| "El Valle del Jarama" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | Spanish |
| English title | Jarama Valley |
| Published | 1938 |
| Composer(s) | Traditional (music from "Red River Valley") |
| Lyricist(s) | Alex McDade |
"Jarama Valley" also known as "El Valle del Jarama" is a song from the Second Spanish Republic. Referring to the Spanish Civil War Battle of Jarama, the song uses the tune of Red River Valley.
The battle was fought from 6–27 February 1937, in the Jarama river valley a few kilometres east of Madrid. The seasoned troops of Franco's Army of Africa assaulted positions held by the inexperienced volunteers of the International Brigades, in particular the British and the Dimitrov battalions. It ended in stalemate, with both sides entrenching. At the end of three weeks, in particular after a counter-attack on what became known as "Suicide Hill", the death count was high. The British Battalion lost 225 of its 600 men [1] and the Lincoln Battalion lost 125 out of 500. [1]
The earliest known version of the lyrics was written by Alex McDade, of the British Battalion, XV International Brigade and published in 1938 in The Book of the XV International Brigade by the Commissariat of War, Madrid, 1938. [2] It is squarely a soldier's song; grumbling about the boredom, lack of leave and lack of female company. McDade was a labourer from Glasgow who became a political commissar in the XV International Brigade, responsible for the men's welfare. [3] He was wounded at Jarama and died in hospital in Glasgow of wounds sustained 6 July 1937 at the Battle of Brunete. [3] Perhaps McDade wrote the song to focus his comrades' minds on something other than the casualties, but "its humorous cynicism made it popular in all battalions". [2] [4] Although the provenance of the other early version is unknown it was probably written for (or evolved at) post-war veterans reunions. According to scholar Jim Jump, it was first published on 8 January 1939 in London in a booklet for a British Battalion reunion and "has continued to be sung at International Brigade commemorative events". [4]
Early version | Reunion version |
Lyrics:
There's a valley in Spain called Jarama
it's a place that we all know so well
it was there that we fought against the fascists
we saw a peaceful valley turn to hell.
From this valley they say we are going
but don't hasten to bid us adieu
even though we lost the battle at Jarama
we'll set this valley free 'fore we're through.
We were men of the Lincoln battalion
we're proud of the fight that we made
we know that you people of the valley
will remember our Lincoln brigade.
From this valley they say we are going
but don't hasten to bid us adieu
even though we lost the battle at Jarama
we'll set this valley free 'fore we're through.
You will never find peace with these fascists
you will never find friends such as we
so remember that valley of Jarama
and the people that'll set that valley free.
From this valley they say that we're going
Don't hasten to bid us adieu
even though we lost the battle at Jarama
we'll set this valley free 'fore we're through.
All this world is like this valley called Jarama
so green and so bright and so fair
no fascists can dwell in our valley
nor breathe in our new freedom's air.
From this valley they say that we're going
Do not hasten to bid us adieu
even though we lost the battle at Jarama
we'll set this valley free 'fore we're through.
This shorter (three-verse) version of the song—with variant versions, are something of an anthem for veterans, particularly those from the Abraham Lincoln Battalion. Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger have recorded it. In addition to this version, other Spanish variants exist. [7] [8] [9]
Jarama Valley | El Valle del Jarama |
Ernst Busch, the famous communist actor, singer and participant in the Spanish Civil War, wrote and sang a German text for this song, which is known under the title "In dem Tal dort am Rio Jarama" (In that valley there at Rio Jarama") or as "Lied des Lincoln Bataillions" (Song of Lincoln Battalion)
In dem Tal dort am Rio Jarama |
There is a Russian version of "Jarama Valley" too. It is actually a poetical translation of Ernst Buch's text by Tatiana Vladimirskaya with another arrangement for music. The Russian variant is not very similar to the "canonical" text and is much more optimistic
Батальон Линкольна |
The Lincoln Battalion, also known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, was the 17th battalion of the XV International Brigade, a mixed brigade of the International Brigades. It was organized by the Communist International and named after United States President Abraham Lincoln who led the United States during the American Civil War.
Oliver Law was an African-American communist and labor organizer, who fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. Having previously served in the United States Army, he traveled to Spain and became commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion for several days and commander of its Machine Gun Company for much longer.
The Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion or Mac-Paps were a battalion of Canadians who fought as part of the XV International Brigade on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. Except for France, no other country had a greater proportion of its population volunteer in Spain as did Canada. The XV International Brigade, made up also of volunteer battalions from the United States and Britain, was involved in the Battle of Jarama, in which nine Canadians are known to have been killed.
Samuel George Montague Nathan was an English soldier who served in the British Army during World War I, the Royal Irish Constabulary's Auxiliary Division during the Anglo-Irish War and the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. During his service in the Auxiliary Division, Nathan was suspected of being involved in the assassination of two Sinn Féin politicians, which later contributed to the alienation of Irish volunteers in the International Brigades from their British counterparts during the Spanish Civil War.
Jarama is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jarama.
The Connolly Column was the name given to a group of Irish republican socialist volunteers who fought for the Second Spanish Republic in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. They were named after James Connolly, the executed leader of the Irish Citizen Army. They were a company-strength unit of the XV International Brigade, which also included the US, British and Latin American battalions in Spain. The name is now retroactively applied to all Irish volunteers who fought for the Spanish Republic.
The Spanish Civil War lasted from July 17, 1936 to April 1, 1939. While both sides in the Spanish Civil War attracted participants from Ireland, the majority sided with the Nationalist faction.
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moroccan Regulares from the Army of Africa forced back the Republican Army of the Centre, including the International Brigades, but after days of fierce fighting no breakthrough was achieved. Republican counterattacks along the captured ground likewise failed, resulting in heavy casualties to both sides.
Robert Hale Merriman was an American doctoral student who fought with the Republican forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He was killed while commanding the Abraham Lincoln Battalion of the International Brigades.
The British Battalion was the 16th battalion of the XV International Brigade, one of the mixed brigades of the International Brigades, during the Spanish Civil War. It comprised British and Dominion volunteers.
Irish Socialist volunteers in the Spanish Civil War describes a grouping of IRA members and Irish Socialists who fought in support the cause of the Second Republic during the Spanish Civil War. These volunteers were taken from both Irish Republican and Unionist political backgrounds but were bonded through a Socialist and anti-clerical political philosophy. Many of the Irish Socialist volunteers who went to Spain later became known as the Connolly Column.
The International Brigades (IB) were volunteer military units of foreigners who fought on the side of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The number of combatant volunteers has been estimated at between 32,000–35,000, though with no more than about 20,000 active at any one time. A further 10,000 people probably participated in non-combatant roles and about 3,000–5,000 foreigners were members of CNT or POUM. They came from a claimed "53 nations" to fight against the Spanish Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco and assisted by German and Italian forces.
The Dabrowski Battalion, also known as Dąbrowszczacy, was a battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. It was initially formed entirely of volunteers, "chiefly composed of Polish miners recently living and working in France and Belgium". Due to the relatively short travelling distances, these men were amongst the first to arrive in Spain. The battalion had a strong Polish flavour and even when, towards the end of the war, Poles were heavily outnumbered by Spanish troops, the officers and non-commissioned officers were still predominantly Polish. It also contained a significant nucleus of Red Army officers. It fought from 1936-1939.
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade, officially the XV International Brigade, was a mixed brigade that fought for the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War as a part of the International Brigades.
Alex McDade (1905–1937) was a Glasgow poet and labourer who went to Spain to fight with XV International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. He was a political commissar with the British Battalion and wounded at the Battle of Jarama in February 1937. He was killed on the first day of the Battle of Brunete at Villanueva de la Cañada on 6 July 1937. He wrote the poem "Valley of Jarama".
The Dimitrov Battalion was part of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. It was the 18th battalion formed, and was named after Georgi Dimitrov, a Bulgarian communist and General Secretary of the Comintern in that period.
Joseph Wallace "Jock" Cunningham was a British volunteer in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He became a battalion and brigade commander and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He played a key role in the Battle of Jarama, one of the principal military actions of the Spanish Civil War.
Milton Wolff was an American veteran of the Spanish Civil War, the last commander of the Lincoln Battalion of XV International Brigade, and a prominent communist.
The "Sixth of February" Battalion was a Franco-Belgian International Brigade battalion during the Spanish Civil War. The Battalion served in the XV and XIV International Brigades. It took its name from the date of 1934 anticipated right-wing putsch against the Popular Front in France which was purportedly defeated by various left-wing groups.
Patrick O'Daire was an Irish soldier and activist who fought in the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Civil War, the Spanish Civil War with the XV International Brigade, and in World War II as part of Royal Pioneer Corps of the British Army.
