"La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

composer Sebastián Iradier (later Yradier) around 1860 after a visit to Cuba. In 1879, it was registered at the copyright office in Madrid as a "Canción Americana con acompañamiento de Piano". Iradier was to die in obscurity within few years, never to learn how popular his song would become. Very quickly, "La Paloma" became popular outside of Spain, particularly in Mexico, and soon spread around the world. In many places, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Colombia, Hawaii, the Philippines, Germany, Romania, Venezuela, Zanzibar, and Goa it gained the status of a quasi-

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. 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. There are more than one thousand versions of this song, and together with " Yesterday" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, is one of the most-recorded songs in the history of music; it is certainly the most-recorded Spanish song.

The motif

The motif of "La Paloma" (the

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

) can be traced back to an episode that occurred in 492 BC, before

Darius the Great Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

's invasion of Greece, a time when the white dove had not yet been seen in Europe. The Persian fleet under Mardonius was caught in a storm off the shore of

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

and wrecked, when the Greeks observed white doves escaping from the sinking Persian ships. Those were most probably homing pigeons which the Persian fleet carried with them when sallying forth out of Persia for battle. This inspired the notion that such birds bring home a final message of love from a sailor who is lost at sea.

History

In the Portuguese novel '' O Crime do Padre Amaro'' (''The Crime of Father Amaro''), written in 1871 by the Portuguese writer José Maria de Eça de Queirós, it is referred to as "'' Chiquita'', an old Mexican song". German and French versions appeared in the 1860s.

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

recorded a version in 1941 on Columbia 36146., and a version in English titled "No More" with lyrics by Don Robertson and Hal Blair was recorded by both

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. That version was written by request as an adaptation of an Italian or French folk song with new English lyrics, specifically to be sung by Elvis in the movie '' Blue Hawaii''. It was based on musical melody as remembered, and had lyrics fit to the melody which emerged during composition. A cover version by Brendan Bowyer reached #1 in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

in 1963. In 1973 French singer

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...

had a huge hit across Europe with her interpretation named "La Paloma, Adieu", released outside the

francophonie The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

countries as "La Paloma, Adé". "La Paloma" has been interpreted by musicians of diverse backgrounds including

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, pop,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, rock,

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

s, and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. The song entered the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

being sung by the largest

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, 88,600 people, in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

on May 9, 2004.

Movies

"La Paloma" is played in these movies: *

The Gallopin' Gaucho ''The Gallopin' Gaucho'' is a 1928 American animated short film and the second short film featuring Mickey Mouse to be produced, following '' Plane Crazy'' and preceding ''Steamboat Willie''. The Disney studios completed the silent version in A ...

, 1928 * "La Paloma"

Screen Songs ''Screen Songs'' (formerly known as ''KoKo Song Car-Tunes'') are a series of animated cartoons produced at the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. Paramount brought back the sing-along cartoons in 19 ...

cartoon, 1930 * '' The Private Life of Don Juan'', 1934 * ''La Paloma, Ein Lied der Kameradschaft'', 1934 (also listed as ''La Paloma'', 1938) * '' Juarez'', 1939 * ''

Große Freiheit Nr. 7 ''Große Freiheit Nr. 7'' (English: ''Great Freedom No. 7'') is a 1944 German musical film, musical drama film directed by Helmut Käutner. It was named after Große Freiheit (grand freedom), a street next to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St. ...

'', 1945, Hans Albers singing a German version. The film was not allowed to be shown in Germany in 1944 due to Nazi censorship and was only released in 1945 by the Allies * '' Stray Dog'', 1949 * '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'', 1956 * ''La Paloma'', Germany 1958 * ''Habanera'', Spain 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". His recording was also featured on the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

and a re-recorded "live" version for the American version of '' Aloha from Hawaii'' which was not used in the broadcast''.'' This 1973 version was originally released on the budget album '' Mahalo from Elvis'' but has since been included on various reissues of the

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

. * ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

'', 1974. The band are playing "La Paloma" in the opening scene of the New Year party in Havana. * '' Bröderna Lejonhjärta'', 1977. Karl's mom is heard singing the Swedish version of "La Paloma". * ''

The Tin Drum ''The Tin Drum'' (, ) is a 1959 novel by Günter Grass, the first book of his Danzig Trilogy. It was adapted into a 1979 film, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980. To "beat a ti ...

'', 1979 * ''

Das Boot (; ) is a 1981 West Germany, West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An Film adaptation, adaptation of Lothar-Günthe ...

'', 1981 (performed in German by Rosita Serrano). * '' Mortelle Randonnée'', 1983. In the film, the Hans Albers version is heard. * '' The House of the Spirits'', 1993 * '' Sonnenallee'', 1999 * '' A Moment to Remember'', 2004 * "La Paloma" is the subject of the 2008 documentary ''La Paloma. Sehnsucht. Weltweit'' (German for ''La Paloma. Longing. Worldwide'') by . * '' Soul Kitchen'', 2009 * '' Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story'', 2011 * In the musical film, '' Down Argentine Way'', Charlotte Greenwood sings an upbeat, fast song called "Sing To Your Senorita". The melody is loosely based on that of "La Paloma".

Lyrics

Cuando salí de la Habana ¡Válgame Dios! Nadie me ha visto salir Si no fui yo. Y una linda Guachinanga Allá voy yo. Que se vino tras de mí, 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! 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) 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) 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 (Refrain)

References

External links

Sheet music
artsongcentral.com
Audio
Banda de Zapadores de Mexico,

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