Lyrics to
Veracruz

This version of Veracruz was released by Warren Zevon in 1978.

Our About Warren Zevon page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Veracruz from 1978 as well as all of the other lyrics from Warren Zevon that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Warren Zevon or about the 1970s in general.

I heard Woodrow Wilson’s guns
I heard Maria crying
Late last night I heard the news
That Veracruz was dying
Veracruz was dying

Someone called Maria’s name
I swear it was my father’s voice
Saying, “If you stay you’ll all be slain
You must leave now – you have no choice
Take the servants and ride west
Keep the child close to your chest
When the American troops withdraw
Let Zapata take the rest”

I heard Woodrow Wilson’s guns
I heard Maria calling
Saying, “Veracruz is dying
And Cuernavaca’s falling”

Aquel dia yo jure (On that day I swore)
Hacia el puerto volvere (To the port I will return)
Aunque el destino cambio mi vida (Even though destiny changed my life)
En Veracruz morire (In Veracruz I shall die)
Aquel dia yo jure (On that day I swore)

I heard Woodrow Wilson’s guns
I heard them in the harbor
Saying, “Veracruz is dying”

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Warren Zevon has released many songs over the years besides Veracruz. Warren Zevon released songs from 1969 to 2003 spanning across albums like Wanted Dead Or Alive, Warren Zevon, Excitable Boy, Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School, Stand In The Fire, The Envoy, Sentimental Hygiene, Transverse City, Hindu Love Gods, Mr. Bad Example, Mutineer, Life'll Kill Ya, My Ride's Here, and The Wind. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Warren Zevon.

If you're a fan of the music of the 1970s looking for more songs from 1978 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Veracruz by Warren Zevon

The lyrics to Veracruz are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Warren Zevon in 1978. Elements of the lyrics to Veracruz are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Warren Zevon and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for Veracruz back when it was created.

Some people have an interest in the etymology behind words and phrases. You can take apart the lyrics to Veracruz by Warren Zevon in a number of ways. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Veracruz" means the words set to the music of Veracruz, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Warren Zevon. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Veracruz and the lyrics to Veracruz are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Warren Zevon who came here looking just for the lyrics to Veracruz, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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