Himno de Riego

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El Himno de Riego is a song dating from the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823 and named in honour of Colonel Rafael del Riego. It was the national anthem of Spain during the Trienio Liberal and the First and Second Spanish Republics (1931-1939).

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[edit] Trivia

At the Davis Cup tennis finals held in Australia in 2003 El Himno de Riego was played in error instead of Spain's current national anthem, the Marcha Real (or "Royal March"). The mistake provoked a row between Spanish and Australian tennis officials, although this only had to do with accusations of incompetence. One side-effect of the incident was that it brought this rather joyful tune (which had been banned under the Franco régime) to the attention of at least two generations of Spaniards who had not heard it a lot before.

Himno de Riego

Himno de Riego
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[edit] Original lyrics

Spanish lyrics

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 osadía,
 Ni vio nunca un día más grande el valor,
 Que aquel, 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 al viento,
 Horror al sediento, ya ruge el cañón.
 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.

English lyrics

Serene and happy, brave and daring,
Let us sing, soldiers, the battle hymn.
Our voices shall astonish the world
Which will see us as the children of the Cid.

Soldiers, the country calls us to the fight.
We swear to her to conquer or to die.

Never saw the world more noble daring,
Nor any day when greater valour was shown,
Than that when excited we saw the fire of battle
Awaken in Riego the love of his land.

Soldiers, the country calls us to the fight.
We swear to her to conquer or to die.

The war trumpet echoes to the winds;
Affrighting the greedy, the cannon now roars.
Our warrior daring calls forth the audacity
And the ingenuity of our nation.

Soldiers, the country calls us to the fight.
We swear to her to conquer or to die.

[edit] Satirical lyrics

This alternative version was extremely popular amongst Spaniards, particularly in Catalonia (part of it is in Catalan), during the Spanish Civil War. The rudeness of the lyrics reflects the dislike of Republican Spain for the church and the monarchy. After the war, these lyrics continued to be sung, by Franco's detractors and enemies. Such was the popularity of these lyrics that even today many people, particularly younger ones, think they are in fact the official ones.

Spanish and Catalan lyrics

(Spanish)
 Si los curas y frailes supieran,
 la paliza que les van a dar,
 subirían al coro cantando:

"¡Libertad, libertad, libertad!"

(Spanish)
 Si los Reyes de España supieran
 lo poco que van a durar,
 a la calle saldrían gritando:

"¡Libertad, libertad, libertad!"

(Catalan)
 La Reina vol corona?
 que vingui a Barcelona!
 Corona li darem...

I el coll li tallarem!

(Spanish)
 Un hombre estaba cagando,
 y no tenía papel,
 pasó el Rey Alfonso XIII

¡Y se limpio el culo con él!

Translation

(From Spanish)
 If priests and monks knew;
the beating they're going to receive,
they'd make a chorus and sing:

"Freedom, freedom, freedom!"

(From Spanish)
 If the Kings of Spain knew
how little they're going to last,
they'd go out on the street and sing:

"Freedom, freedom, freedom!"

(From Catalan)
 The queen wants a crown?
Let her come to Barcelona!
We'll give her a crown...

And we'll cut her head off!

(From Spanish)
 A man was pooping
But had no paper.
King Alfonso XIII came by

So he wiped his ass with him.

[edit] External links