War and march · c. 1937 · Europe
¡Ay Carmela!
An old Spanish folk tune that soldiers of the Spanish Republic sang with new words in the Spanish Civil War.
- Words
- anonymous (Republican soldiers' words on an older folk song)
- Music
- traditional
- Culture
- Spanish Republican troops and the International Brigades
- Language
- Spanish
- Place
- Spain
- Date
- folk song of the 19th century; new words during the Spanish Civil War
- Type
- War and march
- The words
- In copyright (Civil War words anonymous, made during the Spanish Civil War in several versions (after 1929; no author or first publication named); the 19th-century folk song El Paso del Ebro behind it is traditional)
The story
"¡Ay Carmela!" is one of the best-known songs of the Republican troops in the Spanish Civil War. Its tune was first a nineteenth-century folk song, "El Paso del Ebro", which commemorated the rout of Napoleonic troops across the river Ebro in 1807, during the War of Independence.
During the Civil War, as with many older folk songs, the Republican side set new words to the melody, in several versions: "El Ejército del Ebro", "El paso del Ebro", "¡Ay, Carmela!", "¡Ay, Manuela!", "Rumba la Rumba" and "Viva la XV Brigada". The two most popular are "El Paso del Ebro", tied to the Battle of the Ebro, and "Viva la XV Brigada", which names the Battle of Jarama: two of the main battles of the war. One verse refers to the Regulares, the much-feared Moroccan units that served as the Nationalists' shock troops. The Nationalists also made a less known version of their own, "El Río del Nervión".
The song has lived on as an anti-fascist song. In 2000 the Croatian singer and songwriter Darko Rundek released a version with anti-fascist words on his album U širokom svijetu, and it was widely sung in Belgrade, above all during the Serbian protests of 2018–2020. Carlos Saura's film ¡Ay, Carmela! (1990) takes its title from the song, which opens and closes the film.
What it says
A Republican soldiers' song of the Spanish Civil War, defiant and lively, recalling the crossing of the Ebro and the battles of the war.
The words
The words of this song are still in copyright, so the Institute does not print them itself: Genius shows them below, under its own licence.
Genius shows the lyrics in its own frame, under its own licence: nothing loads from Genius until you press a button. The song on Genius.
Listen
On YouTube, from the channel Mikis Theodorakis - Topic. Pressing play loads YouTube’s player. Watch on YouTube
What it inspired
- Viva la XV Brigadasame melody, new words
- El Ejército del Ebro; ¡Ay, Manuela!; Rumba la Rumbasame melody, new words
- El Río del Nervión (Nationalist version)same melody, new words
- ¡Ay, Carmela!, film (Carlos Saura) 1990title, and used in
- Darko Rundek, U širokom svijetu 2000new anti-fascist words
What it drew on
- El Paso del Ebro, folk song on the War of Independence against Napoleon 19th centurysame melody
People, places and events
Sources
- Wikipedia, "¡Ay Carmela! (song)", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A1Ay_Carmela!_(song)
- Wikipedia, "¡Ay, Carmela!" (the film), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A1Ay,_Carmela!
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). ¡Ay Carmela!. In Songs in History. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/ay-carmela
- MLA
- “¡Ay Carmela!.” Songs in History, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/ay-carmela. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “¡Ay Carmela!.” Songs in History. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/ay-carmela.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘¡Ay Carmela!’, Songs in History. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/songs/ay-carmela (Accessed: ).