Romero combines two different variants found in New Mexico to delineate characters and to provide contrast over the seven-minute performance of the song. The older variant is believed to be the one with the refrain, "Que din, que don, que din, din, don," which is a play on words. The word "don" is a term of honor when used with a man's name; used after the word "que," a derogatory connotation is implied for the "don." Romero's performance also deviates slightly from the melody as recorded by John D. Robb.