Malagueña Salerosa (La Malagueña)

Album: various (1950)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a well-known Son Huasteco or Huapango song from Mexico of unknown authorship. The singer is telling a Spanish woman (from Málaga) how beautiful she is. He wants to be her lover but understands he is unlikely to attract her as he is too poor.
  • The song has been covered hundreds times by various recording artists, including Plácido Domingo, José Feliciano and Trini Lopez. In 1963 Kathy Kirby had a Top 20 UK hit "You're the One" with English lyrics set to the melody of "Malagueña Salerosa."
  • Avenged Sevenfold covered the tune in 2017. "It's always been one of our favorite songs," frontman M. Shadows told Billboard magazine. "It can be done so many ways, and it has a rich history in Mexico. I remember traveling to Mexico with friends and always hearing it and being blown away by the guitar work. It felt like we could make it our own just by the arrangement of the guitars."
  • Avenged Sevenfold originally intended to translate the song into English. Shadows explained why he and the rest of the band they changed their minds. "I felt (translating) it took away some of the romantic aspects," he said. "I worked very hard on making sure my Spanish was passable. I didn't want to be the one to screw up the song by sounding like the non -Spanish speaking guy that I am."
  • Film director Robert Rodriguez's Mexican rock outfit Chingon contributed a version of the song to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 2. A live performance by the band was also included on the film's DVD release.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Steven Tyler of AerosmithSongwriter Interviews

Tyler talks about his true love: songwriting. How he identifies the beauty in a melody and turns sorrow into art.

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Cy Curnin of The Fixx

Cy Curnin of The FixxSongwriter Interviews

The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.