Carpe Diem
Listening Post 285. Every lyric has three dimensions: Surface meaning (often the only facet listeners discern); an artist’s background inspiration and context; and new interpretations that come from projecting songs onto future landscapes. On its face Aire, Jesse & Joy’s fifth album, is an intoxicating journey through love—budding, burning, struggling, crumbling—delivered in a lush blend of reggaeton, hip-hop, folk and pop/rock ballads, with guest appearances by J Balvin and Luis Fonsi. But the Mexican brother-sister duo traces the new album’s source to their 2015 release Un Besito Más (One More Kiss), a title prompted by the loss of their father and how they felt his continued presence. Their next collection, they decided, would celebrate the people dearest to them, those who breathe the same air—and Aire is punctuated by cameo interludes with the voices of Jesse’s two daughters and the ultrasound heartbeat of Joy’s baby girl. As for the time warp, it’s one thing to view a Dylan or Juan Gabriel anthem through a 50-year kaleidoscope and quite another to experience how songs recorded in unassuming 2019 reverberate in sudden pandemic isolation—as real time at home with family, as not taking air for granted. The seize-the-day message of Mañana Es Too Late connects on every lyric level (video 1); while the subtext of Lo Nuestro Vale Más, (Ours Is Worth More, video 2) is sharing the world—as a couple or species. The prototype name for the title track was “Airborne,” and the song’s equivocal parallel universe offers “A magic that comes naturally/The kind that’s contagious” (video 3). Fuego (Fire, video 4) is an edge-of-breakup story with multi-purpose prescriptions to “be careful” and “take precautions.” And what plea is more alluring—and today more fraught—than Besame (Kiss Me, video 5)? Full of nostalgia, hope, beautiful songs and the artists’ uncanny intuition, Aire is precious in any season. (Warner Music Latina)
Note. Aire received two 2020 Latin Grammy nominations, in the Album of the Year and Best Engineered Album categories.
Related post. Jesse & Joy, Un Besito Más, Listening Post 34, February 14, 2016
Mañana Es Too Late / Tomorrow Is Too Late
Jesse Huerta, Joy Huerta, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, José Osorio (J Balvin), , Alejandro “Sky” Ramirez
(From the Spanish lyrics)
Don’t you see?, this moment won’t come back/The real thing is hard to find
And every breath we take will be lost/How much longer can we hold on?
And doing it is worth it/We can seize the moment
If the night is already good/It doesn’t have to end
If tomorrow is too late/What are we doing now?
If tomorrow is too late/It’s already time
Come, let’s dance in the moonlight/Instead of chasing the sun
Tomorrow is already too late/Tomorrow is already too late
I am your cool breeze in the summer/And your heat in the winter
Take advantage of today, it will never come back/That’s why this is the moment
And I know that tomorrow may be too late/And maybe you can find someone…
So what can we do?/I am what you are looking for and you are what I dreamed
And I know that tomorrow may be too late/And maybe you can find someone
But what can we do?
I am what you are looking for and you are what I dreamed
I am what you are looking for and you are what I dreamed
And doing it is worth it/We can seize the moment
If the night is already good/It doesn’t have to end
If tomorrow is too late/What are we doing now?
If tomorrow is too late/It’s already time
Come, let’s dance in the moonlight/Instead of chasing the sun
Tomorrow is already too late/Tomorrow is already too late
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow
If tomorrow is too late (J Balvin man)/What are we doing now?
If tomorrow is too late (Jesse and Joy)/It’s already time
Come, let’s dance in the moonlight (Let’s go)/Instead of chasing the sun
Tomorrow is already too late/Tomorrow is already too late
Lo Nuestro Vale Más / Ours Is Worth More
Jesse Huerta, Joy Huerta, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd
I refuse to accept that bitterness has won/I’d rather fight than say goodbye
Let’s open the door to a little love/Pride serves no purpose, it hurts us both
I don’t want to challenge you/Let’s talk so we understand each other better
Ours is worth that and more/For you, I’ll try
Look around, there is so much to sort out/Let’s break the silence and continue
Our love is worth more
My soul is restless, looking for hope/I would give anything to revive our love
We won’t agree all the time/But together we can look for answers
Ours is worth that and more/For you, I’ll try
Look around, there is so much to sort out/Let’s break the silence and continue
Our love is worth more oouoh oouoh oouoh!
We can’t turn it off/Our light has the power to shine
Ours is worth that and more/For you, I’ll try for you
Look around, there is so much to sort out/Let’s break the silence and continue
Our love is worth more/Our love is worth more
Aire / Air
Jesse Huerta, Joy Huerta, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd
You have a magic that comes naturally/The kind that’s contagious
I always want more/How you bewitch me
You pull the trigger/And I start to get crazy
My heart is beating hard, oh no/My breath is shaking
You’re my air/I want to breathe in and never exhale
You’re my air/I want you to caress me with your da-a-ance…
Oh, cruise my skin/I want you to cover every spot of me
Every kiss takes me to another level/I want more than one with every sunrise
I want you close, so you can heat me up/And make me fly
You’re my air/I want to breathe you in and never exhale
You’re my air/I want you to caress me with your da-a-ance…
Oh, cruise my skin/I want you to cover every spot of me
Oh-oh-oh, cruise my skin/I want you to cover every spot of me
Uh-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na/Uh-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na
Na-na, sha-na-na-na/Uh-na-na-na, sha-na-na-na
You’re my, you’re my air/You’re my, you’re my air
You’re my, you’re my air/I want to breathe you in and never exhale
Fuego / Fire
Jesse Huerta, Joy Huerta, Kool Kojak, Marty James
I can feel it, your words are lies
And even if you try to pretend, I know I’m just one more on your list
I also know how to have fun, and this time you’re my conquest
Be careful, be careful/You don’t know where you are stepping
Be careful, be careful/You don’t know what you’re burning
Although I also have fun/Baby, I’m just pretending
You think I need you/But I don’t have a master
And you’re playing with fire/You’re playing with fire
I won’t deny that you are in my thoughts
You know how to set a fire with the flame that I carry inside,
But to clear the air, I’m not talking about feelings, no
Be careful, be careful/You don’t know where you are stepping
Be careful, be careful/You don’t know what you’re burning
Although I also have fun/Baby, I’m just pretending
You think I need you/But I don’t have a master
And you’re playing with fire/You’re playing with fire
Take precautions, you’re not the only one with choices
Whoever plays with a candle is sure to get burned one day
Take precautions, you’re not the only one with choices
Whoever plays with a candle is sure to get burned one day
Besame (Como un Pez) / Kiss Me (Like a Fish)
Jesse Huerta, Joy Huerta
What is it in your lips/That won’t let me breathe when I see them?
I don’t know what’s in your eyes/That on seeing them make my heart race
You have me from every side/This has never happened to me
Until I wake up, I dream of you/At night, by day, your lips and mine
Like a fish in water/When you see me I’m hooked by your gaze
And your golden cinnamon skin on mine/Makes me lose my cool
Kiss me, kiss me, baby kiss me
The seconds pass and I love you more/Just thinking about you makes me sigh
Nothing compares to you/If I have you here close to me
Like a fish in water/When I see you I’m hooked by your gaze
And your golden cinnamon skin on mine/Makes me lose my cool
Kiss me, kiss me, baby, kiss me
Come dance here with me until dawn/If we dance close together, I know you’ll make me crazy
Come dance here with me until dawn/If we dance close together, I know you’ll make me crazy
Like a fish in water/When I see I’m hooked by your gaze
And your golden cinnamon skin on mine/Makes me lose my cool
Kiss me, kiss me, baby, kiss me
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