Lyr Req: Adelita

Subject: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: Allan C.
Date: 04 Aug 98 - 03:32 PM

Would like to find a few good English as well as Spanish verses for Adelita. I heard it recently on a TexMex radio station but wasn't in a position to transcribe it. The Kingston Trio did a fairly good English version of it long ago. I know there are about as many Spanish verses as there are for the Ballad of Jesse James. So nearly any will do nicely. Thanks in advance.

Subject: Lyr Add: LA ADELITA
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Aug 98 - 05:40 PM

Well, there's this:

La Adelita

---

En lo alto de una abrupta cerranía
acampado se encontraba un regimiento,
y una moza que valiente lo seguía
locamente enamorada del sargento.

Popular entre la tropa era Adelita,
la mujer que el sargento idolatraba;
porque a más de ser valiente era bonita,
y hasta el mismo coronel la respetaba.

Y se oia lo que decía
aquel que tanto la quería:

---

Si Adelita ya fuera mi novia,
si Adelita ya fuera mi mujer,
le compraría un vestido de seda
para llevarla a bailar al cuartel.

Si Adelita se fuera con otro,
la seguiría por tierra y por mar;
si es por mar en un buque de guerra,
si es por tierra en un tren militar.

Y por se acaso yo muero en la guerra,
y se mi cuerpo en la tierra va quedar,
Adelita, ¡por Dios! te lo ruego,
que por mi cuerpo no vayas a llorar.

---

I was looking for the English version, which I thought was recorded by Marty Robbins, but I haven't found it yet. Click here for a rendition with MIDI. Click here for a nicer MIDI.
-Joe Offer-

---

Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index:

Adelita

DESCRIPTION: First line: "Adeilta se llama la ingrata Le qu' era duena de todo mi placer." The soldier says that Adelita is the source of "all my pleasures" who "drives all men to distraction." Now he must go to war; if she deserts him, he will pursue her anywhere
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: Mexico love separation soldier foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: Mexico US(MW,SW)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Sandburg, pp. 300-301, "Adelita" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 335, "Adelita" (1 text)
File: San300

---

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Instructions

The Ballad Index Copyright 2003 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: FAREWELL, ADELITA (Jack Splittard)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Aug 98 - 07:29 PM

The above version is the one about the revolutionary Adelita. I'm hoping somebody will come up with a translation and a history of that version. I found another version in Sandburg's American Songbag, and I'll post that in a few minutes. I still can't find the Marty Robbins version of what I thought was the Marty Robbins version. Maybe I'm wrong and it was the Kingston Trio. Somebody, please tell me I'm right.... Anyhow, here's the Kingston Trio version:

FAREWELL, ADELITA
by Jack Splittard © 1964, Highridge Music Corp.
(recorded by the Kingston Trio)

Adelita, 'tis time we remembered
That only one hour more and I must go
To the hills of Sierra Del Prado
For the glory of our Mexico

Chorus:
Oh, Adelita, promise you'll remember
The happy hours that now have long gone by.
Oh, Adelita, we'll share these tender moments
Adelita, it hurts me when you go.

Adelita, the time is here to leave you
Once again now I'll kiss away your tears
In my heart I will hold you forever
And our love, it will live throughout the years.
Chorus:

MIDI file: ADELITA.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: Adelita
Text: By Jack Splittard
Copyright: Copyright © 1960 by Highridge Music Corp
Tempo: 200 (300000 microsec/crotchet)
Key: Eb
TimeSig: 2/2 24 8
Start
0000 1 63 110 0160 0 63 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 70 110 0336 0 70 000 0048 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0352 0 68 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 67 110 0336 0 67 000 0048 1 70 110 0640 0 70 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 72 110 0336 0 72 000 0048 1 72 110 0192 0 72 000 0000 1 71 110 0160 0 71 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 71 110 0160 0 71 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 73 110 0160 0 73 000 0032 1 74 110 1104 0 74 000 0048 1 74 110 0160 0 74 000 0032 1 74 110 0160 0 74 000 0032 1 74 110 0336 0 74 000 0048 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 72 110 0336 0 72 000 0048 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0032 1 72 110 0336 0 72 000 0048 1 70 110 0720 0 70 000 0048 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 70 110 0336 0 70 000 0048 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0032 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 72 110 0336 0 72 000 0048 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 67 110 0928 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0336 0 68 000 0048 1 68 110 0336 0 68 000 0048 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 70 110 0336 0 70 000 0048 1 67 110 0544 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0528 0 68 000 0048 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 70 110 0928 0 70 000 0032 1 58 110 0160 0 58 000 0032 1 63 110 0160 0 63 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 70 110 0336 0 70 000 0048 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 74 110 0336 0 74 000 0048 1 72 110 0720 0 72 000 0048 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 70 110 0336 0 70 000 0048 1 69 110 0160 0 69 000 0032 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 72 110 0160 0 72 000 0032 1 70 110 0160 0 70 000 0032 1 68 110 0160 0 68 000 0032 1 67 110 0928 0 67 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:Adelita
M:2/2
Q:1/4=200
K:Eb
E2G2B4|B2G2A4|A2F2G4|B7G|A2B2c4|c2=B2c2=B2|
c2_d2d4|-d8|d8|-d2d2d4|c2B2c4|B2=A2c4|B8|
G2A2B4|=A2B2c4|B2A2G4|-G6G2|F2G2A4|A4A2F2|
G2A2B4|G6G2|F2G2A4|-A2A2A2F2|G2A2B4|-B6B,2|
E2G2B4|B2G2A2G2|A2B2d4|c8|G2A2B4|=A2B2c2c2|
B2A2G4|-G11/2||

Subject: LyrTune Add: ADELITA (trad. Mexican)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Aug 98 - 08:45 PM

ADELITA
(traditional Mexican)

Adelita se llama la ingrata,
La qu' era dueña de todo mi placer.
Nunca piensas que llegue a olvidarla
Ní cambiarla por otra mujer.

Si Adelita quisiera ser mi esposa,
Si Adelita fuera mi mujer,
Le comparía un vestido de seda
Y la llevara a pasear el cuartel.

Ya me llama el clarín de campaña
Como soldado valiente a pelear.
Correrrá por los calles la sangre
Pero olvidarte jamás me verá.

Si acaso yo muero an campaña
Y mi cadaver en la tierra va a quedar,
Adelita, por Dios te la ruego
Que por mí muerte tu vayas a llorar.

Adelita es una fronteriza
Con ojos verdes, color de la mar,
Que trae locos a todos los hombres
Y a todos les hace llorar.

Si Adelita se fuere con otro
La seguría la huella sin cesar,
En aeroplanos y buques de guerra
Y por tierra hast' en tren militar.

Adelita's the name of the lady
Who was the mistress of all my pleasures here.
Never think I can come to forget her,
Nor to change her for any other dear.

If Adelita would take me for a husband,
If Adelita would only be my wife,
I would buy her a costume of satin
And I'd give her a taste of barracks life.

Now the trumpet to battle does call me
To fight as every valiant soldier should.
In the streets then the blood will be running
But 'twill never see me forget thee.

If perhaps I should die in the battle,
And my poor corpse be left upon the field,
Adelita, for God's sake I pray thee
For my death thou wilt shed but one tear.

Adelita's a desperate coquette
With deep green eyes, the color of the sea,
Who drives all the men to distraction
And makes them all weep bitterly.

Should Adelita run off with another,
I'd trail her always, forever, near and far,
Both in airplanes and ships of the navy,
And on land in a military train.

Comments from Carl Sandburg ("American Songbag," 1927):
The simple song of Adelita is widely known in the Southwest, survives time and usage, and takes added vitality from the infusion of new verses. I have heard it from the boxcar bunkhouses of Mexican railroad workers in Elmhurst, Illinois, and from a singing guitar player who passed the hat in the Mexican quarter of Los Angeles, California. I heard the Mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico, one afternoon command ten of his constituents and subjects to sing it in unison and in Spanish - which they did…the text and air here are from F.S. Curtis, Jr., who notes that with the possible exception of stanzas 1 and 5, it is distinctly Mexican in subject matter. "The number of stanzas available is very nearly unlimited. The version given here was selected because there is a reasonable amount of connection between the stanzas."

MIDI file: ADELITA2.MID

Timebase: 192

Name: Adelita
Text: By traditional Mexican
TimeSig: 2/4 24 8
Start
0000 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 62 110 0160 0 62 000 0032 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 59 110 0094 0 59 000 0002 1 60 110 0160 0 60 000 0032 1 64 110 0286 0 64 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0256 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 66 110 0094 0 66 000 0002 1 67 110 0544 0 67 000 0032 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0094 0 67 000 0002 1 67 110 0160 0 67 000 0032 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 65 110 0160 0 65 000 0032 1 64 110 0352 0 64 000 0032 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 64 110 0160 0 64 000 0032 1 65 110 0094 0 65 000 0002 1 64 110 0094 0 64 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 62 110 0094 0 62 000 0002 1 60 110 0094 0 60 000 0002 1 59 110 0094 0 59 000 0002 1 60 110 0478 0 60 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:Adelita
M:2/4
Q:1/4=120
K:C
C2D2E4|E2C2D4|D2B,2C4|E6C2|D2E2F4|-F2E2F2E2|
F2^F2G4|-G8|G8|-G2G2G4|F2E2F4|E2D2F4|E8|C2D2E4|
F2E2D2D2|C2B,2C4|-C6||

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From:
Date: 11 Sep 02 - 11:47 PM

Hi Folkies! As recall...the Kingston Trio had a song..."Adelita". It started off something like: "Adelita the bugles they are calling. It's time...it's time for me to go...to the hills of Tierra Del Fuego...and the glory of Old Mexico". I am not sure about the words, but these are close. If any of you out there knows this song...please e-mail me the words...or whatever words go along with this. In English please!

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: masato sakurai
Date: 12 Sep 02 - 12:06 AM

Different from the one above?

~Masato

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: GUEST,guest (for Luis Martz)
Date: 12 Sep 02 - 12:53 AM

The lyrics started by Joe twist off after the second verse from the words most used in Mexico; those of Luis Martz, the composer. The melody is Mexican traditional, and the song memorializes the women of the Revolution, especially in Oaxaca where the song had its inception. Statues to this mythical woman are found in Mexico. She was not originally portrayed as a coquette, but the last verse by Martz says that if Adelita woud consent to be my wife, and become my woman, life would be an Eden.
3. Y se oia que decia
Aquel que tanto la queria;
Y si Adelita se fuera con otro,
La seguiria por tierra por mar;
Si por mar en un buque de guerra,
Si por tierra en un tren militar.

This six-line verse, with the same first line, occurs in three guises among the eleven four-line stanzas. The rest may be found on El Mariachi.com Adelita
It also has been reproduced, more clearly, in ADELITA

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: Amos
Date: 12 Sep 02 - 12:53 AM

Emailed him the KT version above -- he must have missed it.

A

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 12 Sep 02 - 01:11 AM

Chords at Adelita

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 12 Sep 02 - 01:15 AM

?- www.cyara.net/cancionero/CancioneroCyaraTuna.doc

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: Amos
Date: 12 Sep 02 - 09:18 AM

Roger VENABLE REPLIED:

Hi! Thank you ever so much for this. I knew that somewhere...out there...someone would have the words to the song! I am going to Cabo San Lucas in December. I have a friend down there...Jose Martinez and he and his brothers have a "street group" that do Mexican songs for the "touristas". Several times I have sung along with them just for fun. They do this song in Spanish. Now I can do a translated version with them. Again...thank you! Roger Venable

A

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. La Llorona
From:
Date: 18 Sep 02 - 01:37 PM

Hi- I am trying to find out something about the poet and songwriter Luis Martz, who wrote some of the words to "Adelita". Where can I find a biography of Martz? Who can tell me the circumstances under which he wrote the poem, "La Llorona"? This appears to be a serenade by a frustrated lover, and to have nothing to do with the "Weeping Woman" ghost story.

Can anyone help me?

Dick Dickerson [e-mail]

Subject: RE: LYRICS REQ. Adelita
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Sep 02 - 02:56 PM

For La Llorona, see thread 12887: La Llorona
A horrible translation through Google is available.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Adelita
From: GUEST,Adelita
Date: 01 Feb 04 - 02:18 PM

hey y'all, my name is adelita and i would like to know exactly what she did, i know she took part in the Mexican Revolution, but i would like to know why she's so famous, is she even real? thanx

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Adelita
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Feb 04 - 02:43 PM

Adelita, the song is a memorial to all of the women who followed their men into the battles of the Mexican Revolutions. They cooked, washed, cared for the wounded and prepared the dead, and some even fought alongside their men. There were few, if any, nurses or medical personnel with the revolutionaries, most of whom were from the poor and peon class of Mexico.
There were more than one revolt; mostly forgotten today is the 19th c. struggle against Maxmillian, put on the throne by Napoleon III of France, and the rise of Juarez and the fall of the short-lived kingdom. Most of us think of the more recent revolution because of films about Emilio Zapata and Francisco Villa, and this is the revolution in which 'Adelita' took part.

The song may or may not be about a real Adelita, but she and her companions are remembered with love. A good name!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Adelita
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Feb 04 - 03:42 AM

Joe O -

I don't recall a Marty Robbins Adelita, (which means little) but just for the record there is a George Strait Adalida. It bears no resemblence to this song - lyric, tune, or anything else; but it is "out there."

No confusion here, but someone might come here lookin' for t' other one if they kant spel.

John

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Adelita
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Feb 04 - 05:57 PM

Adelita, a little more information for you.
Frances Tour, in "A Treasury of Mexican Folkways," says that she has been told by men who fought in Villa's army that Adelita actually existed. She says "Some girls of good family became soldaderas of their own accord, while others were carried off by officers." The song came from Durango.

This very free translation better fits "Adelita," as given in the Spanish versions above, by Joe Offer and others. It follows the song as recorded by Carmen Mendizabal (late 1930s-early 1940s). From Tour, pp. 411-413, with sheet music.

Lyr. Add: Adelita

On the heights of an abrupt ridge,
Where a regiment was camping,
A valiant young girl followed it
Because she was in love with a sergeant.

Favorite among the troops was Adelita,
The woman idolized by the sergeant,
Because besides being brave she was pretty,
And even the Colonel respected her.

And it is related that he said how much he loved her:

If Adelita were to go with another,
He would follow her tracks without rest;
If by sea, in a war boat,
If by land, in a military train.

Yes, Adelita must be my wife,
Yes, Adelita must be my woman,
Adelita, Adelita of my soul,
Adelita of my heart.

If Adelita wished to be my wife,
If Adelita were my woman,
I would buy her a silk dress,
To take her to dance at the barracks.

Adelita, for God's sake I beg you
To calm the fire of this my passion,
Because I adore you and love you devotedly
And for you my faithful heart suffers.

Here the first verse is repeated,
which is the refrain.

The bugle of battle calls out to war,
The brave knight leaves to fight,
Streams of blood shall flow,
Let no tyrant ever govern!

And if perchance I die in battle
And my body remains in the Sierra,
Addelita, for God's sake I beg you,
To weep for me with your eyes.

The following seems to be a better version of the first verse:

En lo alto de una abrupta serranía
donde estaba y acampado un regimiento,
una joven que valiente los seguía
porque estaba enamorada de un sargento.

Mexican friends tell me that moza has disrespectful connotations, never used to refer to nice upper class girls; joven is preferred (a young girl or young man).
Serranía is the usual spelling.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Adelita
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Oct 04 - 02:18 PM

Picked up these fragments from a Mexican website.

Using Joe's lyrics 08:45PM, use as a first verse:

Adelita se llama la joven
A quien yo quiero y no puedo olvidar
En el mundo yo tengo una rosa
Y con el tiempo la voy a cortar.

Substitute verse three:

Toca el clarin de campaña a la guerra,
Salga el valiente guerrero a pelear,
Correrán los arroyos de sangre;
Que gobierne un tirano, jamás

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Adelita
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Feb 11 - 11:50 AM

HI you people you all keep talking about the Adelita. Aperently people hear as her from many dif. Views i have always heard shes a Mexican reviulitonist also know as La Adelita. And Just to let you guys know My name is Adelita.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Adelita
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Aug 11 - 11:37 AM

Hi i would like to ask if someone has the lyrics of Adelita in Los Paraguayos version, though I don't know the language i see many differences with los paraguayos lyrics....