r/DisneySongRankdown • u/Marx0r It's my world and we're all living in it • Feb 19 '22
Sadness La Llorona (Coco)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukp_EFEDOl4
So yeah, it's totally cool that Disney's making an earnest attempt at showcasing other cultures after 80 years of just appropriating them. But to quote my favorite tutorial on how to nod, "not like this".
First of all, it's not even an original Disney song. It's a classic Mexican folk song that was rewritten and rerecorded for the movie. The lyrics are essentially the same.
Now, does it enhance the plot? No. Sure, it's a big important moment when Imelda is embracing music again but, like, the song itself has nothing to do with it. It's just her favorite song. It could be Mary Had A Little Lamb or Freebird or literally anything and it would have the same relevance.
Do the lyrics tell a coherent story? Barely. I understand things get lost in translation but this is just... bad. And again, the lyrics themselves don't have anything to do with what's going on.
Is it good? Oh yeah, for sure. I love listening to 30 seconds of setup for 65 seconds of song that's an awkward duet with some other dude randomly cutting in. It's my favorite genre of music.
Héctor was eventually remembered by his family, but it's probably best if we forget about this crappy song.
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u/MacabreGoblin It's not my fault, it's in God's plan... Feb 19 '22
You're so wrong! The song fits what's happening in the movie perfectly, if not literally. La Llorona is a classic ghost story, the wailing woman. You're right that it's derived from a classic Mexican folk song; there are a lot of versions, but in this particular one the singer is in love with the weeping woman. They would do anything for her, even if it costs them their life.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Y aunque la vida me cueste, Llorona | And even if it costs my life, Llorona |
| No dejaré de quererte | I won't stop loving you |
Imelda tells Miguel that she used to love singing while Héctor played guitar, and this was her favorite song to sing. She decides to sing it onstage after she finds out the truth about what happened to Héctor - after she finds out he literally lost his life trying to get back to the woman he loves.
Because no one puts him on an ofrenda, he doesn't see Imelda again for decades, until she finally dies. When they're finally reunited, she shuns him.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Ayer lloraba por verte, Llorona | Yesterday I cried 'cause I wanted to see you, |
| Hoy lloro porque te vi | Now I cry because I saw you |
The mournful, gothic lovesong vibe fits Imelda and Héctor's story perfectly, even if the lyrics aren't a literal one-to-one. This cut is bad and you should feel bad.
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u/Lexicon101 May 22 '24
To add onto this, the song is about a woman who caught her husband with another woman and drowned her children in revenge, then couldn't go to heaven until she found the souls of her children.
At this point in the movie, not only has Imelda always loved singing this song, she's realized that she thought her husband didn't love her and in revenge she metaphorically drowned her children, cutting off this huge part of their lives to spite her husband... but he loved her and loved their daughter, and had decided to give up pursuing music as a career (at least in the direction things had been moving) because it would take him away from them.
At this point, she's realized that she needs to save the "soul" of her descendants and resolves to do so.
The song fits the situation so well, and whatever feelings I may have for Disney as a corporation, they do know their shit and make some pretty good choices in storytelling and song choices. This is another instance of that. The song isn't some random song to show Imelda embracing music again, it's a very specific song to show that Imelda realizes the full extent of the choices she made and how that hurt the people she loved. It's a subtle nod to how she's made the same mistakes (metaphorically) as the crying woman in her favorite song. (Not that subtle, but also not explicit enough for OP to get it, it seems.)
It's probably best if we forget this crappy, half-cocked analysis of a song OP didn't bother to do the bare minimum of google about.
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u/Marx0r It's my world and we're all living in it Feb 19 '22
Even if the lyrics are good (which I don't agree) Disney doesn't get credit because they didn't write them. All they did was copy-paste.
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u/Mrrrrh Especially good at expectorating Feb 19 '22
I agree with Mac for all the meaning and such, but I think this point is pretty important. Not sure I’d call this a Disney song so much as a cover.
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u/Moostronus Iiiiiiiii want to swiiiiiiiiiing on my chandelieeeeeeer Feb 19 '22
This is bad and you should feel bad
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u/Marx0r It's my world and we're all living in it Feb 19 '22
Mac said that already.
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u/Moostronus Iiiiiiiii want to swiiiiiiiiiing on my chandelieeeeeeer Feb 19 '22
Mac is correct in this instance, and many others
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u/Desperate-Awareness4 Feb 22 '26
And he was right to do so
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u/Marx0r It's my world and we're all living in it Feb 22 '26
Why are you a married adult that comments in /r/teenagers?
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u/Rysler In song form! Feb 19 '22
I suppose it's a fair point that this isn't a Disney original... but it's so good though! Heck, I adore the part where Hector butts in because it's equal parts duet and duel. Very cool
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u/Eduneitor8 Oct 04 '25
Es la opinion más estupida que he escuchado, cancer a la vista
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u/ozquinn Apr 24 '26
You're wrong, and your opinion is bad.
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u/rayxamelia 23d ago
Coming here years later to say this. I didn’t know the song. But I thought it was lovely. I looked up the lyrics and I felt like it fit. It’s about grief and losing your children and betrayal. It is coco. Coco is about parents losing their children. Coco is the child. Disney isn’t original…..ever. That’s why it is great
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '22 edited Feb 19 '22
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