Diarmuid Breatnach
(Reading time main text: 2 mins.)
We see and often hear “viva la Quinta Brigada” but this is usually a mistake – the reference is not to the Fifth but to the 15th International Brigade. The word for fifteen in Spanish is “quince”1 whereas “quinta” means “fifth”. The brigade being referred to, the Fifteenth International Brigade, was one formed at the instigation of the Communist International (Comintern) in 1936 from volunteers from more than 55 countries2.
The estimates of numbers of participants in the International Brigades range from 40,000 to 59,000 with a death toll of around 10,0003 and of course many more injured.
Not all the Irish-born and Irish diaspora antifascists who fought4 in what is called the Spanish Antifascist (or Civil) War fought in the 15th Brigade5 but most of them did, whether in the British, Commonwealth or US Battalions (“Abraham Lincoln” and “Washington”, later combined), chiefly because these were the English-speaking battalions of the 15th International Brigade, which also included specific battalions for French, German, Italian, Spanish (from Mexico, Caribbean and Latin America) Czechoslovak, Hungarian and Polish languages6.
The familiar songs in English were always about the 15th International Brigade, no other. So why and how has this mistake arisen of referring to the 5th?
The chief transmission of this error in recent time has been through that song with the wonderful lyrics and air created by the Irish balladeer and most famous folk performer, Christy Moore.
And he called his song “Viva La Quinta Brigada”. Recorded and performed under that title, with numerous videos repeating the error, even though he has himself corrected the reference in later performances.7 And in fact there are a number of Quinta Brigada versions of the Ay Carmela song on Youtube. So we can hardly blame all those people who are now singing the incorrect version, can we?
But before we arraign Comrade Christy Moore before a People’s Tribunal, it’s worth looking at the longer process of the error’s transmission. In fact, the incorrect wording was around long before Christy composed his song and it almost certainly informed his lyrics.
TRACING THE ERROR: THE AY CARMELA SONG AND SPIN-OFF
I remember thinking one time, when I became aware of the error in the title and refrain, that Christy should have consulted some Spanish-speaking people in Ireland. But I and my siblings are all Spanish-speaking and I recall even some of us singing a different song with a repeated line: Viva la Quinta Brigada, rumba la rumba la rumba la.
We were Spanish-speaking, yes and very sympathetic to the Republican side in that war — but at that time clearly not clued enough historically to detect the error,
That Rumba la rumba etc was a song in Spanish from the Republican side in the Civil/ Antifascist War, itself a spin-off or readaptation of a Spanish folk song about the crossing of the Ebro against Napoleonic troops in the 1800s. In this case the adaptation was fashioned to record the Republican forces’ crossing of the same river in attack on the advancing military-fascist forces in 1938.
The Battle of the Ebro was the largest ever fought on Spanish soil and lasted from 25th July to 16th November. The International Brigade song to the same air is generally known as Ay Manuela! and clearly refers to the International Brigade, not only by the lyrics in the final verse but by its alternative title, Viva La Quince Brigada!
Somewhere along the line someone made the error of replacing the Quince with Quinta. And so when Christy came to write his wonderful tribute to the Irish who went to the Spanish territory to fight against the fascist-military coup, the mistaken name had already been current for decades.
CORRECTING IT NOW
So no-one to blame for repeating the error and whoever caused it originally is long in the past. But we are here now and we know – so we have a responsibility not to perpetuate the error. We can do this quite simply in three ways:
- Call the song “Viva la Quince8 Brigada” on all occasions
- If we sing it, replace Quinta with Quince in the lyrics
- Inform others about the correct version
End.
FOOTNOTES
1Fifteenth is “decimoquinta” in Castillian (Spanish) but, that being five syllables and therefore three too long for the song, “quince” (fifteen) must be sung instead.
2One of the many sources gives the figure of “55 Countries” but that probably means “55 states” and a number of states such as the UK, France, Belgium and Russia in Europe contain other nations, as do China, states in the Middle East, etc. In addition, many Jews also fought, one estimate putting them at one-quarter of the total of the “Brigadistas”.
3The very high casualty rate had a number of contributory factors but chief among them was the superiority of war-machines on the fascist-military side, in particular of aircraft, most of which were supplied, with pilots, by fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, while Britain and France blockaded Spain.
4Some served as paramedics also.
5Some fought as part of the POUM, largely Trotskyist antifascist organisation or may have fought in anarchist militia and one that we know of fought alongside the Basques (and gave his life there).
6There were other language groups but their numbers did not usually rate a whole battalion and they were integrated into battalions primarily of some other language.
7And even later still, amended the historically incorrect “the bishops blessed the Blueshirts in Dun Laoghaire
8Pronunciation guide for Quince: keen-the or keen-se.
9I’ve translated Ay! as Oh! but it’s more like Alas!, only hard to see that in the song’s context perhaps.
10I’ve translated Ay as Oh but it’s more like Alas, only hard to see that in the song’s context perhaps.
11The “Moors” were native North African troops raised by Spain’s Foreign Legion. Franco had been sent there by the Republican Government probably to get him out of the way after his ferocious suppression of the Asturias miners’ revolt. From there Franco’s troops were airlifted to the Canary Islands and from there to Andalucia in southern Spain, carving their way in the blood of mostly unarmed civilians.
SOURCES
The original Ay Carmela/ Viva la Quince Brigada song: ¡Ay Carmela! (song) – Wikipedia
Lyrics of the original Viva La Quince Brigada as sung by Pete Seeger: Pete Seeger – Viva la Quince Brigada Lyrics | Lyrics.com
The 15th International Brigades: International Brigades – Wikipedia
Battle of the Ebro – Wikipedia
APPENDIX – THE SONGS
Ay Carmela – Spanish Republican version
Ay Carmela
El Ejército del Ebro,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la.
El Ejército del Ebro,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la
Una noche el río pasó,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
Una noche el río pasó,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
The Army of the Ebro, rumba la rumba la, rumba la etc
One night crossed the river, Oh9 Carmela, Oh Carmela!
Y a las tropas invasoras,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Y a las tropas invasoras,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la
Buena paliza les dio,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
Buena paliza les dio,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
And to the invading troops rumba la rumba la, rumba la etc
Gave a good beating, Oh Carmela, Oh Carmela!
El furor de los traidores,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la.
El furor de los traidores,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la
Lo descarga su aviaciónes,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
Lo descarga su aviaciónes,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
The fury of the traitors, rumba la rumba la, rumba la etc
Is dropped from their ‘planes, Oh Carmela, Oh Carmela!
Pero nada pueden bombas,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Pero nada pueden bombas,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la
Donde sobra corazón,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
Donde sobra corazón,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
But bombs have no power, rumba la rumba la, rumba la etc
Where exists excess of heart, Oh Carmela, Oh Carmela!
Contraataques muy rabiosos,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Contraataques muy rabiosos,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la
Deberemos resistir,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
Deberemos resistir,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
Ferocious counterattacks, rumba la rumba la, rumba la etc
We must resist, Oh Carmela, Oh Carmela!
Pero igual que combatimos,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la.
Pero igual que combatimos,
Rumba la rumba la rumba la
Prometemos resistir,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
Prometemos resistir,
¡Ay Carmela! ¡Ay Carmela!
But as we fight, rumba la rumba la, rumba la etc
We promise to resist, Oh10 Carmela, Oh Carmela!
Ay Manuela!/ Viva La Quince Brigada – International Brigades version in Spanish
Viva la quince brigada,
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Viva la quince brigada,
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Que sea cubierta de gloria
Ay Manuela, ay Manuela!
Que sea cubierta de gloria
Ay Manuela, ay Manuela!
Long live the fifteen(th) Brigade
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc
May it be covered in glory,
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc.
Luchamos contra los moros
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Luchamos contra los moros
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Mercenarios y fascistas
Ay Manuela, ay Manuela
Mercenarios y fascistas
Ay Manuela, ay Manuela
We fight against the Moors11
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc
Mercenaries and fascists.
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc,
En el frente de Jarama
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
En el frente de Jarama
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
No tenemos ni aviones
Ni tanques ni camiones
Ay Manuela!
No tenemos ni aviones
Ni tanques ni camiones
Ay Manuela!
On the Jarama front
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc
We have neither planes, tanks or lorries,
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc
Ya salimos de España
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Ya salimos de España
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Pa luchar en otros frentes
Ay Manuela ay manuela
Pa luchar en otros frentes
Ay Manuela ay manuela.
Now we are leaving Spain
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc
To fight on other fronts
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc
Viva la quince brigada,
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Viva la quince brigada,
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la-,
Que sea cubierta de gloria
Ay Manuela, ay Manuela
Que sea cubierta de gloria
Ay Manuela, ay Manuela.
Long live the fifteen(th) Brigade
-Rumba, la rumba, la rumba, la etc
May it be covered in glory,
Oh Manuela, Oh Manuela! etc
Viva La Quince Brigada!
Lyrics and musical arrangement by Christy Moore.
Ten years before I saw the light of morning
A comradeship of heroes was laid:
From every corner of the world came sailing
The Fifteenth International Brigade.
They came to stand beside the Spanish people
To try and stem the rising fascist tide;
Franco’s allies were the powerful and wealthy –
Frank Ryan’s men came from the other side.
Even the olives were bleeding
As the battle for Madrid it thundered on,
Truth and love against the force of evil
Brotherhood against the fascist clan.
(Chorus)
Viva la Quince Brigada!
“No Pasarán“, the pledge that made them fight
“Adelante!” is the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.
Bob Hilliard was a Church of Ireland pastor,
From Killarney across the Pyrenees he came;
From Derry came a brave young Christian Brother,
Side by side they fought and died in Spain.
Tommy Woods, age seventeen died in Cordoba,
With Na Fianna he learned to hold his gun,
From Dublin to the Villa del Rio,
Where he fought and died beneath the blazing sun.
(Chorus)
Viva la Quince Brigada!
“No Pasarán“, the pledge that made them fight
“Adelante!” is the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.
Many Irishmen heard the call of Franco,
Joined Hitler and Mussolini too;
Propaganda from the pulpit and newspapers
Helped O’Duffy to enlist his crew.
The word came from Maynooth, “support the Nazis” –
The men of cloth failed again,
When the Bishops blessed the Blueshirts down in Galway
As they sailed beneath the swastika to Spain.
(Chorus)
Viva la Quince Brigada!
“No Pasarán“, the pledge that made them fight
“Adelante!” is the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.
This song is a tribute to Frank Ryan
Kit Conway and Dinny Coady too
Peter Daly, Charlie Regan and Hugh Bonar,
Though many died I can but name a few:
Danny Boyle, Blaser-Brown and Charlie Donnelly,
Liam Tumilson and Jim Straney from the Falls,
Jack Nalty, Tommy Patton and Frank Conroy,
Jim Foley, Tony Fox and Dick O’Neill.
(Chorus)
Viva la Quince Brigada!
“No Pasarán“, the pledge that made them fight
“Adelante!” is the cry around the hillside
Let us all remember them tonight.
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