1001 Songs Challenge #652: Ay te dejo en San Antonio (1986)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

 

Flaco Jimenez – Ay te dejo en San Antonio (1986)

 

We’re continuing in the US today, dear reader, and making our way to the south and into the state of Texas. Flaco Jimenez was born in San Antonio in Texas and became both a singer and an accordionist. He specialised in Mexican music but also fused this with European music to create hybrids such as Tex Mex and Tejano music. When we join Jimenez in 1986 it is with a new album, Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio y Mas! and from there 1001 Songs have gone with the title track. 

The title of the song translates as I Will Leave You in San Antonio and is definitely not a comedy. Flaco Jimenez is hungup on a woman who is not treating him particularly kindly. He reveals that she likes a dance but she also likes to spend time with men other than him. It sounds very much like the narrator has had enough of his woman’s indiscretions and he is going to pack his bags and leave her in San Antonio. We do not learn whether he actually goes through with this or whether she is too hard to walk away from but his intent seems understandable. 

I wasn’t familiar with Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio nor Flaco Jimenez but the song did sound a little similar so I have either come across it in the distant past or something similar, maybe from the same genre of music. Thematically, it falls into similar categories we have had before of the wronged lover who is trying to stand defiant against their ex or partner but you sense hesitancy that they can completely break from the spell they find themselves under. Flaco Jimenez continues to perform at the age of 81.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Doors – The End (1967)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now (1978)

Ultravox – Vienna (1980)

Don Henley – The Boys of Summer (1984)

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now? (1984)