Though Salsoul records had long been out of print, several were brought back in the mid-'90's. Many of the more recent 'house' music offerings owe more than a passing nod to the recordings of this orchestra.
Tangerine
The Salsoul Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Male)
Tangerine - she is all they claim
With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame
Tangerine – when she dances by
Senoritas stare and caballeros sigh
And I've seen toasts to Tangerine
Yes – she has them all on the run
But her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine
(Female)
Tangerine – she is all they say
With mascara'd eyes, and chapeaux by Dache
Tangerine with her lips of flame
If the colour keeps, Louis Philippe's to blame
And I've seen clothes on Tangerine
Where the label says from Macy's Mezzanine
Yes, she's got the guys in a whirl
But she's only fooling one girl
She's only fooling Tangerine
The Salsoul Orchestra’s song Tangerine is about a woman who is the object of desire for many men and women. The male lead singer describes her appearance with eyes of night, lips as bright as flame and sensuous dancing that causes senoritas to stare and caballeros to sigh. Even though toasts are raised to her everywhere she goes and she has every man running after her, her heart only belongs to one person.
The female lead singer continues to describe Tangerine’s beauty with her mascara'd eyes, and hair done up in a hat by Dache. Her lips are also described as fiery and seductive. Tangerine’s outfits are also in the spotlight with clothes from Macy’s Mezzanine and a possible mistake by Louis Philippe. The female singer points out that Tangerine might be fooling many people with her captivating looks, but she is really only deceiving herself.
Overall, the song warns of the danger of allowing one's appearance and charisma to mislead others into thinking they are something they are not. Tangerine might seem to have it all, but she is only fooling herself in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
Tangerine - she is all they claim
Tangerine is everything people say she is
With her eyes of night and lips as bright as flame
She has dark eyes and bright lips
Tangerine – when she dances by
When she dances, people take notice
Senoritas stare and caballeros sigh
Women stare and men are enchanted by her
And I've seen toasts to Tangerine
People raise their glasses to her
Raised in every bar across the Argentine
Every bar in Argentina admires her
Yes – she has them all on the run
She has everyone captivated
But her heart belongs to just one
She is committed to one person
Her heart belongs to Tangerine
She loves herself above all else
Tangerine – she is all they say
Tangerine is every bit as impressive as people say
With mascara'd eyes, and chapeaux by Dache
She wears makeup and expensive hats
Tangerine with her lips of flame
Her lips are bright and fiery
If the colour keeps, Louis Philippe's to blame
If her lipstick doesn't stay on, it's the fault of Louis Philippe's brand
And I've seen clothes on Tangerine
She wears nice clothes
Where the label says from Macy's Mezzanine
She shops from Macy's Mezzanine section
Yes, she's got the guys in a whirl
She has men in a frenzy
But she's only fooling one girl
But she is only deceiving herself
She's only fooling Tangerine
She is only pretending to be someone she's not
Contributed by Anna Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Raúl Arturo Lemus Fortanel
Con la expectacular voz de Carol Williams ,
Tangerine
She's all that they claim
With her eyes of night
And lips as bright as flame
Tangerine
When she dances by
Señoritas stare
And caballeros sigh
And I've seen
Toasts to tangerine
Raised in every bar
Across the argentine
Oh, she has them on the run
But her heart belongs just to one
Her heart belongs to tangerine...
Valentin R. Dominguez
That great, upbeat, positive, electric and magical 70s beat. There has never been anything like it. What a privilege to have experienced it.
Peter Ramirez
19 years old 1974 dancing in the discos in NYC without a care in the world. 67 now and I can still hustle to this song. Lol
Cogama
That’s amazing - I was an adolescent in the 70s and my teenager sister taught me a few steps. Fun times. I’ll hustle with you anytime!
Michelle Coles
Me Too!!! Good memories!
MrBIMBO66
Los ví en persona en el hotel de Miami Beach " el fountain blue hotel a finales de los 70' y eran casi 100 músicos y 3 hermosas morenas como cantantes. Me sentí en el cielo con sus melodías, algo mágico. Super hermoso.
Rodger C.
I'm so blessed that I was there in the 70's, all the dancing, good times and so much fun, sure we had jobs, we did BOTH, worked hard and played hard! Reminiscing sometimes when times are not so good gets me thru the day!! :)
angserran
The flute/drum sequence and following sax finale is awesome! It starts at 2:10.
Oralia López Navarro
De hecho aunque se escuchará fuera de lugar mis hijos saben que esa música ambientará mi funeral! Ésta música es más que hermosa...es inspiradora, liberadora y sanadora!
LUIS PALACIO
Exelente selection para tan gran final.
Jon Diaz
Gracias a Dios por permitirme disfrutar de esa música en mi adolescencia, recuerdos inolvidables.