"Mexico" is a song written by

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, hav ...

that first appeared as the opening track of his 1975 album ''

Gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...

''. It was released as a single, with the album's title track as the B-side, and reached No. 49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but performed much better on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

chart, reaching No. 5. "Mexico" has appeared on many of Taylor's

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

and compilation albums. It has been covered by

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffe ...

, Alex de Grassi and

Lauren Laverne Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock ba ...

Lyrics and music

The lyrics of "Mexico" describe a dream of enjoying a night in a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

border town. It seems to describe the singer's first-hand experiences in Mexico but has a twist near the end where the singer acknowledges that he has never been to Mexico, turning the song into a "fantasy about escaping to an exotic land." It is one of several songs on ''Gorilla'' that uses a

stream of consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First L ...

technique to describe the singer's fantasy. Others include "Music" and "You Make It Easy." ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Dave Lifton sees it as a reflection of the lighter tone Taylor brought to the ''Gorilla'' album compared to his earlier brooding lyrics. "Mexico" is a happy song that contrasts Taylor's sad, sensitive image. "Mexico" has a medium

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

, a

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

-influenced style and a "buoyant"

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed ...

. Its music incorporates features of

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

music. Musicologist James Perone points out that an unusual feature of the song is an abrupt key change from

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equiv ...

at the end of the verses to

F-sharp major F-sharp major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has six sharps. The F-sharp major scale is: : Its relative minor is D-sharp minor (or enharmonically E-f ...

to begin the refrain, which Perone interprets as corresponding to the shift between describing how the singer imagines Mexico to be and his declaration that he needs to go there.

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

and

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

sing backup vocals. Critic Doug Pringle describes Nash's

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

vocals as "lovely."

Reception

"Mexico" peaked at only #49 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 but achieved substantial radio play and reached #5 on Billboard's

chart. Its performance in Canada was similar. It only reached #83 on the singles chart but made it to #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the song as an "easy, mid-tempo cut" with smooth vocals with the instrumentation dominated by percussion and

steel drum The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descriptio ...

s. '' Cash Box'' called it "a bright change of pace in the form of a bubbling Latin beat dressed in ''la ropa de'' conga, vibraphone, and acoustic guitar." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' Critic Bud Scoppa describes the song as "delightful." Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

rates "Mexico" and its B-side "Gorilla" as the two songs on ''Gorilla'' that he likes. Music critic Martin Smith regarded "Mexico" as his favorite song from ''Gorilla''. Author Martin Charles Strong describes it as "demonstrating what Taylor was capable of when he decided to step up a gear." ''

Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' critic Mark Coleman appreciates the song's sense of humor. In 2003,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Critic Thom Jurek wrote that the song hasn't aged, and that it still seems "as immediate and relevant in the 21st century as tdid in the 1970s."

Other appearances

"Mexico" has appeared on a number of James Taylor compilation albums. It was included on the 1976 album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

''. It later appeared on the 1990 album ''

Classic Songs ''Classic Songs'' is the second compilation album by James Taylor. Only available in Europe it was, for a long time, the only compilation album to feature original versions of Taylor's classics. It spanned from his original work to his ''That's W ...

'', the 2003 album '' The Best of James Taylor'' and the 2013 album '' The Essential James Taylor''. Live versions of "Mexico" have been included on several live albums, including the 1991 album ''Live in Rio'', all versions of the 1993 album ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

'' and the 1998 album '' Live at the Beacon Theatre''.

Personnel

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy ...

– electric guitar *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass *

– harmony vocals *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, ...

– drums, shaker *

Milt Holland Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percus ...

– percussion *Gayle Levant – harp

Covers

covered "Mexico" on his 1995 album '' Barometer Soup''.

critic William Ruhlmann regarded the cover as appropriate, since the song was "consistent with Buffett's philosophy." Alex de Grassi covered "Mexico" on his 1999 album ''Alex de Grassi's Interpretation of James Taylor''.

covered the song on a

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Evening Session in August 2000. The John Tesh Project released an instrumental version of the song on the 1997 album ''Sax All Night.'' Bill Wurtz covered the song on his website under the jazz page in 2014.

References

{{Authority control James Taylor songs Songs written by James Taylor 1975 songs 1975 singles Song recordings produced by Russ Titelman Song recordings produced by Lenny Waronker Jimmy Buffett songs Songs about Mexico Warner Records singles