English title "Ay Carmela!" | Writer(s) Unknown | |
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¡Ay Carmela! is one of the most famous songs of the Spanish Republican troops during the Spanish Civil War.
Variants
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.
References
¡Ay Carmela! (song) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA