The lyrics of "Mexico" describe a dream of enjoying a night in a Mexican border town.[1] 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."[2] It is one of several songs on Gorilla that uses a stream of consciousness technique to describe the singer's fantasy. Others include "Music" and "You Make It Easy."[1]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.[3]
"Mexico" is a happy song that contrasts Taylor's sad, sensitive image.[4] "Mexico" has a medium tempo, a Latin music-influenced style and a "buoyant" rhythm.[2][5] Its music incorporates features of country rock music.[6] Musicologist James Perone points out that an unusual feature of the song is an abrupt key change from E major at the end of the verses to F-sharp major 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.[2]
"Mexico" peaked at only #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 but achieved substantial radio play and reached #5 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.[1][9] Its performance in Canada was similar. It only reached #83 on the singles chart but made it to #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[10][11]
Billboard described the song as an "easy, mid-tempo cut" with smooth vocals with the instrumentation dominated by percussion and steel drums.[12]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."[13]Rolling Stone Critic Bud Scoppa describes the song as "delightful."[6] Music critic Robert Christgau rates "Mexico" and its B-side "Gorilla" as the two songs on Gorilla that he likes.[14] Music critic Martin Smith regarded "Mexico" as his favorite song from Gorilla.[15] Author Martin Charles Strong describes it as "demonstrating what Taylor was capable of when he decided to step up a gear."[5]Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Mark Coleman appreciates the song's sense of humor.[16] In 2003, Allmusic Critic Thom Jurek wrote that the song hasn't aged, and that it still seems "as immediate and relevant in the 21st century as [it] did in the 1970s."[17]
Jimmy Buffett covered "Mexico" on his 1995 album Barometer Soup.[24]Allmusic critic William Ruhlmann regarded the cover as appropriate, since the song was "consistent with Buffett's philosophy."[24]Alex de Grassi covered "Mexico" on his 1999 album Alex de Grassi's Interpretation of James Taylor.[25]Lauren Laverne covered the song on a BBC Radio 1Evening Session in August 2000. The John Tesh Project released an instrumental version of the song on the 1997 album Sax All Night.[26]
Bill Wurtz covered the song on his website under the jazz page in 2014.[27]
References
^ abcdWhite, T. (2009). Long Ago and Far Away. Omnibus Press. pp. 233–235. ISBN9780857120069.
^ abcdPerone, James E. (2018). The Words and Music of James Taylor. Praeger. p. 38. ISBN9781440852688.
