Si me quieres escribir

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Flag of a Brigada Mixta of the Spanish Republic
Building destroyed during the Battle of the Ebro
Terrains from the republican and nationalist side in October 1938

Si me quieres escribir (German: If you want to write to me), also known under the titles Ya sabes mi paradero and El frente de Gandesa , is a republican folk and mobilization song from the time of the Spanish Civil War . As a well-known piece of music of the period, it was re-recorded and covered by a number of performers. One of the most famous versions comes from Pete Seeger and the Weavers . In the film context, the topic was also featured in Ken Loach's 1995 civil war drama Land and Freedom .

history

The melody of Si me quieres escribir goes back to a song by Spanish military units during the Rif War in northern Morocco in the 1920s. The musical structure is kept simple and is based on singing, possibly accompanied by an accompanying instrument. The tempo is fast, the tone of voice , the fast rhythm and the associated melody create a melodramatic mood. The lines of the individual stanzas are short. The verses merge relatively seamlessly into the chorus , which increases the drama again and at the same time brings the respective verse to a close.

The text changed depending on the location and the units involved. During the Spanish Civil War, the song was very popular , especially on the Republican side. Although textual versions of the song were circulating as early as 1936 on the train of the defense of Madrid , the version known today leans, similar to the song Ay Carmela! , closely follows the course of the Battle of the Ebro in the summer and autumn of 1938 - the last and temporarily successful offensive of the republican side. In contrast to many well-known songs from the Spanish Civil War, Si me quieres escribir does not focus on the deployment of the international brigades . Rather, the focus is on a formation of the Spanish Territorial Army : the 3rd Brigada Mixta - one of those associations that were created in the course of the integration of the previously independent party and trade union militias and the police units of the Guardia Civil and Guardia de Asalto into the official armed forces had been.

As one of the few formations in which women also served, the 3rd Brigada Mixta was involved in all major battles of the civil war with the exception of the Jarama battle - including the Ebro Offensive, in which it, alongside units of the International Brigades and others Units of the republic, played a major role. The lyrics explicitly focus on the military successes of the offensive. After the suggestive initial question “If you want to write to me” , the narrator / singer indicates the destination: He is with the 3rd Brigada Mixta, which is about to advance across the Ebro and where he is in the foremost fire line. The rest of the text consists of situation enumerations in which the singer emphasizes, among other things, that the unit does not back off from enemy artillery fire and air strikes by the Condor Legion . Another passage highlights the skills of the Republican bridge-building units that helped secure the advance along the river. Another song verse is dedicated to the Moros - mostly Moroccan shock associations of the nationalists , who were particularly feared on the republican side because of their fighting techniques and their cruelty.

Otherwise, the text is not geared towards conflict analysis or outstanding poetic achievements. As a front song or situation-dependent topic song, it serves above all to show the will to persevere and the confidence of the Republican side to win. As with other civil war songs , which have been passed down orally and adapted to the situation on a case-by-case basis, there are different text versions of Si me quieres escribir . In addition to the title Ya sabes mi paradero , which is largely the same text, there is also the variant El frente de Gandesa , in which the focus is not on Spanish units, but associations of the international brigades in the front section near the city of Gandesa .

Interpretations and cover versions

As usual with songs of that time, the distribution took place mainly through song collections (so-called Cancioneros). In the course of the culture of remembrance of the Spanish Civil War, Si me quieres escribir also gained international fame. One of the most famous recordings was made by the American folk group The Weavers in the late 1940s. Pete Seeger, co-founder of the Weavers and an icon of American folk music, made the song an integral part of his repertoire. In different versions (with the Weavers, the Almanac Singers and solo) it can be found on several albums and compilations that document Seeger's work.

Overall, the number of sound carrier and audio file recordings of the piece is currently (2018) in the two to three-digit range. Apple's iTunes Music Store had around three dozen versions on offer in September 2018. In addition to - accompanied and unaccompanied - choir versions, among others by Coro Popular Jabalón, Voces del Pueblo, Coro Militares Anónymos and the Banda y Coro República Histórica, there are orchestra- based versions ( Rodolfo Halffter , Pascal Gaigne ), heavily on the classical song -Character-focused versions ( Marina Rossell , Queztal, Rolando Alarcón, Oscar Chávez, Gerard Jacquet, Christine Kydd, El Violinista del Amor, Barbez & Velina Brown, Brossa Quartet de Corda and others), jazz recordings such as those by Antonio Bravo & Germán Díaz , Punk versions such as that of the Spanish punk band Canallas and Anglo-Saxon folk- based versions such as the version of the Limetiers formation (partly in Gaelic or in English ). Si me quieres escribir was also featured as a film music theme in Ken Loach's 1995 civil war drama Land and Freedom .

With represent is Si me quieres escribir on a number of compilations the Spanish Civil War - among other things:

  • Canciones de la Resistencia de la Guerra Civil Epañola (Rolando Alarcón, 1964, Ayva)
  • ¡No Pasaran! Canciones de Guerra Contra el Fascismo (Joaquin Diaz; Los Emboscados; 1997, Horus)
  • Spanish Civil War - Songs of the International Brigades in the Spanish Republic (1999; Classical Records)
  • Spain in my Heart (Queztal; 2003, Appleseed)
  • Songs of the Spanish Civil War (2014; Smithsonian Folkways)

  • Pete Seeger (1955)

  • Marina Rossell (2013)

  • Germán Díaz (2015)

  • Ken Loach

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Si me quieres escribir / Ya sabes mi paradero . MEyL, musica-de-angeles.blogspot.com, June 20, 2014 (Span.)
  2. ↑ See notes and abstract text (version: El frente de Gandera) on 8notes.com , accessed on September 9, 2018
  3. ↑ a b c Si me quieres escribir . Daniel Rico, La Maquina de la Elegia, January 26, 2010 (Span.)
  4. ↑ La Propaganda en la Guerra Civil. El uso de la radio y el cine . Antonio Sanchez Muñoz, Master's thesis at the University of Almeria, course 2011/2012 (Span.)
  5. ^ Song and Popular Culture. Yearbook of the German Folk Song Archive Freiburg. Edited by Michael Fischer and Fernand Höhner, 57th year, 2012, ISBN 978-3-830-92787-7 , page 534 f. Partly online at Google Books.
  6. ↑ Query in the iTunes Music Store on September 7, 2018