Man, It’s A Hot One: July Birthdays

Written for Song Lyric Sunday
“Mid-Summer State of Mind”

This week at Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday, the theme is “Mid-Summer State of Mind” and our challenge is to write about a song written or performed by someone who was born in the month of July. As soon as I saw my featured performer’s name on the list of July birthdays, I knew I had to go with him. He is brilliant and his music moves me …. whether he’s performing something of his own creation or a cover, I dig him. Whatever mood I’m in, his music fits the bill, from energizing to romantic to soulful. He is Carlos Santana and I’ve been a fan all my adult life. Here’s some background info on him; if you’d like to read more, check out his page on Brittanica.

Born on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico, Carlos Santana is a legendary guitarist who pioneered a fusion of rock, Latin jazz, and blues. Coming from a musical family, Santana first learned the violin from his father, a professional mariachi musician. By age eight, he switched to the guitar. As a teenager, his family relocated to Tijuana, Mexico, where he performed in local clubs and absorbed deep blues and American rock influences. When he moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s, he immersed himself in the city’s blossoming psychedelic rock and counterculture scene and in 1966 formed the Santana Blues Band …. also known simply as ‘Santana’. The group caught the attention of legendary promoter Bill Graham and secured their breakthrough with an electrifying, rhythm-heavy set at Woodstock in 1969. Their self-titled debut album followed shortly after, launching top-ten hits like “Evil Ways.” They subsequently released monumental, chart-topping albums such as Abraxas, which featured timeless classics like “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va”.

Throughout his career, Carlos Santana has maintained a deep dedication to social activism, spirituality, and humanitarian outreach. In 1998, he founded The Milagro Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial aid for educational, medical, and artistic needs for under-served youth. Although he remained critically respected and active throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Santana experienced one of the most remarkable comebacks in music history with the release of the album Supernatural in 1999. The record …. which sold nearly 30 million copies worldwide and won eight Grammy Awards …. resulted in several massive hits and bridged generations by pairing his signature guitar work with contemporary pop and R&B artists.

“Evil Ways” is a song about a woman who makes the singer feel like a fool; he gets jealous and upset because she is hanging out with her friends and not paying any attention to him. He warns her that he will leave if she doesn’t change her ‘evil ways’. The song was originally written in 1965 by Sonny Henry, a guitarist for Willie Bobo, a Latin Jazz percussionist, who had a big influence on Santana. Gregg Rolie, who later joined Journey, sang lead on this one. The song gained massive traction after Santana performed it at Woodstock. Their electrifying performance introduced the band’s unique blend of blues, rock, and Latin jazz to a massive audience before their debut album was even released. “Evil Ways” was released as a single in late 1969; it peaked at #9 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on March 21, 1970 and paved the way for future signature hits.

This is “Evil Ways” by Santana

LYRICS

You’ve got to change your evil ways, baby
Before I stop lovin’ you
You’ve got to change, baby
And every word that I say is true
You’ve got me runnin’ and hidin’ all over town
You’ve got me sneakin’ and a peepin’ and runnin’ you down
This can’t go on
Lord knows, you’ve got to change, baby
Baby, when I come home, baby
My house is dark, and my thoughts are cold
You hang around, baby
With Jean and Joan and a who knows who
I’m gettin’ tired of waiting and fooling around
I’ll find somebody that won’t make me feel like a clown
This can’t go on
Lord knows, you’ve got to change
When I come home, baby
My house is dark, and my thoughts are cold
You hang around baby
With Jean and Joan and a who knows who?
I’m gettin’ tired of waiting and fooling around
I’ll find somebody that won’t me feel like a clown
This can’t go on
Yeah, yeah, yeah

^{Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Clarence Arthur Henry
Evil Ways lyrics © Richcar Music Corp., Universal Songs Of Polygram Int. Inc.}

Co-written by Carlos Santana and produced by Wyclef Jean, “Maria, Maria” is the 1999 globally renowned track from Santana’s legendary comeback album, Supernatural, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks and won eight Grammy Awards. The lyrics are loosely based on the musical West Side Story, adapting the narrative of its leading character, Maria, but moving her story from Spanish Harlem in New York to the modern-day urban “hood” of Los Angeles. In the song, Maria dreams of making the world a better place and has won the heart of the singer. The song incorporates all the hallmarks of a Santana song …. silky guitar licks, a love story, and a call for justice and equality. And also, lots of Latin flavor. Some Spanish words and phrases are peppered into the lyrics, including the refrain, “Ahora vengo mama chula”, sung by Carlos Santana; this roughly translates into “Now I come, beautiful woman”. In 1999 many hit songs included some Spanish lyrics, but just enough to spice them up.

This is “Maria, Maria” by Santana ft. the Product G&B

LYRICS

Maria Maria
She reminds me of a west side story
Growing up in Spanish Harlem
She’s living the life just like a movie star
Maria Maria
She fell in love in East L.A.
To the sounds of the guitar, yeah, yeah
Played by Carlos Santana
Stop the looting, stop the shooting
Pick pocking on the corner
See as the rich is getting richer
The poor is getting poorer
Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
In my mailbox there’s an eviction letter
Somebody just said see you later
Ahora vengo mama chola mama chola
Ahora vengo mama chola
Ahora vengo mama chola mama chola
Ahora vengo mama chola
I said a la favella los colores
The streets are getting hotter
There is no water to put out the fire
Mi canto la esperanza
Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
Then I looked up in the sky
Hoping of days of paradise
Ahora vengo mama chola mama chola
Ahora vengo mama chola
Maria you know you’re my lover
When the wind blows I can feel you
Through the weather and even when we’re apart
It feels like we’re together

^{Writer(s): Carlos Santana, Raul Rekow, Karl Perazzo}

Another smash hit from Santana’s Supernatural is “Smooth” featuring Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas. The lead single from the album, which was co-written by Thomas, spent 12 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won three Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year. Thomas, who wrote the lyrics tailored to Carlos Santana’s signature style, recorded a demo track, but Santana was so impressed by Thomas’ performance that he insisted he sing the final release version. The song became a colossal hit, ranking as the second most successful song of all time on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also famously spawned viral internet memes celebrating its iconic opening line, “Man, it’s a hot one…”. The lyrics to Santana’s iconic hit are steeped in personal significance, romance, and cultural fusion, many of which are Rob Thomas’ ode to his wife, Marisol Maldonado, who is Puerto Rican. “My Muñequita” translates to “My Little Doll” in Spanish; Thomas also calls her his “Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa.” Marisol appears in the music video.

This is “Smooth” by Santana ft. Rob Thomas

LYRICS

Man, it’s a hot one
Like seven inches from the midday sun
Well, I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone
But you stay so cool
My muñequita, my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa
You’re my reason for reason
The step in my groove
And if you said this life ain’t good enough
I would give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
Because you’re so smooth
And it’s just like the ocean under the moon
Oh, it’s the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin’ that can be so smooth, yeah
Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it
But I’ll tell you one thing
If you would leave it’d be a crying shame
In every breath and every word
I hear your name calling me out
Out from the barrio
You hear my rhythm on your radio
You feel the turning of the world, so soft and slow
It’s turning you round and round
And if you said this life ain’t good enough
I would give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
Because you’re so smooth
Well, and it’s just like the ocean under the moon
Well, it’s the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin’ that can be so smooth, yeah
Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it
Well, and it’s just like the ocean under the moon
Oh, it’s the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin’ that can be so smooth, yeah
Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it
Or else forget about it
Or else forget about it
Oh, let’s don’t forget about it
Give me your heart, make it real
Let’s don’t forget about it (hey)
Let’s don’t forget about it (now, oh, now, oh)
Let’s don’t forget about it (now, now, now, oh)
Let’s don’t forget about it (hey, now, now, oh)
Let’s don’t forget about it (hey, hey, hey)

^{Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Itaal Shur / Robert Thomas
Smooth lyrics © Audiam, Inc, BMG Rights Management, Downtown Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sentric Music, Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc}

Mid-Summer State of Mind

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow his link and check out his site.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to some great music. I hope you enjoyed the theme for this week as well as the information and music I featured.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2026

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thank you for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}