Malo is a U.S… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two artists using the moniker Malo.
Malo is a U.S. Latin-rock group.
The San Francisco-based ensemble was led by Arcelio Garcia and Jorge Santana, the brother of Latin-rock guitarist, Carlos Santana. Four of Malo's original members (Santana, Garcia, Tellez, and Bean) had previously played in a band called The Malibus. The other three founding members (Abel Zarate, Roy Murray, and Richard Spremich) had played together in a band called Naked Lunch.
Malo's 1972 top-twenty hit single, "Suavecito", was written by timbales player Richard Bean, who initially wrote it as a poem for a girl in his high school algebra class. The song was arranged for Malo by Richard Bean, bassist Pablo Tellez, and Abel Zarate. Tellez and Zarate also received co-author credits on "Suavecito". Guitarist Abel Zarate gave Malo a distinctive two-guitar sound with intricate harmony and dual solos the norm. The band featured full horn and percussion sections in the style of contemporary bands Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. Some of the best musicians in the Bay Area were featured in Malo, including Forrest Buchtel, Jr., Ron Smith, Paul C Saenz, Luis Gasca, and Tom Harrell in the trumpet section. Malo's music was also hugely popular in Central and South America, especially the songs "Chevere", "Nena", "Pana", "Cafe", and "Oye Mama".
After the release of its first album, many of Malo's original band members left the group in a rift widely publicised in the media. Buchtel went on to play with Blood, Sweat and Tears, Jaco Pastorius, and Woody Herman; Harrell became one of the most lyrical trumpet soloists of all-time, working often with saxophonist Phil Woods; Abel Zarate went on to play with Latin-jazz legend Willie Bobo[/aartist], and continues to play Latin/Brazilian Global jazz in San Francisco with his group Zarate Pollace Project. Richard Bean formed the group Sapo with his brother Joe, and still tours throughout Northern California; Jorge Santana embarked on a solo career, and still plays frequently with the current Malo band, which is also still touring, featuring only two of its original members and led by Arcelio Garcia Jr., who took over the band in the late 1970s.
In 1995, Malo released a new CD, Senorita, on the GNP Crescendo records label. The title track of the CD was written by new lead singer Martin Cantu, who like previous band members also grew up in San Francisco's Mission District. Cantu went on to write "Take My Breath Away" with long-time friend Damon Bartlett, and two other songs, "More Than Friends" and "Malo Ya Yellgo", with Arcelio Garcia. Since leaving Malo in 1998, Cantu has played with his new Gospel/Christian band, L-Rey.
A vocal section of "Suavecito" was included in the refrain of Sugar Ray's 1999 hit song, "Every Morning".
MALO (Malo Garcia) is a synthwave artist who has published one full-length LP, Old Soul, in 2018. A single titled "Ask the Ashes" was released in 2019.
Take my Breath away
Malo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In my foolish lover's game
On this endless ocean
Finally lovers know no shame
Turning and returning
To some secret place and time
Watching in slow motion
As you turn around and say
Take my breath away
Take my breath away
Watching I keep waiting
Still anticipating love
Never hesitating
To become the fated ones
Turning and returning
Watching in slow motion
As you turn to me and say
Take my breath away
Take my breath away
Through the hourglass I saw you
In time you slipped away
When the mirror crashed I called you
And turned to hear you say
If only for today
I am unafraid
Take my breath away
Take my breath away
Watching everything motion
In this foolish lovers game
Haunted my the notion
Somewhere there's a love in flames
Turning and returning
To some secret place inside
Watching in slow motion
As you turn my way and say
Take my breath away
Take my breath away
The song "Take My Breath Away" by Malo describes the experience of two lovers who are so deeply in love that they are willing to take risks in order to be with each other. The lyrics begin by painting a picture of two lovers who are caught up in a "foolish lover's game." They are so taken with each other that they lose all sense of shame and are willing to do whatever it takes to be together.
The lyrics then describe the way in which the lovers are constantly turning and returning to each other, always searching for a secret place and time where they can be alone together. They watch each other in slow motion, savoring every moment that they have together. In the chorus, the lover exhorts the other to "take my breath away," to make them feel alive and passionate.
The lyrics then shift to describe a moment of pain and confusion when the lover seems to slip away from the singer's grasp. They watch helplessly as time slips through their fingers like sand through an hourglass. The lover turns to the singer and says "if only for today, I am unafraid," a reminder of how fleeting and fragile their time together really is. The song ends with the singer watching the other in slow motion as they turn and say "take my breath away."
Overall, the song is a powerful meditation on the nature of love and the intense feelings that it can inspire in us. It reminds us that love is both fleeting and incredibly powerful, and that it can transform our lives in ways that we never thought possible.
Line by Line Meaning
Watching every motion
I am closely observing every move you make
In my foolish lover's game
But I know that this is a silly game lovers play
On this endless ocean
We are caught floating on a limitless sea
Finally lovers know no shame
Two lovers in love have nothing to be ashamed of
Turning and returning
We keep turning and twisting, trying to find our way
To some secret place and time
Trying to find that special place and moment in time
Watching in slow motion
Time seems to move slowly as I watch you
As you turn around and say
As you turn to me, and express your feelings
Take my breath away
You take my breath away, as you express yourself
Watching I keep waiting
I am waiting for you to make a move, while watching you
Still anticipating love
Hoping that we will fall in love with each other
Never hesitating
I will not waste any time, I will grab love when I see it
To become the fated ones
We will become the destined partners we were fated to be
Through the hourglass I saw you
I saw you as the sands of time slipped through the hourglass
In time you slipped away
And before I realized it, you were gone
When the mirror crashed I called you
When everything fell apart, I called out to you
And turned to hear you say
I looked for a response, and heard you speak
If only for today
Even if it's just for a day
I am unafraid
I am not scared to express my true feelings
Watching everything motion
I am closely watching every move you make
In this foolish lovers game
But I know that this is a game that lovers play
Haunted my the notion
I'm tormented by the thought that
Somewhere there's a love in flames
There's a passionate love somewhere burning in passion
Turning and returning
We keep turning, trying to find our way to each other
To some secret place inside
To that special place within our hearts
Watching in slow motion
As time seems to slow down as I watch you
As you turn my way and say
As you turn to me and express yourself
Take my breath away
You take my breath away, as you disclose your feelings
Writer(s): BARTLETT, CANTU
Contributed by Alexandra O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mike Lepiz
on Love Will Survive
Love it. Costa Rica.