Tuesday, February 08, 2011

MEXICAN JOE by Jim Reeves

Marc García-Martínez is in the house with a guest posting.....

Of MEXICAN JOE and Other Thoughts

Marc García-Martínez

Mi estimado catedrático Nericcio... Feliz Año Nuevo to you and the family! You know I would not be contacting you if I did not have another worthy-of-consideration hackneyed chingadera to lay on ya. First of all, have you (or anyone else in our intrepid cadre from the municipal and academic communities) ever come up with the phrase “¡Eye-caramba!”? I think it sits fittingly with your cool “Eyegiene” neologism. Let me know if it works for you! Second and more important, I came across this an old gabacho corrido memorializing some renowned licentious behavior of a true Latino ne'er-do-well, tax cheat, poor dancin’ man, and all-around frontera Lothario by the name of “Joe.” A true work of subcultural art, to be sure, so go ahead and check out this command performance by none other than that zany Texas ambassador of twang, Jim Reeves—and the lyrics to this cansado y estúpido corrido.
Let us know what you think., Marc G-M



MEXICAN JOE

South of the border, hey, I know a lad,
He's got more fun than anybody's had,
Don't got no worry, don't got no dough,
Everybody's wondering 'bout Mexican Joe.
In old Mexico, they call him the Rhumba King,
Leads all the women around on a string,
When they go out, they get a million thrills,
But the lovely senoritas wind up with the bills.

Dancin', romancin',
Always on the go,
Sun shinin' down on Mexican Joe

He makes the night spots all along the bay,
People want to see him when he comes their way,
He spreads so much joy everywhere he goes,
Everyone shouts "Viva la Mexican Joe."
He likes to gamble, at poker he's an ace,
He's always lucky with the cards that got a face,
At winning the money, he is sure a whiz,
But when they win they don't collect
'cause they don't know where he is.

Dancin', romancin',
Always on the go,
Sun shinin' down on Mexican Joe

He don't got no income tax 'cause he don't got no dough,
Still he gets along just fine, how we'll never know,
He's got everything he wants, a girl, a drink, a song,
If we use his formula, we surely can't go wrong.
His favorite playground is anywhere there's girls,
He's got that somethin' that sets their hearts a-whirl,
It couldn't be his money 'cause he ain't got a peso,
But when he wants a kiss all he's got to do is say so
He spreads so much joy everywhere he goes,
Everyone shouts "Viva la Mexican Joe."

1 comment:

  1. I grew up listening to this song. I STILL have my original 45 rpm record of it. I loved it. But I guess I saw it through the eyes and mind of an innocent 3rd-4th grade kid, with an age topping out a single digit. This song put VISIONS in my head; I saw (and still see) a dashing guy, making his way from table to table in some cool hacienda bar down by the bay, talking up all the beautiful ladies, dancing, drinking, gambling, and like the song says, "always on the go". He sounds like a guy everybody dug for his style. Me, I honestly wanted to be him, and I'm a honky. It wasn't about race/culture, it was about LIFESTYLE. :-) When I sing this song, I always preface it with, "I grew up wanting to be this guy...Mexican Joe".

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