Corrido De Joaquín Murrieta
By Hnos. Sánchez Y Linares (Decca 10036), 1934
Joaquín Murrieta was a forty-niner from Sonora whose life remains shrouded in legend to this day. As the story goes, American miners stole Murrietta’s gold claim and murdered his wife and brother. Murrieta’s campaign of violent revenge earned him bandit-hero status among Mexican immigrants accustomed to cruel and oppressive treatment north of the border. “Joaquín Murrietta” is part of this tradition. The song celebrates the title character’s valor, grit, and resistance to the racist American authorities.
Spanish
Yo no soy americano
Pero comprendo el inglés
Yo lo aprendí con mi hermano
Al derecho y al revés
A cualquier americano
Lo hago temblar a mis pies
Cuando apenas era un niño
Huérfano a mí me dejaron
Nadie me hizo ni un cariño
A mi hermano lo mataron
Y a mi esposa Carmelita
Cobardes la asesinaron
Yo me vine de Hermosillo
En busca de oro y riqueza
Al indio pobre y sencillo
Lo defendí con fiereza
Y a buen precio los sherifes
Pagaban por mi cabeza
A los ricos avarientos
Yo les quité su dinero
Con los humildes y pobres
Yo me quité mi sombrero
¡Ay, qué leyes tan injustas!
Fue llamarme bandolero
A Murrieta no le gusta
Lo que hace no es desmentir
Vengo a vengar a mi esposa
Y lo vuelvo a repetir
Carmelita tan hermosa
¡Cómo la hicieron sufrir!
Por cantinas me metí
Castigando americanos
Tu serás el capitán
Que matastes a mi hermano
Lo agarrastes indefenso
Orgulloso americano
English
I am not an American
But I understand English
I learned it with my brother
Forwards and backwards
And any American
I make tremble at my feet
When I was barely a child
I was left an orphan
No one gave me love
They killed my brother
And my wife Carmelita
The cowards assassinated her
I came from Hermosillo
In search of gold and riches
The indian poor and simple
I defended with fierceness
And a good price the sheriffs
Would pay for my head
From the greedy rich
I took away their money
With the humble and poor
I took off my hat
Oh, what laws so unjust
To call me a highwayman
Murrieta does not like
To be falsley accused
I came to avenge my wife
And again I repeat it
Carmelita so lovely
How they made her suffer
Through bars I went
Punishing Americans
“You Must be the captain
Who killed my brother
You grabbed him defenseless
You stuck up American”
More Heroes Songs
Corrido de Pedro J. González Fernando, El Toro Homenaje A Rubén Salazar
