Songs Dedicated To The Swallows
Among the members of the animal kingdom that most inspired authors and composers, in addition to dogs and cats, is undoubtedly Hirundo rustica . This is the scientific name of the swallow, a bird that inspires beautiful music.
Selection of songs dedicated to swallows
Associated with exile, childhood memories and loved ones, these little migratory birds have been the muses of some of the most popular music of all time.
Many of these themes became classics that are part of the soundtrack for several generations. Will you join us on this journey filled with lyricism?
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“La golondrina” ( The swallow)
“Where will it go fast and tired / the swallow that will go from here?” It’s the question that starts this song. It is supposed to have been written in 1862 by the Spanish writer Niceto de Zamacois.
The music was composed by Narciso Serradell, a Mexican physician and composer who had to settle in France during the Second French Intervention in Mexico.
“La golondrina” has become an important theme for the exiles of this Latin American country.
“Beside my bed I will put your nest,
where the season can pass
I will hear your song, tender swallow
I will remember my homeland and cry”,
The song had numerous versions. Several well-known musicians recorded it, such as Placido Domingo, Nat King Cole, Nana Mouskouri and the trio Los Panchos.
But one of the most successful versions is that of Caetano Veloso, included in the album Fina paisa (1994).
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“Golondrinas”
One of the most significant creations by the duo Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera is, without a doubt, this tango song.
She was performed in “El tango” on Broadway . The film, released in 1934, tells the story of a group of Latino artists who live in New York.
Thus, once again exile, voluntary or involuntary, crosses again with the swallows. Lepera describes this bird as a “wandering and traveling” pilgrim who has “a constant desire for distant skies”.
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“ A swallow song”
Composed in 1964 by writer and musician Michael Farina, it was included in the album that the artist recorded a year later with his wife Mimi, sister of the legendary Joan Baez.
“(…) look at the swallows as they fly / There is no sadness like the murmur of their wings / There is no chorus like their music / There is no power like the freedom of their flight”, wrote the artist.
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“Volverán las oscuras golondrinas”
The rhyme LIII (53) by the Sevillian Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer is perhaps one of his most famous creations.
It became popular under the name “Volverán las oscuras golondrinas”. It was released a year after his death, which occurred in 1870, when he was just 34 years old.
The poem was interpreted by his compatriot Paco Ibañez. The Valencian troubadour included the song in an album recorded in 1990, entitled “ Por una canción” .
“The dark swallows will return
on your balcony their nests will make
again with their crystal wings
playing will sing
But those that contain their flights,
my happiness will contemplate
those who learned our names…
those… will not come back! ”
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” Las golondrinas”
Perhaps one of the most beautiful songs dedicated to swallows. Composed in 1963, in an emblematic partnership of Argentine popular music : Jaime Dávalos and Eduardo Falú.
“Where do you go flying through these skies,
little black ember that shines light?
Behind its errant flight, my eyes enjoy
the immensity… the immensity! ”
Another song dedicated to the swallows that is worth listening to.
