Song Information:
“Soy De Tejas” was written and performed by Steve Jordan. This song was released in 1979 by Hacienda Records in his album, Soy De Tejas. Hacienda Records is located in Corpus Christi, Texas. The label was founded in 1979 by brothers, Rick García and Roland Garcia. The genre of the song is Latin, and the style is considered to be Tejano, Tex-Mex, Norteño (Texan, Northern) and conjunto.
Artist Information:
The songwriter, Esteban “Steve” Jordan, is known to be the “Jimi Hendrix of the accordion”. He was also known for keeping up with technological advancements such as synthesizers, fuzz boxes and phase shifters. Jordan was born in Elsa, Texas in 1939, and began performing music at the age of 7. He was the youngest of 15 children to migrant farmworkers and learned how to sing and play instruments before learning how to read and write. He held the nickname of “El Parche,” which translates to “the eyepatch”. He was partially blinded shortly after he was born due to an accident involving a midwife who rinsed his eyes with a contaminated liquid. This required him to wear an eyepatch nearly his whole life.
Analysis:
From the first few seconds of listening to “Soy De Tejas,” by Steve Jordan, it is easily detected to be a conjunto song, with Mexican roots and Spanish lyrics. The very first line translates to “I’m from Texas, it’s my pride to be a Chicano”. “Chicano,” which is someone who is native of, or descends from, Mexico who lives in the US. This piece is categorized under the Latin genre on streaming services, and can be described in the style of Tex-Mex, Tejano and conjunto. “Rancho Alegre”, a nonprofit radio organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Tejano and Conjunto music describes conjunto music as “characterized by a strong, unrelenting beat and bright accordion melodies, evidence of the fusion of German and Mexican immigrant cultures in south Texas at the beginning of the 20th century,”, this is a clear representation of conjunto music. While listening to this piece, I could hear similarities with Flaco Jimenez in the style and timbre of both the instrumental and vocal portions. The style of this song reflects the Tex-Mex /conjunto music style of Texas, and how Mexican culture has absorbed in parts of Texas.
After listening to the lyrics all the way through, it is noticed that cities and towns of both Texas and Mexico are represented, such as San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Mcallen. Jordan then mentions towns/cities that conduct part of the Texas and Mexico border; Laredo (Texas), Matamoros (Mexico) and Reynosa (Mexico). After the general translation I was able to make out of the lyrics, it reminded me of the Cheers theme song, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”. He sings about how in Texas, he is well known everywhere he goes, and he has pride in where he grew up. Another lyric that shows his Texan pride is when he says “Mis carnales te sabrán alivianar”, which directly translates to “my carnal ones will know how to alleviate you”. Carnal is a Mexican “slang” word that means friend or close relative, implying that he had a large family and a tight-knit community. It is clear through the song that Texas is a big part of his life, and it gives a comfortable lifestyle to where he grew up. In 1958 he had moved from San Antonio to San Jose, California. In the early 70s, Jordan had moved back to Texas and continued to release music such as “El Corrido de Johnny el Pachuco” and “El Piedrecita,”. It is clear that although he physically left Texas, his Texas and Tejano pride did not leave him. The lyrical interpretation of this work, I believe, is that he took his Texan pride with him to California and reminisced about his life growing up.
This song is difficult to completely comprehend the meaning because there is no direct translation of the lyrics. The Spanish lyrics cannot be found unless it is on a lyrical video on YouTube, therefore this is a direct translation from google translate in which I had to interpret the best I could from a loose translation. I would love to hear your thoughts/ interpretation of the lyrics.
Lyrics:
Soy de Tejas
Es mi Orgullo ser Chicano
En los barrios me pueden encontrar
Porque allí todititos me conocen
Y ya saben que me gusta cantidad
San Antonio, Corpus Christi y McAllen
Una tercia que nunca podré olvidar
Y si acaso vas allá por esos barrios
Mis carnales te sabrán alivianar
De repente voy y cruzo la frontera
Para y divertirme a todo dar
Porque sé que a las 2 de la mañana
De este lado ya no la puedes comprar
Si es Laredo, Matamoros o Reynosa
Da lo mismo porque allá saben gozar
El mariachi es mi mero guacamole
Y el tequila con limón y con su sal
Interpretation:
I’m from Texas It’s my pride to be a Chicano
In the neighborhoods they can find me
Because there everyone knows me
And you know that I like it San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Mcallen
A trio that I can never forget
And if you go there through those neighborhoods
My blood brothers will know how to take care of you
Suddenly I go and cross the border
Stop and have fun at all costs
Because I know that at 2 in the morning
You can no longer buy it from this side
If it is Laredo, Matamoros or Reynosa
It does not matter because there they know how to have fun
Mariachi is my mere guacamole
And the tequila with lime and salt
Sources:
Admin-Ranchoalegre. “What Is CONJUNTO?” Rancho Alegre, 15 Oct. 2018, www.ranchoalegreradio.org/what-conjunto.
Burnett, John. “Remembering Esteban ‘Steve’ Jordan, Genius of the Accordion.” NPR, NPR, 24 Aug. 2010, www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2010/08/24/129402728/r-i-p-esteban-steve-jordan-genius-of-the-accordion.
Chadbourne, Eugene. “Esteban ‘Steve’ Jordan Biography, Songs, & Albums.” AllMusic, 2014, www.allmusic.com/artist/esteban-steve-jordan-mn0001563633/biography.
Hoga, David. “Soy De TejasEsteban ‘Steve’ Jordan.” Soy De Tejas by Esteban “Steve” Jordan | Deep Music Data, Musicube,
2018, www.musicu.be/en/recording/USNO11800623/. Morales, Edgar I. “Jordan, Esteban [Steve] (1939–2010).” TSHA, Texas State Historical Association, 18 May 2014, www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/jordan-esteban-steve.
