Juan Martha Lyrics in English La Arrolladora Banda El Limon

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Juan Martha by La Arrolladora Banda El Limon from Spanish to English.
They said that he carried the Devil
Lies, he wasn't carrying anything
What he carried on his waist
Was a semi-auto pistol
He robbed and killed people
Because that's how he had fun
His head had a price
It was worth fifteen thousand pesos
Juan Martha was battle-hardened
And feared by the government
The rurales feared him
As if he were poison
His dear mother cried
She cried and told him
If they set my son free
I'd give fifteen thousand pesos
Don't cry anymore, dear mama
Don't offer them anything else
That when we reach that little hill
I'll laugh at the squad
Don't cry anymore, dear mama
Stop tormenting me
That out of a hundred lives I owe
With one I'm paying it
Tonight with the moon
And tomorrow with the sun
They're going to take my life
Let it be for the love of God
With this I say goodbye
But I leave you a letter
So that you keep singing
The ballad of Juan Martha
Did you like these lyrics?
SONG MEANING

“Juan Martha” is a classic corrido that plays out like a short action movie set to banda horns. It introduces us to Juan Martha, a larger-than-life outlaw whose quickdraw pistol and taste for danger have earned him a 15,000-peso bounty. He robs and kills purely for the thrill, becoming so feared that even government rurales keep their distance. The lyrics paint him as both a villain and a folk hero, someone who laughs at the firing squad and claims he can repay a hundred wrongs with a single life—his own.

Amid the bravado, the song slips in a tender subplot: Juan’s anguished mother begs officials to spare her son, offering her savings for his release. Juan, however, tells her to stop crying and save her money. He accepts his fate beneath the moonlight and sun, asking only that the corrido—his story—continue after he is gone. The track blends swagger, fatalism, and maternal love into an unforgettable legend, capturing the essence of Mexican storytelling where outlaws become myths the moment the final trumpet fades.

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