Maná: “El Rey Tiburón” (2006)
From Maná’s Grammy-winning seventh studio album Amar es Combatir (“To Love Is To Fight” in English). The album shared the distinction with Shakira’s Fijación Oral Vol. 1 (2005) as the highest debut of a Spanish language album in the history of Billboard until surpassed by Bad Bunny in 2020.
“El Rey Tiburón” (“The Shark King”) is a warning to the, uh, “mermaids” to beware the one who will “eat you with his kisses”. Or something:
I’m the king of the seas, the shark
The one who smothers you with kisses
But I’m the king of the sea, the shark
The one who eats you up, my love
Ay Ay Ay Bom Bom My mermaid of my love
Beware of the kiss
Oh, this is excess of love, that the shark has arrived
Compositionally, the song catches the ear by resolving minor-chord verses with a major, then ending the major-chord chorus by returning to a minor.
Cha cha cha!
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2024/01/01/songs-you-may-have-missed-740/
