Credited on the record as Pepe Maldonado y su Conjunto.
En el frente del Viet Nam
Del Sur DS-105 · Edinburg, Texas
- Artist
- Pepe Maldonado
- Credited on the record as
- Pepe Maldonado y su Conjunto
- Title
- En el frente del Viet Nam
- Release
- En el frente del Viet Nam / Triste Navidad
- Label
- Del Sur # DS-105
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- Spanish
- Country
- Edinburg, Texas, USA
- Songwriter
- Jose Refujio Reyes
- Genre
- Hispanic Music · Tejano · Norteño
- Primary theme
- Home Front Perspective / Soldier's Perspective
Annotation — Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs
Pepe Maldonado was born in 1941 in Rio Grande City, Texas, USA. His family moved to Edinburg, Texas, USA, where he founded the recording studio and record label Del Sur.12 He also is known as Jose "Pepe" Maldonado Sr. and Pepe Maldonado y Su Conjunto. He recorded and released the song "En el frente del Viet Nam" (Del Sur # DS-105), which translates as: "On the front in Vietnam", which looked at the soldier's perspective. The narrator expressed loneliness, missing his parents and brothers: "I am far from my parents...my brothers". At the end of the song, the soldier looked forward to returning home to marry his sweetheart. Composed by Jose Refujio Reyes. Transcription and translation by Eric Silberberg.1Sources1Pharr from Heaven: Regional Legends — Pepe Maldonado (28 March 2014)↩2Discogs: Pepe Maldonado↩
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
Spanish: I am alone and abandoned / On the front in Vietnam / I am far from my country / I am far from my home / From my parents, I am far / To my brothers, I left / Only that memory of how much I cried / I said goodbye to them all when I left my country / The enemy searches for me / They want to kill me / And I defend my life / Because I want to return / To look for my lover who I am going to marry Spanish: "Estoy solo y abandonado / En el frente del Viet Nam / Estoy lejos de mi patria / Estoy lejos de mi hogar / De mis padres, estoy lejos / A mis hermanos dejé / Solo aquel recuerdo de lo mucho que lloré / Ya les despedirme de todos cuando mi patria dejé / Los enemigos me buscan / Para quererme matar / Y yo defiendo mi vida / Porque quiero regresar / Para buscar a mi amada con quien me voy a casar
Notes
Del Sur DS-105, gold label with palm-tree logo; "En el frente del Viet Nam" (Jose Refujio Reyes), 2:05; Pepe Maldonado y su Conjunto, "Canta: Pepe Maldonado"; Pepe Maldonado Production, Rt. 2, Box 420, Edinburg, Texas. [From the record sleeve and labels]
About the artist
Born 1941, Rio Grande City, Texas, USA. Died 29 November 2024
Themes
In collections
Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs · US Combat Perspective Songs [War Years]