Ay Carmela (song)
| "¡Ay Carmela!" | |
|---|---|
Military flag of the Spanish Republic
|
|
| Song | |
| Language | Spanish |
| English title | "Ay Carmela!" |
| Genre | Topical song |
| Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
¡Ay Carmela! is one of the most famous songs of the Spanish Republican troops during the Spanish Civil War.
The most popular lyrics to this Republican song have two variants known as El Paso del Ebro and Viva la XV Brigada. The first one is related to the Battle of the Ebro and the second mentions the Battle of Jarama, two of the main confrontations of the Civil War. The melody, however, is a folk tune of far greater antiquity, dating back to the Peninsular War in the early 19th century.
The sentence Luchamos contra los moros (We fight against the Moors) refers to the Regulares, the feared Moroccan units fighting as the shock troops of the Nationalists.
El Ejército del Ebro,
rumba la rumba la rumba la.
El Ejército del Ebro,
rumba la rumba la rumba la
una noche el río pasó,
Y a las tropas invasoras,
rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Y a las tropas invasoras,
rumba la rumba la rumba la
buena paliza les dio,
El furor de los traidores,
rumba la rumba la rumba la.
El furor de los traidores,
rumba la rumba la rumba la
lo descarga su aviación,
Pero nada pueden bombas,
rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Pero nada pueden bombas,
rumba la rumba la rumba la
donde sobra corazón,
Contraataques muy rabiosos,
rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Contraataques muy rabiosos,
rumba la rumba la rumba la
deberemos resistir,
Pero igual que combatimos,
rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Pero igual que combatimos,
rumba la rumba la rumba la
prometemos resistir,
The Ebro Army (¡Ay Carmela!, etc.)
one night crossed the river [the Ebro]
and the invading forces
were completely crashed.
The furor of the traitors
is in what their airplanes drop.
(Nazi German and Fascist Italian planes, supporting Franco's side, bombed the republican pontoons and bridges across the Ebro in order to cut the supply lines of the frontline troops)
But bombs can do nothing
when there's a lot of heart.
Very angry counterattacks
we have to resist
we promise to resist them.
...
Wikipedia