He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and his mother's maiden name was Sowalsk… Read Full Bio ↴He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and his mother's maiden name was Sowalski. He played the clarinet and tenor sax in bands during college. By 1933 he led a band that played at Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel. In 1936 he was booked at Chicago's Palmer House, and the concert was broadcast on radio. A contest was held in Chicago for fans to suggest a new name for his band. The word "rippling" was suggested in more than one entry, and Fields came up with "Rippling Rhythm". When he was at a soda shop counter, his wife was blowing bubbles into her soda through a straw and that sound became his trademark that opened each of his shows. In 1936 he received a recording contract with Bluebird Records. His hits included: Did I Remember?, Cathedral in the Pines and Thanks for the Memory. In 1937 Fields started a radio show called The "Rippling Rhythm Revue" with Bob Hope as the announcer. In 1938 he was in his first motion picture, The Big Broadcast of 1938. The group disbanded in 1953, and he moved to Houston, Texas where he worked as a disc jockey. He later started a talent agency in Los Angeles, and died in 1981 in Los Angeles.

South of the Border
Shep Fields Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

South of the border
Down Mexico way
That's where I fell in love when stars above came out to play
And now as I wander
My thoughts ever stray
South of the border
Down Mexico way

She was a picture
In old Spanish lace
Just for a tender while I kissed the smile upon her face
For it was fiesta
And we were so gay
South of the border
Down Mexico way

Then she sighed and she whispered "Mañana"
Never dreaming that we were parting
And I lied as I whispered "Mañana"
For our tomorrow never came

South of the border
I rode back one day
There in a veil of white by candlelight she knelt to pray
The mission bells told me
That I mustn't stay

South of the border
Down Mexico way

Overall Meaning

The song "South of the Border" by Shep Fields is a romantic ballad about falling in love in Mexico. The song is about the singer's memories of falling in love with a woman during a fiesta in Mexico. He sings about the beautiful scenery and the starry night sky that set the scene for his romantic encounter. The singer describes the woman as wearing old Spanish lace and having a beautiful smile that he kissed tenderly. However, despite their promises to meet again, they never do, and the singer returns to Mexico to find that the woman has become a nun, praying by candlelight in a white veil.

Line by Line Meaning

South of the border
I traveled to a land beyond the border

Down Mexico way
And it was in Mexico that I found myself

That's where I fell in love when stars above came out to play
I found love under the starry sky in Mexico

And now as I wander
As I reflect on my memories

My thoughts ever stray
My mind always wanders back to that place

She was a picture
I met a woman who was a vision of beauty

In old Spanish lace
She wore beautiful and traditional Spanish clothing

Just for a tender while I kissed the smile upon her face
I shared a beautiful moment with her where I kissed her smile

For it was fiesta
We were celebrating a holiday

And we were so gay
We were happy and carefree

Then she sighed and she whispered "Mañana"
She said "tomorrow" with a sigh

Never dreaming that we were parting
Not realizing that we would be separated

And I lied as I whispered "Mañana"
I also said "tomorrow" even though I knew we wouldn't have one together

For our tomorrow never came
We never had our future together

I rode back one day
I returned to Mexico

There in a veil of white by candlelight she knelt to pray
I found her kneeling in prayer, dressed in white, lit by candlelight

The mission bells told me
The bells of the church reminded me

That I mustn't stay
That I couldn't stay and be with her

South of the border
In that beautiful land of Mexico

Down Mexico way
Where I discovered and experienced so many wonderful things

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JIMMY KENNEDY, MICHAEL CARR

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

@nenadnovakovic1971

3y↑4

Тако ПРИЈАТНО !!!!!!!!!!!!! Хвала, пуно -- слушалац (82) из Београда

@askovarjorinne9074

33w↑1

Very nice old ballad, thank´s for sharing!!! 👉👉🎙🎙💫💫

@swingman5635

3y↑2

So glad that Shep chose to tone down the rippling effect on this one. A heavy handed approach would have been out of place,considering the theme of the tune. I've admired Hal's talents for years. It's a pity that his solo career wasn't more illustrious.

@jthommusic

3y↑2

I agree. I've ordered a cd from Amazon. It hasn't arrived yet, but I'm anxious to hear it. It's difficult to find many of his recordings.

@swingman5635

3y↑1

@jthommusic You may be interested to know, (if you don't already), that you can hear Hal's voice in '47's,"Smash Up: the Story of a Woman",where he dubbs the vocals for Lee Bowman. Another talented, but less-appreciated vocalist, Peg La Centra,dubbed for Susan Hayward, the female lead. Enjoy your cd! I've got a few Capitol and Musicraft 78s,of Hal. He was great!

@jthommusic

3y↑2

@Swingman 56 I'll look into it. The cd should be mostly capitol label recordings, I think. Which would include 1947.

@vHumboldt77

2y↑1

Roosevelt's Good-Neighbor policy had a bearing in cinema, bringing to life films and songs on Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, including this beautiful tune. Thanks for posting!

@joesphbegley3088

48w

Lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy from Northern Ireland.

@nre4d

35w↑1

Music by Michael Carr, born in Leeds, raised in Dublin. Kennedy also wrote words to Isle of Capri, Red Sails in the Sunset and Istanbul (not Constantinople). What a world...

@duglife2230

51w

This song was on the radio in the scene of Empire of the Sun (1987) where Jim (Christian Bale) meets the American guys hiding out on the wrecked cargo ship, but I cannot make out whose version of the song it is. I do not think it's Gene Autry's but I could be wrong.