~~~

Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time and author Jim Adams from A Unique Title For Me is our current host. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.

This week’s theme is  “Burrito/Fajita/Mexican/Tequila.”

~~~

I chose a song this week in keeping with the spirit of the prompts and Cinco de Mayo!

Ranked No. 1 on Billboard’s All Time Latin Songs, No. 7 on Billboard’s All Time Top 100, and VH1’s “#1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time,” Los del Rio’s Macarena is the song and dance craze that took the world by storm in the 1990s.

As a result of their lounge act, Los del Río were invited to tour South America in 1992 and, while visiting Venezuela, they were invited to a private party held by the Venezuelan empresario Gustavo Cisneros. During the celebration, a local flamenco teacher performed a dance for the guests, and Los del Río were pleasantly surprised by Cubillán’s dance skills. Spontaneously, Antonio Romero Monge, one half of the Los del Río duo, recited the song’s chorus-to-be on the spot. When the authors wrote the song, they changed the name to Macarena, in honor to Antonio’s daughter Esperanza Macarena.

The Bayside Boys released an English-language version in 1995 that became a worldwide sensation, reaching the top of the charts in more than a dozen countries and landing in the top ten in several others.

However, it was the Latin version that could be heard from elementary school dances to night clubs to wedding receptions. Most English-speakers had no idea about how risque the lyrics are.

In the song, the Macarena is a word used to describe a woman who is attempting to get men to come and dance with her.

If she likes their moves, the Macarena claims she’s happy to take them home after the night out.

The first verse begins: “When I dance they call me Macarena, and the boys they say ‘que estoy buena’

“They all want me, they can’t have me. Move with me, jam with me.

“And if you’re good I’ll take you home with me.”

While the first verse is a little cheeky, the song gets even raunchier as it goes on.

The main singer admits that even though she is enjoying the male attention on the dancefloor, she already has a boyfriend who is called Vittorino.

The lyrics assure: “Now, don’t you worry ‘bout my boyfriend, the boy whose name is Vittorino.

“Ha, I don’t want him, couldn’t stand him, he was no good so I.”

FUN FACTS:

• The “Bayside Boys Mix” version’s meaning is later revealed to be about a woman who cheats on her boyfriend while he is being drafted into the army.
• The Bayside Boys remix hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1996 and remained at the top of the chart for fourteen weeks.
• The song stayed in the Hot 100 chart for 60 weeks, the longest reign among No. 1 songs, only surpassed fifteen years later by Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.

While the Bayside Boys’ version is the more popular in the music world, I prefer Los Del Rios, and the video is a live performance from a Spanish-language show.

Enjoy!

See my Song Lyric Sunday selection for FeliciaDenise.com.

~~~

Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.

~~~