Emilito's Family and
Spanish Civil War Songs
Emil Signes
Rev. 2005-02-18
¡No
pasarán! and España en llamas
As a result of their
experiences in Spain at its start, the Spanish Civil War was always
imprinted on Emilio & Carmen's memories. Emilito and his
siblings will always remember an ancient 78 rpm record, its hole out of
round, and later with a crack extending from the label to the edge but
always playable, with two songs about the Spanish Civil War, a
lamenting pasodoble, "España en Llamas," and a defiant march,
"No pasarán." We would play the latter often, because
words like "matan mujeres, niños y ancianos," and "Franco el
traidor," always struck us - well, they struck us somehow -
especially in an age when Franco ruled and these sentiments could
certainly not be expressed in Spain.
Emilito remembers that
when they played this record, his mother, ever torn between right and
left, would frown, whereas his father, who never had any sympathy for
the right, would always smile with amusement.
Emilito also remembers
thinking that this must have been a popular song and therefore that he
would find it in some Spanish Civil War archive or listing of
songs. But it was never there. So, for him, the record
suddenly became a rare memento of happy days at home reliving some not
so happy days of his parents (if that makes any sense).
After many, many years
of treasuring that record, and avoiding playing it, to preserve it,
Emilito finally recorded it to cassette to have a way to play it
without
danger. And then, in the early 21st century, voila! He
found both ¡No
pasaran! and España en llamas
online, downloaded them, converted them to MP3 and distributed them to
his siblings. (They are part of the University of South Florida's
Spanish Civil War Oral History Project and are found by following the
search at
http://www.lib.usf.edu/ldsu/index2.html?f=search-fullrecord&idx=1
Both songs are written by Leopoldo González and performed by the
Orquesta Esapañola "Los Milicianos"
plus chorus. One side of the 78 rpm features the marcha miliciana
"¡No Pasarán," and
the other the pasodoble "España en Llamas."
The MP3 versions of
both songs are given below, followed by the words and translation of
¡No pasarán!
- (Incidentally,
when Emilito looked at the record label again he noted
that it was made in NYC, so . . . it was probably a song known only to
Exiles and American sympathizers to begin with . . . oh, well. . . )
No
pasarán - MP3
España en llamas - MP3
¡NO PASARÁN!
Ahí van
marchando los milicianos
Van para el frente con gran valor.
A dar sus vidas se van cantando
Antes que triunfe Franco el traidor.
En el espacio van los
fascistas
Bombas aéreas destrozarán
La bella urbe capitalina
Pero a Madrid . . . ¡NO PASARÁN!
Matan mujeres. niños y ancianos
Que por las calles suelen andar.
Esta es la hazaña de los fascistas
Que allá en la historia se ha de grabar
Si sangre de héroes regó los campos
Bellas simientes resurgirán
El cañón ruje, tiembla la tierra
Pero a Madrid . . . ¡NO PASARÁN!
THEY SHALL NOT PASS!
There march the militiamen
With great valor to the front.
They go singing to give their lives
Lest Franco, the traitor. triumph.
The fascists are in the skies
Their aerial bombs may destroy
Our beautiful capital city
But to Madrid . . . They Shall Not Pass!
They kill women, children, and the elderly
Who are out and about on the streets
This is the deed of the fascists
Which will be inscribed in history.
Where heroes' blood watered the field
Beautiful seedlings will flourish.
The cannon roars, the earth trembles
But to Madrid . . . They Shall Not Pass!
Label of Emilio & Carmen's "No Pasarán"
Himno de Riego
The one song Carmen
Lagos refers to in her letters from the Spain in 1936 (español) (English)
is the Himno de Riego, the Republican National Anthem. The MP3
version of this song may be found by clicking here, and the words, which were found at
the following site -
http://www.searchspaniel.com/index.php/Himno_de_Riego
- are given below.
Himno de Riego is an anthem
composed in honor of colonel Rafael
del Riego during the 1820-1823 Spanish
Civil War and the national anthem of the Second
Spanish Republic (1931-1939).
HIMNO DE
RIEGO
Serenos y alegres
valientes y osados
cantemos soldados
el himno a la lid.
De nuestros acentos
el orbe se admire
y en nosotros mire
los hijos del Cid.
Soldados la patria
nos llama a la lid,
juremos por ella
vencer o morir.
El mundo vio nunca
más noble osadia,
ni vió nunca un día
más grande el valor,
que aquel que, inflamados,
nos vimos del fuego
excitar a Riego
de Patria el amor.
Soldados la patria
nos llama a la lid,
juremos por ella
vencer o morir.
La trompa guerrera
sus ecos da al viento,
horror al sediento,
ya ruge el cañon
a Marte, sañudo,
la audacia provoca
y el ingenio invoca
de nuestra nación.
Soldados la patria
nos llama a la lid,
juremos por ella
vencer o morir.
Numerous sites on the
world wide web provide access to Spanish Civil War Songs. Here is
just one of them:
http://lacucaracha.info/scw/music/
(Note that this site
lists an entirely different song than Emilito knew with the title "No
pasarán." It also has 2 different versions of Himno de
Riego, both instrumentals.)