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Nov. 7, 2008 La Bamba is a Mexican folk song from the state of Vera Cruz, and may be as much as 300 years old, but the version familiar nowadays was brought into being by Ritchie Valens in 1958. It was supposed originally to be a wedding song, but the current adaptation makes it a dance song, without any allusion to marriage. Ordinarily, I prefer sweeter, more melodious music, sung by some beautiful chanteuse, but now and then an exception arises. I've been vaguely familiar with this song for years, but it was only in the 1990's that I began to learn it. I got the lyrics by word of mouth from a jarocho (native of Vera Cruz), around 1998. But I have lost my notes and now merely accept whatever version I can find. Anyway, I think he had added a couple of stanzas that he made up himself, and I would be reluctant to pass them off as authentic. Frankly, I am not happy with the way I sing this song, but that's no reflection on the song itself, which is very catchy and tuneful. The Mexican lyrics are like this: La Bamba Para bailar la bamba, Para bailar la bamba, Se necessita una poca de gracia, Una poca de gracia y otra cosita. Y arriba, y arriba, Y arriba, y arriba, y arriba iré. Yo no soy marinero. Yo no soy marinero. Por ti seré, por ti seré, por ti seré Para bailar la bamba, Para bailar la bamba, Se necessita una poca de gracia, Una poca de gracia pa mi, pa ti. Y arriba, y arriba, Y arriba, y arriba, y arriba iré. Yo no soy marinero, Yo no soy marinero, Soy capitán, soy capitán, soy capitán. Para subir al cielo, Para subir al cielo, Se necessita una escalera larga, Una escalera larga y otra chiquita. Y arriba, y arriba, Y arriba, y arriba, y arriba iré. Yo no soy marinero. Yo no soy marinero. Soy capitán, soy capitán, soy capitán. Obviously enough, you can interchange certain lines between stanzas, and I doubt whether there is a definitive version. This is always the case with folk music. Here's my own translation of the verses as I have them: To dance the bamba, To dance the bamba, You need a bit of grace, A bit of grace and another little something. And higher and higher, And higher and higher and higher I'll go. I'm not a sailor. I'm not a sailor. For you I will be, for you I will be, for you I will be. To dance the bamba, To dance the bamba, You need a bit of grace, A bit of grace for me, for you. And higher and higher, And higher and higher and higher I'll go. I'm not a sailor. I'm not a sailor. I'm a captain, I'm a captain, I'm a captain. To climb to the sky, To climb to the sky, You need a long ladder, A long ladder and another, short ladder. And higher and higher, And higher and higher and higher I'll go. I'm not a sailor. I'm not a sailor. I'm a captain, I'm a captain, I'm a captain. I have the sheet music on my website, but not on my navigation bar, as a PDF. It takes a minute to download: www.mecnita.com/LaBamba.htm The melody can be heard here: http://www.harpinanawhinin.com/midis/70s90sMidis/la_bamba3-C150.mid ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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