La Paloma

This article is about the song. For the American city, see La Paloma, Texas.

La Paloma (S.Iradier)

"La Paloma" is a popular song, having been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by Spanish composer Sebastián Iradier (later Yradier) after he visited Cuba in 1861. Iradier may have composed "La Paloma" around 1863, just two years before he died in Spain in obscurity, never to learn how popular his song would become.

The influence of the local Cuban habanera gives the song its characteristic and distinctive rhythm. Very quickly "La Paloma" became popular in Mexico, and soon spread around the world. In many places, including Afghanistan, Mexico, Spain, Hawaii, the Philippines, Germany, Romania, Zanzibar, and Goa it gained the status of a quasi-folk song. Over the years the popularity of "La Paloma" has surged and receded periodically, but never subsided. It may be considered one of the first universal popular hits and has appealed to artists of diverse musical backgrounds.

The motif

The motif of "La Paloma" (the dove) can be traced back to an episode that occurred in 492 BC preliminary to Darius' invasion of Greece, a time when the white dove had not yet been seen in Europe.^[1] The Persian fleet under Mardonius was caught in a storm off the shore of Mount Athos and being wrecked when the Greeks observed white doves escaping from the sinking Persian ships. This inspired the notion that such birds bring home a final message of love from a sailor who is lost at sea. This theme that a final link of love overcomes death and separation is reflected in "La Paloma". While the lyrics may not always be true to the original, the soul of the song seems to survive all attempts to recast it in whatever new form and shape there may be and is able to express the tension between separation with loneliness, even death, and love.

History

"La Paloma" became quickly popular in Mexico. It was a favorite of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, and at the same time the Mexican revolutionaries played and popularized it well. Legend has it, popularized by the movie Juarez, that as a last wish Maximilian requested it to be played at his execution.^{[citation needed]} As Emperor Maximilian was a Habsburg, ships of the Austrian Navy would never play the song.^{[citation needed]}

German and French versions appeared in 1865.^{[citation needed]} In 1899, a performance of the melody by the French Garde Républicaine was one of the first recordings that were made.^{[citation needed]}

New lyrics (not translations) are available in many languages. They typically involve generic images of white doves and true loves. They lack the specificity of the original Spanish, in which a Cuban sailor laments parting from his "Guachinanga chinita" (his adorable Mexican sweetheart), and asks her to cherish his spirit if it returns to her window as a dove. Then he fantasizes that if he does return safely, they will marry and have seven, or even fifteen, children.

In English, a version titled "No More" with lyrics by Don Robertson and Hal Blair was recorded by both Dean Martin and Elvis Presley.^{[citation needed]}

La Paloma has been interpreted by musicians of diverse backgrounds including opera, pop, jazz, rock, military bands, and folk music.

The song entered the Guinness Book of World Records being sung by the largest choir, 88,600 people, in Hamburg on May 9, 2004.^[2]

Famous performers

Among the many notable performers are:

• Laurel Aitken
• Hans Albers, in the 1944 German movie Große Freiheit Nr. 7 lyrics
• Marietta Alboni (la paloma estrenada por l' Alboni)
• Victoria de los Ángeles
• Joan Baez
• Harry Belafonte
• Mr. Acker Bilk
• Carla Bley
• Ernesto Bonino
• Victoria de los Angeles
• Maria Callas
• Chubby Checker
• Perry Como
• Jesse Crawford
• Bing Crosby
• Marty Robbins
• Comedian Harmonists
• Emilio de Gogorza
• Plácido Domingo
• Fischer Chöre
• Connie Francis
• Merle Haggard
• Heino
• Beniamino Gigli
• Bill Haley & His Comets
• Julio Iglesias
• Jack Jones
• Curd Jürgens
• Charles Kullmann
• René Kollo
• Frankie Laine with Michel LeGrand
• Wei Wei and Julio Iglesias
• James Last
• Dean Martin
• Mireille Mathieu
• Jelly Roll Morton
• Mills Brothers
• Nana Mouskouri
• Charlie Parker
• Luciano Pavarotti
• Perez Prado & His Orchestra
• Edith Piaf
• Elvis Presley, (retitled "No More")
• Freddy Quinn (German #1)
• Bill Ramsey
• Joseph Schmidt
• Rosita Serrano
• Artie Shaw
• Richard Tauber
• Caterina Valente
• Billy Vaughn
• Ilse Werner
• Rudy Weidoeft
• Caetano Veloso
• Olavi Virta
• Klaus Wunderlich
• Manuel Mijares
• Alla Pugacheva

Movies

La Paloma is played in these movies:

• The Private Life of Don Juan, 1934
• La Paloma, Ein Lied der Kameradschaft, 1934 (also listed as La Paloma, 1938)^[3]
• Juarez, 1939
• Große Freiheit Nr. 7, 1944
• Stray Dog, 1949
• La Paloma, Germany 1958,
• Freddy, die Gitarre und das Meer, 1959
• Freddy und der Millionär
• Adua e le compagne, 1960
• Blue Hawaii, 1961, Elvis Presley singing "No More"
• Das Boot, 1981
• Mortelle Randonnée, 1983, Hans Albers singing a German version
• Schtonk!, 1992, with these lyrics: "Hermann Hermann Willié, Mit 'nem Akzent auf dem E, Du bist die grösste Supernase, Die ich am Bord hier seh'."
• The House of the Spirits, 1993.
• Sonnenallee, 1999.
• A Moment to Remember, 2004.
• Soul Kitchen, 2009.

The song "La Paloma" is the subject of the 2008 documentary La Paloma. Sehnsucht. Weltweit.^[4][5]

References

1. ^ Pankraz, Marcel Proust und das ewige Lied "La Paloma" (German)[1]
2. ^ Video Event 2004
3. ^ NY Times Review of movie La Paloma (1938) from 09-08-2008
4. ^ Review (German) by cinefacts
5. ^ IMDb La Paloma. Sehnsucht. Weltweit. - A documentary

Lyrics (Public Domain)

1. Cuando salí de la Habana

¡Válgame Dios!

Nadie me ha visto salir

Si no fuí yo.

Y una linda Guachinanga

S'allá voy yo,

Que se vino tras de mi,

Que sí señor.

Refrain:

Si a tu ventana llega Una Paloma,

Trátala con cariño, Que es mi persona.

Cuéntale tus amores, Bien de mi vida,

Corónala de flores, Que es cosa mía.

Ay, chinita que sí!

Ay, que dame tu amor!

Ay, que vente conmigo,

Chinita, a donde vivo yo!

2. El día que nos casemos ¡Válgame Dios!

En la semana que hay ir Me hace reir

Desde la Iglesia juntitos, Que sí señor,

Nos iremos a dormir, Allá voy yo.

(Refrain)

3. Cuando el curita nos eche La bendición

En la Iglesia Catedral Allá voy yo

Yo te daré la manita Con mucho amor

Y el cura dos hisopazos Que sí señor

(Refrain)

4. Cuando haya pasado tiempo ¡Válgame Dios!

De que estemos casaditos Pues sí señor,

Lo menos tendremos siete Y que furor!

O quince guachinanguitos Allá voy yo

Literature

• Rüdiger Bloemeke: „La Paloma – Das Jahrhundert-Lied“, 158 Seiten mit vielen Farb- und Schwarzweiß-Abbildungen, Voodoo Verlag 2005, ISBN 3-00-015586-4
• Sigrid Faltin / Andreas Schäfler: La Paloma - das Lied., 180 Seiten + 4 CDs, Marebuch Verlag 2008, ISBN 3-866480881

External links

• Sheet Music for La Paloma
• [2]; German and English poems for the melody, with no similarity to the Spanish words.
• "La Paloma" performed by the Banda de Zapadores de Mexico, Project Gutenberg
• Coro Alboni