobos) – percussion, drums
Steve Berlin – (of Los Lobos) Producer
Rick Clark – Music consultant
Dan Goodman – Executive producer
Dave McNair – Engineer/mixer

Members on Heard It on the X
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown – guitar, vocals
Rodney Crowell – vocals
Joe Ely – vocals
Freddy Fender – vocals
John Hiatt – vocals
Lyle Lovett – vocals
Raul Malo – vocals
Ruben Ramos – vocals
Delbert McClinton – vocals
Rick Trevino – vocals
Joey Burns (of Calexico) – nylon-string acoustic guitar, electric bass, upright bass, piano, arranger
John Convertino (of Calexico) – drums, percussion
Paul Niehaus (of Calexico) – pedal steel guitar, baritone electric guitar, 6-string bass guitar
Jacob Valenzuela (of Calexico) – trumpet
Martin Wenk (of Calexico) – trumpet, vibes, claves
Volker Zander (of Calexico) – upright bass
Flaco Jimenez – accordion
Denny Freeman – electric guitar, piano
John Contreras – acoustic guitar, vihuela
Max Baca – bajo sexto, backing vocals
Augie Meyers – piano
Hunt Sales – drums
Redd Volkaert – electric guitar
Charlie Sexton – guitars, lap steel guitar, piano, percussion, producer
Rick Clark, Dan Goodman, Charlie Sexton – Producers
Dave McNair – Engineer/mixer
Texas Treefort Studios – Recording complex, Austin TX

Compay Gato
Los Super Seven Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ay adios compay gato
Cuantas veces me ha dicho
El muy sinvergüenza
Ay ay de mi compay
Y yo lo voy a matar
¿Por qué?
Por llamarme gato
Aquí hay gato encerrado

Y ahora mismo en el acto
Se lo voy a contar

El gato caza al ratón
El ratón se come el queso
El queso lo da la leche
La leche la da la vaca
La vaca tiene dos cuernos

Ay ay
Lo mato
Ay ay
Lo mato
¿Por qué, por qué, por qué?

Por decirme ¿qué?
¿Qué? ¿qué? ¿qué?
Que yo lo digo
Sí, sí, sí

Por llamarme gato
Lo voy a matar
Ay a mi compadrito
Lo voy a matar
Lo mato, lo mato, lo mato
Lo voy a matar
Mira que llamarme gato
Mi compadre que tanto lo quiero
Cuando el perro es chiquito
Le llaman perrito
Pero cuando es grande
Le dicen perrón
Cuando el chivo es chiquito
Le llaman cabrito
Pero cuando es grande
Le dicen ...

Ay ay
Lo mato...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Los Super Seven's song “Compay Gato” start with the singer saying goodbye to his friend, “compadre” Gato, who has repeatedly called him a cat “gato” in Spanish which is a term of derision that one would not use for a friend. The singer then says that he will kill him for calling him that. The phrase “aquí hay gato encerrado” in the song means that there is something fishy going on, which implies that there is a hidden motive behind the cat's actions. The following lines talk about the cat hunting the mouse, who then eats cheese produced by a cow. The cow is referred to as having two horns, which is often used as a metaphor in Spanish to allude to someone who is caught up in a difficult situation.

The song talks about the use of nicknames, and how they are often endearing terms of friendship. However, when someone uses a disparaging nickname, it becomes a reason for anger and animosity. The singer uses this idea to highlight the hypocrisy in relationships, where we tend to judge people based on their appearance or perceived traits.

Overall, “Compay Gato” is a playful and fun song that explores deeper themes such as the impact of words on human relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

Ay adios compay gato
Farewell, friend cat

Cuantas veces me ha dicho
How many times he has told me

El muy sinvergüenza
The very shameless one

Ay ay de mi compay
Oh, oh my friend

Y yo lo voy a matar
And I am going to kill him

¿Por qué?
Why?

Por llamarme gato
For calling me cat

Aquí hay gato encerrado
There's something fishy going on here

Y ahora mismo en el acto
And right now, on the spot

Se lo voy a contar
I'm going to tell him