We'll hear:
Joe Strummer: lead vocal and rhythm guitar
Mick Jones: lead guitar and backing vocal
Paul Simenon: bass and occasional vocal
Topper Headon: drums and percussion
The song is about the Spanish Civil War (so-called) and some other things too, of course. And the lyric contains some terms with which you may not be familiar, but no worries! There's a short glossary at the bottom of this post.
The studio version was released on "London Calling" (1979), forty years after the beggining of the war. It's hard to belive the song is older now than the war was when the song was written.
And here's a raw live version from 1980:
As you can see, the band was often a hot mess onstage. And as you can hear, the sound wasn't always good either. But none of this matters now, nor did it at the time. Where else could you get a high-paced history lesson with so much energy, not to mention so much emotion? RIP Joe. So sadly missed. But what a legacy!
We also have two special bonuses. The first is a cover by "Tijuana No!", and it's a very interesting arrangement (for my ears, anyway):
The second is a cover by Ceci Bastida, formerly of "Tijuana No!" Her slower, quieter arrangement shows, among other things, the power of the song, as distinct from the power of the band. Much respect for this. Oh mi corazón.
Spanish songs in Andalucía
The shooting sites in the days of '39
Oh please leave the ventana open
Federico Lorca is dead and gone
Bullet holes in the cemetery walls
The black cars of the Guardia civil
Spanish bombs on the Costa Rica
I'm flying in on a DC-10 tonight
Spanish bombs, yo te quiero infinito
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón
Spanish bombs, yo te quiero infinito
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón
Spanish weeks in my disco casino
The freedom fighters died upon the hill
They sang the red flag; they wore the black one
But after they died it was mockingbird hill
Back home the buses went up in flashes
The Irish tomb was drenched in blood
Spanish bombs shatter the hotels
My señorita's rose was nipped in the bud
Spanish bombs, yo te quiero infinito
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón
Spanish bombs, yo te quiero infinito
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón
The hillsides ring with "Free The People"
Or can I hear the echo from the days of '39?
With trenches full of poets, the ragged army
fixin' bayonets to fight the other line
Spanish bombs rock the province
I'm hearing music from another time
Spanish bombs on the Costa Brava
I'm flying in on a DC 10 tonight
Spanish bombs, yo te quiero infinito
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón
Spanish bombs, yo te quiero infinito
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón
Oh mi corazón...
Oh mi corazón...
Spanish songs in Andalucía, mandolina, oh mi corazón
Spanish songs in Granada, oh mi corazón
Oh mi corazón...
Oh mi corazón...
Oh mi corazón...
Oh mi corazón...
Glossary:
Aldalucia = a community in southern Spain
Costa Brava = coastal region in Catalonia, northeastern Spain
Federico Lorca = poet murdered by Nationalist forces at the beginning of the war
Guardia civil = Spanish national police force
ventana = window
mandolino = mandolin
yo te quiero = I love you
infinito = forever
oh mi corazón = oh my heart
