Llévame Donde Nací ( en, Take Me Back To Where I Was Born) is the title of a traditional

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in th ...

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

about

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

attributed to Gibraltarian, guitarist and composer Pepe Roman.Anthems of Gibraltar

History

The song was written in the early 1930s after many Gibraltarians emigrated to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in search of job opportunities, but were instead faced with the hardships of the Great Depression. The song reflects the disillusion, anxiety and homesickness of these emigrants. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, this song became an '' anthem'' for those civilians who were evacuated from The Rock. The song's popularity was maintained thereafter as Spanish sovereignty claims over Gibraltar during the 1960s leading to the eventual closure of the land frontier, resulting in complete isolation from the

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...

, gave rise to an increase in patriotic fervour.

Current use

''Llévame Donde Nací'' is now one of many patriotic songs sung by crowds at big public events such as

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

demonstrations and

cultural events Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

. The most notable being the Gibraltar National Day when it is sung by a school choir outside the City Hall every 10 September before the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

reads the National Day Declaration.National Day Events - Wednesday 10 September 2008
It is also the tune played by the chimes of the clock situated atop Watergate House at Grand Casemates Square on the hour.

Lyrics

Spanish (original)

Llévame donde nací, Que a tu lado quiero estar. No hay un sitio para mí, Como mi buen Gibraltar. Sólo donde vi la luz, Tengo puesta mi ilusión. Llévame, quiero morir, Junto a aquél, para mi gran Peñón.

La Línea LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

y el Campamento,

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

y mucho más, Los domina por su altura, El Peñón de Gibraltar. Aunque América es muy grande, Y tiene mucho que ver, Yo quiero a mi Peñoncito, Aquél que me dio a mí el ser.

English (translation)

Take me back to my birthplace For I want by your side to be. There's nowhere I'd rather be Than by my dear Gibraltar. Nowhere but where I was born Have I set all my hopes. Take me there - I want to die By the side of my great Rock. La Línea and Campamento, Algeciras and further beyond Are o'er-towered by the height Of the Rock of Gibraltar. America may be very big And have a great deal to see, I still love my little Rock Which gave my life to me.

Notes

iThis is a translation of the original Spanish for use in Wikipedia, for the sole purpose of helping the non-Spanish speaker understand the content of the lyrics. It is in no way an official translation.

References

External links

Instrumental version of ''Llévame Donde Nací'' in MP3 format.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llevame Donde Naci Gibraltarian patriotic songs