Livin' la Vida Loca

Original Ricky Martin CD single cover art, 1999

"**Livin' la Vida Loca**" (transl. "Livin' the Crazy Life") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his fifth studio album and English-language debut, *Ricky Martin*. It was released to radio stations by Columbia Records as the lead single from the album on March 23rd 1999.

A Latin pop song, it is about an irresistible, particularly sinister wild woman who lives on the edge, seducing others into her crazy world. The song received acclaim from music critics, who complimented its lyrics and danceable rhythm. It was ranked as Elle's best 1990s pop song and was listed among the "Best Latin Songs of All Time" by *Billboard*.

The Residents (and later, their lead singer Randy Rose) performed the song live as part of their "Sam" series of live performances, premiering it with a small orchestra at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive on June 4th 2010. Bootleg footage of Rose performing the music has reached 9,000 views on YouTube. A studio demo was released in 2022 on the compilation album *So Long Sam*.

The Residents' version of the song was first officially released in January 2013, as part of the So Long Sam concert film uploaded to the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive YouTube channel. To date, it is the most recently released song covered by The Residents, who have rarely covered contemporary pop music in recent years.

## History

### Recording

When "Livin La Vida Loca" was released on March 23rd 1999, The Residents were likely hard at work rehearsing for their Wormwood tour. Ricky Martin was by then already a massive star, and the single was met with widespread commercial and critical acclaim.

Around March 2010, The Residents began working on a show titled So Long Sam. The show featured a series of monologues told from the perspective of "Sam", an aging and politically incorrect boomer unable to change to better his place in the world around him. Musically, the show was based around orchestral re-arrangements of popular songs, which came to include "Livin' La Vida Loca". The group recorded studio demos of the show around that time.

### Live performances

   The Residents performed So Long Sam (featuring "Livin' La Video Loca") at a one-off live concert at the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive on June 4th 2010. In the show the song was introduced by a monologue from The Singing Resident in the guise of the character Sam:

> "Okay, so you've heard a few of my songs, and y'know? They just don't write songs like that anymore! I know, I just probably sound like a crazy old fool, but shit! Music has fucking gone to hell! Y'know, there is only one song written in the last twenty years that I can even remember! I'll sing it for you now..."
>
>

On October 20th 2011, a new extended version of the So Long Sam show debuted, presented under the pretense of a solo performance by The Residents' lead singer Randy Rose, titled Sam's Enchanted Evening. This version of the show featured a stripped-back version of the So Long Sam re-arrangement of "Livin' la Vida Loca", with only Rose accomapnied by Joshua Raoul Brody on piano. In this context, the song follows Sam contemplating the death of his friends and the homosexuality of his son. The pianist suggests that they play a piece of music to cheer him up, and Randy asks for "Livin' La Vida Loca".

## Release

Bootleg recordings of Randy Rose's version of the song from the October 20th 2011 show quickly circulated on the internet. The first official release of the track was in January 2013, when the Berkeley Art Museum released a concert film of The Residents' initial So Long Sam show on YouTube.

The song was officially released on the 2022 *So Long Sam (1945 - 2006)* 2xCD collection, which also featured The Residents' orchestral arrangement of song, as well as a demo version recorded earlier that year.

## Lyrics

```
She's into superstitions
Black cats and voodoo dolls
I feel a premonition
That girl's gonna make me fall

```

```
She's into new sensations
New kicks in the candlelight
She's got a new addiction
For ever' day and night

```

```
She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain
She'll make you live her crazy life, and take away your pain
Like a bullet to your brain, come on

```

```
So upside, inside out
She's livin' la vida loca
She'll push and pull you down
Livin' la vida loca
Her lips are devil red
And her skin's the color mocha
She will wear you out
Livin' la vida loca, come on
Livin' la vida loca, come on
She's livin' la vida loca

```

```
Woke up in New York City
In a funky cheap hotel
She took my heart and took my money
She must've slipped me a sleeping pill

```

```
She never drinks the water, makes you order French champagne
Once you've had a taste of her, you'll never be the same
She'll make you go insane, so

```

```
Upside, inside out
She's livin' la vida loca
She'll push and pull you down
Livin' la vida loca
Her lips are devil red
And her skin's the color mocha
She will wear you out
Livin' la vida loca, come on
Livin' la vida loca
She's livin' la vida loca

```

```
She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain
She'll make you live her crazy life, and take away your pain
Like a bullet to your brain, come on

```

```
So upside, inside out
She's livin' la vida loca
She'll push and pull you down
Livin' la vida loca
Her lips, they're devil red
And her skin's the color mocha
She will wear you out
Livin' la vida loca, come on
So upside, inside out
She's livin la vida loca
She'll push and pull you down
Livin' la vida loca
Her lips are devil red
And her skin's the color mocha
She's gonna wear you out
Livin' la vida loca, come on
Livin' la vida loca, come on
She's livin' la vida loca

```

### List of versions

1. ↑ So Long Sam live recording, Berkeley Art Museum, June 4th 2010 (4:01)
2. ↑ San Anselmo studio version, March 2010 (3:36)

## See also

* So Long Sam
* Sam's Enchanted Evening

## External links and references

* "Livin' la Vida Loca" at Wikipedia
* "Livin' la Vida Loca" at Genius

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Residents: So Long Sam (1945--2006)" (unlisted), posted by Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, January 30th 2013