"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 Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

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 José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, 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 ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Amer ...

''. 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 Brendan Bowyer (12 October 1938 – 28 May 2020) was an Irish singer best known for fronting the Royal Showband and The Big Eight, and who had five number-one hits in Ireland. He was also renowned for having The Beatles open for the Royal Show ...

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 Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

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 Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

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 ''The Private Life of Don Juan'' is a 1934 British comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Korda and starring Douglas Fairbanks, Merle Oberon and Benita Hume. At the age of 51, it was the final role of Fairbanks, who died five years later. Th ...

'', 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 Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960), also known by his nickname “der blonde Hans” (The Blond Hans), was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the m ...

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 A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of wh ...

'', 1949 * ''

Invasion of the Body Snatchers ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' is a 1956 American science-fiction horror film produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The black-and-white film was shot in 2.00:1 Superscope and in t ...

'', 1956 * ''La Paloma'', Germany 1958 * ''Habanera'', Spain 1958 * '' Freddy, die Gitarre und das Meer'', 1959 * '' Freddy und der Millionär'' * '' Adua e le compagne'', 1960 * ''

'', 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 ''Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite'' is a concert starring Elvis Presley that took place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, Honolulu International Center and was broadcast live via satellite to audiences in Asia and Oceania on January 14, 197 ...

'' 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 ...

. * ''

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'', 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 * ''

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'', 1981 (performed in German by

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). * ''

Mortelle Randonnée ''Mortelle Randonnée'' is a 1983 French thriller film inspired by the novel ''Eye of the Beholder'' by Marc Behm. Directed by Claude Miller, the film stars Michel Serrault as The "Eye" Beauvoir, Isabelle Adjani as Catherine, and Geneviève Page ...

'', 1983. In the film, the

version is heard. * '' The House of the Spirits'', 1993 * ''

Sonnenallee ''Sonnenallee'' (''Sun Avenue'' or ''Sun Alley'') is a 1999 German comedy film about life in East Berlin in the early 1970s. The movie was directed by Leander Haußmann. The film was released shortly before the corresponding novel, '' Am kürzer ...

'', 1999 * ''

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'', 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 ''Down Argentine Way'' is a 1940 American musical film made in Technicolor by Twentieth Century Fox. It made a star of Betty Grable in her first leading role for the studio although she had already appeared in 31 films, and it introduced America ...

'',

Charlotte Greenwood Frances Charlotte Greenwood (June 25, 1890 – December 28, 1977) was an American actress, comedian and dancer. Born in Philadelphia, Greenwood started in vaudeville, and starred on Broadway, movies and radio. Standing almost six feet tall ...

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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