Poor Man's Shangri-La by Ry Cooder
Poor Man's Shangri-La by Ry Cooder

Poor Man’s Shangri-La

Ry Cooder * Track #1 On Chávez Ravine

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Download "Poor Man’s Shangri-La"

Poor Man's Shangri-La by Ry Cooder

Release Date
Tue Jun 07 2005
Performed by
Ry Cooder
Produced by
Ry Cooder
Writed by
Ry Cooder & William Garcia
About

By the 1940s Chavez Ravine was an established
self-sufficient residential area near downtown Los Angeles. It’s three main neighborhoods – Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop – had been home to generations of Mexican-Americans and were collectively known as a “poor man’s Shangri-La”.

This song starts wi...

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Poor Man’s Shangri-La Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Tell you 'bout a friend of mine that you don't know
He lives way up a road that's lost in time
Don't know his name or where he's coming from
Only thing you know, he's a real gone cat
This friend of mine

[Verse 2]
He don't have no uptown friends or drive a Cadillac
But he's got cool threads and a beat up car
All his downtown friends like me ride around in the back
'Cause he's a real cool cat, yeah he's a real gone cat
This friend of mine

[Pre-Chorus]
La Loma boys will run with you
Do anything that you want them to
If you need a friend 'cause you're feeling blue
Palo Verde girls never let you down

[Chorus]
Na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La

[Verse 3]
Firme guys in their firme cars
Underneath the moon and stars
The city lights way down below
What's that sound? What's that light
Streaking down through the night?
What's it mean?
It's a red cloud over Chávez Ravine

[Bridge]
Oralé, UFO, come gliding low
Se cayó up Chávez Road
Space Vato, square cat
Say, "Caramba, partners, where's the party at?

I heard about the cool jerk, and the alligator
And I heard about Tokay wine, Mary Jane, and Lil' Julian Herrera
I want to learn to dance, make romance
These La Bishop girls might take a chance"

My friend says, "No, be cool, bro
If you want to dance slow
Learn to ask a mi hermana con respeto"

[Verse 4]
UFO's got a radio
Little Julian singing soft and low
Los Angeles down below
DJ says, we got to go
Where? To El Monte, El Monte, El Monte, pa El Monte

[Chorus]
Na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La

[Outro]
El Monte, El Monte
Pa El Monte, vamo pa El Monte
On the UFO, car radio
Na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La
Na na na na na na na, living in a poor man's Shangri-La

Poor Man’s Shangri-La Q&A

Who wrote Poor Man’s Shangri-La's ?

Poor Man’s Shangri-La was written by Ry Cooder & William Garcia.

Who produced Poor Man’s Shangri-La's ?

Poor Man’s Shangri-La was produced by Ry Cooder.

When did Ry Cooder release Poor Man’s Shangri-La?

Ry Cooder released Poor Man’s Shangri-La on Tue Jun 07 2005.

What did Ry Cooder say about "Poor Man's Shangri-La"?

It’s night in Los Angeles. A traveling Space Vato is trying to get oriented, honing in on a local radio signal. “Lonely Lonely Nights,” by Lil' Julian Herrera, sounds just right; he’s been out there for so long now. The radio DJ chants, “El Monte Saturday Night,” over and over. Why El Monte? Looking...

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Why are some lyrics in this song a mixture of Spanish and English?

Parts of this song are in Caló, which was the language created and used by Puchacos. Caló combines Spanish and English words with slang to disguise their meaning from those language’s native speakers.

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