Another account of the group's birth says they formed when record company executives looking to cash in on regional music sales approached Sahm and Meyers around 1990, and they brought in longtime friends and collaborators Fender and Jimenez. Sahm had released albums under the name Texas Tornados as early as the 1970s, some featuring Fender or Meyers. Jimenez and Meyers played on Sahm's Atlantic Records debut in 1971.
Individually, this quartet has had major success. Corpus Christi-native Freddy Fender was a cross-over success story around the world with hits like "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights".
Flaco Jimenez has played with acts ranging from the Rolling Stones to Dwight Yoakam. He also is known as the "Father of Conjunto Music" (Flaco plays the Conjunto accordion).
Augie Meyers has shared the stage with the likes of The Allman Brothers Band and Bob Dylan. He's also a member of the Texas Music Hall of Fame. Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers were both members of the 1960s pop-rock band the Sir Douglas Quintet, with hits such as "She's About a Mover" and "Mendocino" to their credit. Sahm, Meyers and Jimenez are from the San Antonio area.
The band's 1990 debut was recorded in both English and Spanish versions. The Texas Tornados were asked to perform all over the world at places like the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton, the Montreaux Jazz Festival, as well as regular appearances at Farm Aid and the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show.
Among their other albums is Live From The Limo, this was the last album to be recorded that featured the complete lineup, as Sahm died in 1999, the year of its release. Fender, who had health problems in later years, died in 2006. Their 2005 Live from Austin album was a recording of a 1990 performance on the TV series Austin City Limits.
People sometimes refer to their lyrics as Spanglish because of the mixture of English and Spanish in the same song, in addition to pronouncing the Spanish lyrics in an American accent, which is evident in their hit, "(Hey Baby) Que Paso". An example is the lyric: "Don't you know I love you / and my corazón is real?", where the word corazón (Spanish for "heart") is improperly pronounced IPA: [ˌkɔɹɑˈsoʊn] with an obvious American accent instead of IPA: [koɾaˈson], the proper Latin format. The band's self-titled debut album was offered in Spanish and English-language versions.
Recently, Shawn Sahm reunited with the remaining Tornados, Augie Meyers and Flaco Jimenez and together with five previously unreleased songs from Freddy Fender and one original from Sir Doug along with some of Augie Meyer's trademark songs recorded for the first time by the Tornados. What emerged was the CD "Esta Bueno" which was produced by Shawn Sahm and released nationally by Ray Benson's Bismeaux Records. Esta Bueno was released in March 2010.
The Tornados are gearing up for a Summer 2010 Tour that includes original Tornado musicians Louie Ortega, Speedy Sparks and Ernie Durawa. Former Tex Maniac and current Raul Malo bandmate Michael Guerra will join them on tour playing the Bajo Sexto.
Mentiras
Texas Tornados Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Para todos los enamorados)
Ay, yo no se
Como pudiste dejarme
Si tu estabas
Ay, pero tan enamorada
Por que me chocan los nervios
Si tu me decías
Que tu amor era infinito
Mentiras
Eres una mentirosa
Gran amor tu me fingías
Sin pensar que cambiarias
Mentiras
Eres una mentirosa
Pero te juro, vida mía
Que yo de esta me levanto
(Y ahora solamente para ti
Mi corazon, mi amor)
Ay, yo no se
Como pudiste dejarme
Si tu estabas
Ay, pero tan enamorada
Ay, yo no se
Por que me chocan los nervios
Si tu me decías que
Tu amor era infinito
Mentiras
Eres una mentirosa
Gran amor tu me fingías
Sin pensar que cambiarias
Mentiras
Eres una mentirosa
Pero te juro, vida mía
Que yo de esta, que yo de esta me levanto
(Solamente para ti
Mi enamorada)
The Texas Tornados' song "Mentiras" is a Spanish-language ballad about a man grappling with the end of a relationship. The song begins with the singer expressing confusion about how his lover could leave him despite being seemingly enamored with him. He then admits to feeling nervous around his lover despite her assurance of infinite love. As the chorus repeats, the singer confronts his lover for being a liar and for pretending to be in love with him without realizing that things would eventually change. However, he ends the song with a resolve to move on and rise above the situation.
The song appears to be a classic example of a romance gone awry. The singer's lamentation of being misled by his lover's actions and words highlights the pain that comes with the end of a relationship. However, the song's upbeat melody and instrumentation add an element of hope to the somber lyrics, encouraging listeners to move forward even when faced with heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Ay, yo no se
Como pudiste dejarme
Si tu estabas
Ay, pero tan enamorada
I can't understand how you could leave me when you seemed so in love
Ay, yo no se
Por que me chocan los nervios
Si tu me decías
Que tu amor era infinito
I don't know why I get so nervous when you told me your love was infinite
Mentiras
Eres una mentirosa
Gran amor tu me fingías
Sin pensar que cambiarias
Lies, you're a liar
You pretended to love me greatly
Without thinking that you would change
Mentiras
Eres una mentirosa
Pero te juro, vida mía
Que yo de esta me levanto
Lies, you're a liar
But I swear to you, my love
That I will rise above this
Contributed by Zachary L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.