Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation

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Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation

26 Jan 05 - 09:08 PM (#1389790)
Subject: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman

Would have put this in the earlier "Venga Jaleo" thread but it appears closed.
I'm guessing "Venga Jaleo" as sung during the Spanish Civil War was based on an older song. Anyone know (of) it?
Also: my Spanish is equal to the the verses, but the refrain is way cryptic.

26 Jan 05 - 09:19 PM (#1389802)
Subject: Origins: Venga Jaleo, & refrain/translation
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman

Would have put this in the earlier "Venga Jaleo" thread but it appears closed. Referring to the song as found in the database:
   I'm guessing "Venga Jaleo" as sung during the Spanish Civil War was based on an older song. Anyone know (of) it?
(Same goes for Rumbala, Rumbala, Rumbala refrain to "Vice La Quince Brigada" too, by the way.)
   Also: my Spanish is equal to the the verses, but the refrain is way cryptic. The literal meanings only get you so far. After that it's deep into implied, or colloquial stuff.

Venga jaleo, jaleo
Sueno de 'na metralladora y
Franco se va paseo...

Here's as far as I've gotten:

Vengeance, attack,   or merely    Come on, into the fray, let's rush 'em
Dream of a heavy machine gun / Wish we had a heavy machine gun
(to shoot at Franco?)   /   or is the machine gun a nightmare ?
Franco is taking a walk, literally?
Franco is out there walking and thus is a target?
Franco is on his way out? /   on the brink of defeat or death?

Has anybody ever attempted a serious English translation of this?

Bob

The other thread had a broken link, which may have frozen the thread for some browsers. I fixed it, and crosslinked it to this thread and to the Digital Tradition entry. But then I closed the thread just now because there was nothing substantial in it.
-Joe Offer-

26 Jan 05 - 09:30 PM (#1389810)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translat
From: open mike

is this different from the song Tingalayo?

26 Jan 05 - 10:32 PM (#1389861)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

The thread is still open- 29584: Venga jaleo
I remember a Spanish folk song that has the repeated 'jaleo'. I will look it up.
(No relation to Tingalayo)

26 Jan 05 - 10:34 PM (#1389864)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Tannywheeler

When I was a kid this got sung around me a lot. I didn't know Spanish until later in my life (not very well, then) but I got the sense from body english, facial expressions, etc. that Franco was meant to "take a walk" (leave) "And Franco will be walking (out)". (Don't Aussies say someone's "gone walkabout" to mean they've left, perhaps for parts unknown?) My stepdad was in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. And Si Mi Quieres Escribir was done a lot. I can still sing that one. I never learned more than the cho. of Venga Jaleo, Jaleo. Tw
P.S. If I turn out to be wrong, it won't be the first time.

26 Jan 05 - 11:05 PM (#1389900)
Subject: Add: Los Contrabandistas de Ronda
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

This is the folk song on which the Civil War Song is based:

Los Contrabandistas de Ronda
(The Contrabandist)

Yo me subí a un pino verde
Por ver si la divisaba
Y só divisé el polvo del coche
Que la llevaba
Del coche que la llevaba
Y anda jaleo! jaleo!
Ya se acabó el alboroto,
Y vamos al tiroteo.

Por la calle de los mulos
Andaba una paloma
Yo cortaré con mis manos
Las flores de su corona
Y anda jaleo! jaleo!

Data at this site: El Quinto Regimiento
The songs "La Contrabandistas de Ronda"(chorus) and the popular song "El Vito" were the basis of "El Quinto Regimiento" which includes the chorus:
Venga jaleo, jaleo
suena la ametralladora
y Franco se va a paseo.

26 Jan 05 - 11:08 PM (#1389904)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Joe Offer

The version in the Digital Tradition is almost a match to the lyrics in Silber & Silber's Folksinger's Wordbook. Here are the lyrics again - with corrections in italics:

VENGA JALEO

Quinto Regimiento

Sueño de una_ametralladora

Regimiento

la flor de España

CLICK TO PLAY

26 Jan 05 - 11:15 PM (#1389910)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Sorry for the extra &# in the first verse. Ignore them.
"Los Contrabandistas ..." is Andalusian. There are other versions that I have seen, but don't remember. The quoted verses are from an old LP, "Germaine Montero sings Canciones de España," which won the Grand Prix du Disque when it was first issued.

26 Jan 05 - 11:30 PM (#1389922)
Subject: ADD Version: Venga Jaleo (Weavers)
From: Joe Offer

Here's the version from the Weavers Songbook. Mostly the same, but with one different verse.

VENGA JALEO

El diez y ocho de julio
En el patio de convento
El pueblo madrileño
Fundó el Quinto Regimiento

chorus:
Venga, jaleo, jaleo
Sueño de una_ametralladora
Y Franco se va paseo
Y Franco se va paseo

Con Lister y Campesino
Con Galán y con Modesto
Con el comandante Carlos
No hay miliciano con miedo.

Con el Quinto, Quinto, Quinto
Con el Quinto Regimiento
Madre, yo me voy al frente
Para las líneas de fuego!

On the eighteenth of July,
In the courtyard of a convent,
The people of Madrid
Formed the Fifth Regiment.

Chorus:
Come, clap out the rhythm-
Dream of a machine gun
And Franco will do the walking!
And Franco will do the walking!

With Lister and Campesino,
With Galan and with Modesto,
With Carlos, the commander,
There's no soldier who's afraid.

With the Fifth, Fifth, Fifth,
With the Fifth Regiment,
Mother, I am going to the front
For the firing lines.

26 Jan 05 - 11:40 PM (#1389933)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

The line 'Sueno* de una ametralladora' needs to be corrected to either 'suena la ametralladora' (or to 'suena de una ametralladora').
* wrong sex
If the second choice is used, separate off the 'una.' But I think 'de una ametralladora' is bad Spanish.

Yeah, Q. that was supposed to be a slur: "una_ametralladora." "Sueno" is supposed to be first person singular, present tense, I think.
-Joe Offer-

26 Jan 05 - 11:50 PM (#1389941)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

As noted in the Weaver translation, Venga, jaleo, has nothing to do with vengence. Venga is from the verb venir, to come. Jaleo can mean clap, but also cheer. Moreover, it is a dance, the 'jaleo', an Andalusian dance and its tune.

27 Jan 05 - 02:05 AM (#1390000)
Subject: ADD Version: Venga Jaleo
From: Joe Offer

Here's another version, with a translation for the remaining verses. It's from Mel Bay Presents Songs of Spain, by Jerry Silverman (1996). One question I have is whether "18" can be written "dieciocho." The tunes in this book and the Weavers book are very close to what's in the Digital Tradition. On the booklet for the recent Spain in my Heart CD (Applesseed Recordings, 2003), Ronnie Gilbert says the Weavers probably got the title wrong when they recorded it at Carnegie Hall in 1955. She says it should be "El Quinto Regimiento."

-Joe Offer-

Venga Jaleo

El dieciocho día de julio
En el patio de un convento
El pueblo madrileño
Fundó el Quinto Regimiento

CHORUS
Venga, jaleo, jaleo
Sueño de una metralladora
Y Franco se va paseo
Y Franco se va paseo

Con el Quinto, Quinto, Quinto,
Con el Quinto Regimiento,
Tengo que marchar al frente
Porque quiero entrar en fuego.
Chorus

Con los cuatro batallones
Que están Madrid defendiendo,
Va toda la for de España,
La flor más roja del pueblo.
Chorus

Madre, madre, madre
Vaya usted mirando,
Nuestro regimiento
Se aleja cantando.
Chorus

It was july the eighteenth,
On the patio of an old convent
In the city of Madrid,
That the Fifth Regiment was founded

CHORUS
Join in the struggle, the struggle!
I dream of a girl and her machine gun
And Franco will be defeated,
and Franco will be defeated.

With the Fifth, the Fifth, the Fifth,
With my regiment I'm leaving.
I must march up to the front line,
For I want to join the battle.
Chorus

With the noble four battallions
That Madrid has to defend her,
Goes the flower of Spanish people,
Yes, the reddest Spanish flower.
Chorus

Mother, mother, mother,
Won't you come and see in wonder,
Just how our regiment
Takes its leave while bravely singing.
Chorus

27 Jan 05 - 12:50 PM (#1390268)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

All of these gringo folksinger versions have errors in Spanish grammar or spelling.
1. The most common title was "El Quinto Regimiento" but "Venga jaleo" is recognized as well on the memorial websites in Spain, France and Italy.
2. The second line of the refrain, in good Spanish, is 'suena la ametralladora.' The folksingers copied from each other and the error 'sueno de una ametralladoda' appears in their renditions. Remember, most of the singers were just kids at the time, and picked up the songs years after the Spanish Civil War was over.
3. Both dieciocho and diez y ocho are correct in Spanish but more formal writing would use the 'y'.

Here is the other base of the song:

Lyr. Add: EL VITO

Una vieja vale un real
y una muchacha dos quartos
yo como soy tan pobre
me atengo a lo más barato.
Con el vito, vito, vito,
Con el vito vito, va.

Por el sí que di a la niña
al señor cura en la iglesia
por el sí que dio la niña
entró libre y salió presa.

Con el vito, vito, vito,
con el vito, vito, va.
Con el vito, vito bueno,
con el vito, vito, va.

Canciones

Another more complete version of "Los Contrabandistas de Ronda," also known as "Anda jaleo."

Lyr. Add: Los Contrabandistas de Ronda
(Anda jaleo)

Yo me subi a un pino verde
por ver si la divisaba,
y sólo divisé el polvo
del coche que llevaba.

Anda jaleo, jaleo;
ya se acabó el alboroto
y ahora empieza el tiroteo.

En el calle de los *muros
mataron a una paloma
yo cortaré con mis manos
las flores de su corona.

Anda jaleo, jaleo;
ya se acabó el alboroto
y ahora empieza el tiroteo.

No salgas, paloma, al campo,
mira que soy cazador,
y si te tiro y te mato
para mi será el dolor,
para mi será el quebranto.

Anda jaleo, jaleo;
ya se acabó el alboroto
y ahora empieza el tiroteo.

* may be translated as walls or walled gardens.
Same source as the preceding song.

27 Jan 05 - 12:58 PM (#1390272)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

The web site is http://personales.ya.com/altavoz/canciones/elquinto regimiento.htm. I hope it is still online.
Canciones

27 Jan 05 - 03:33 PM (#1390421)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

The verse in "El quinto regimiento' that starts 'Con el quinto...' may have these words:

Con el quinto, quinto, quinto,
con el Quinto Regimiento
Va la juventud de España
La flor más roja del pueblo.

Another song about a member of the Quinto Regimiento:

Lyr. Add: Rosario Dinamitera
(Miguel Hernández)

Rosario, dinamitera,
sobre tu mano bonita
celaba la dinamita
sus atributos de fiera.

Nadie al mirala creyera
que habla en su corazón
una desesperación,
de cristales, de metralla
ansiosa de una batalla,
sedienta de una explosión.

Era tu mano derecha,
capaz de fundir leones
la flor de las municiones
y el anhelo de la mecha.

Rosario, buena cosecha,
alta como un campanario
sembrabas al adversario
de dinamita furiosa
y era tu mano una rosa
enfurecida, Rosario.

Buitrago ha sido testigo
de la condición de ray
de las hazañas que callo
y de la mano que digo.

!Bien conoció el enemigo
la mano de esta doncella,
que hoy no es mano
porque de ella,
que ni un solo dedo agita,
se prendó la dinamita
y la convirtió en estrella!

Rosario, dinamitera,
puedes ser varón y eres
la nata de las mujeres
la espuma de la trinchera.
Digna como una bandera
de triunfos y resplandores,
dinamiteros pastores,
vedla agitando su aliento.

Song about Rosario Sánchez Mora, from Asturias. Originally a poem, but mentioned as a song on one website (no music found).
Rosario
(www.uce.es/DEVERDAD/ARCHIVO_2002/15_02/DV15_02_26contraportada.html)

-----------------
Sueno, suena, a slur? It is the verb sonar and must agree with the noun. It means to strike, to sound, to play, to ring.
(other meanings- se suena que- it is rumored that).
Ametralladora- a machine gun

27 Jan 05 - 04:36 PM (#1390496)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Joe Offer

Of course, many of the people singing these songs during the Spanish Civil War were gringos.

What part of speech is "sueña," Q?

-Joe Offer-

27 Jan 05 - 05:23 PM (#1390538)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Sueña and suena are two different words- no relation, although they look alike to non-Spanish speakers.

Suena, sueno, suene- from verb sonar, to sound, play, strike, etc. Also takes the place of our "sounds like," or "reminds of." A number of idioms with it.

Sueña, sueño, sueñe from irreg. verb soñar, to dream, to daydream. soñario, in dreams.

In Spain, gringo is an 18th-early 20th c. word for a foreigner, usually English or American. Now largely replaced by extranjero.
Gringo in Spain lacks much of the emotional baggage it carries in North America.

27 Jan 05 - 06:33 PM (#1390613)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Joe Offer

Hi, Q - all the printed sources I found have the tilde, so their word is "sueño." I had left it out because tildes don't work in the Digital Tradition - but now I've added them since you say there are two similar words, with and without the tilde. the slur I spoke of was "una_ametralladora" - indicated by the underscore.
I think "I dream of a girl with a machine gun" makes more sense - what would be correct wording for that?
-Joe Offer-

27 Jan 05 - 10:45 PM (#1390866)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Joe, I just noted the 'sueño' in your posts- incorrect! I should have seen this. None of the Spanish language websites uses the word with tilde. This is complicated by the fact that a Spaniard pronounces suena almost as sueño (double meaning, see note 3., below- dreaming of machine gun, sexual intercourse and Franco gone). See the text of the later version of the song at the end of this post for proper diacritical marks.
The refrain is:

Venga jaleo, jaleo - Come, make a disturbance (rise up)
suena la ametralladora - play (fire) the machine gun (see 3.. below)
y Franco se va a paseo (2x). -idiom: and Franco will (be forced) to take a stroll.
There are multiple levels of meaning here. One has to know the background to get it all.

1. Ametralladora, pl. ametralladoras- machine gun, a feminine word. The line is about the gun, and the man who fires it. Here is an article in Spanish on the machine gun: Ametralladora
2. That is just part of it. "La Ametrallidora" was an influential anti-Franco paper issued during the war, 1937-1939, and subtitled "Semanario de los Soldados" (Weekly for soldiers). Bawdy humor, but also instructions on fighting, incitement, etc.:
La Ametralladora
3. Ametralladora also refers to rapid-fire sexual intercourse (pumping as fast as a machine gun fires). There is a website illustrating this in a rapid fire comic cartoon, but be careful- there could be a bug for those without top protection. I won't give a link, but just go through the sites under "amrtralladora."

The early version of "El Quinto Regimiento" lacked the refrain:

Lyr: Con El Quinto Regimiento

Con el Quinto, Quinto, Quinto,
Con el Quinto Regimiento,
Tengo que marchar al frente
Porque quiero entrer en fuego.

Con los quatro batallones
que están Madrid defendiendo,
Va toda la flor de España,
La flor más roja del pueblo.

Madre, madre, madre, vaya usted mirando
Nuestro Regimiento se aleja cantando.

The above from a French site that has the three main versions of the song: El Quinto

This website is very good- the songs with text, midi, mp3:
Canciones
Here is a late version of the song:

Lyr. Add: El Quinto Regimiento

El dieciocho de julio
en el patio de un convento
el partido comunista
fundó el Quinto Regimiento.

Venga jaleo, jaleo
suena la ametralladora
y Franco se va a paseo,
y Franco se va a paseo.

Con Lister, el Campesino,
con Galán y con Modesto
con el comandante Carlos
no hay miliciano, con miedo.

Venga jaleo, jaleo, etc.

Con los quatro batallones
que Madrid están defendiendo
se va lo mejor de España
la flor más roja del pueblo.

Venga jaleo, jaleo, etc.

Con el quinto, quinto, quinto,
con el Quinto Regimiento
madre yo me voy al frente
para las lineas de fuego.

Venga jaleo, jaleo
suena la ametralladora
y Franco se va a paseo,
y Franco se va a paseo.

Many anti-Fascist Spaniards were also anti-communist. With more moderate politicians in charge, the Republicans may have had better success. Of course when German air power and arms for Franco came in as Hitler prepared for war, I doubt the final outcome would have been different.

27 Jan 05 - 11:10 PM (#1390882)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Over 60 Spanish Civil War songs. mostly vocals, at the site "Canciones" linked in the previous post.

28 Jan 05 - 02:41 AM (#1390984)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Joe Offer

Can anybody recommend a book on the songs of the Spanish Civil War?
-Joe Offer-

28 Jan 05 - 03:01 PM (#1391574)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

A tough one. The better song books are expensive.
I want one by Ernst Busch, "Canciones de las Brigadas Internacionales," a booklet with 45rpm records (2) but is seems to be out of my price range.

American songbooks and records (Pete Seeger et al.) are all suspect; misinterpretation and alterations rife. But these are now rare as well. Except for a few old-timers and die-hard folkies, there is little interest in these songs.

I recommend downloading the songs and lyrics at the website 'Canciones' linked above in my post of 27 Jan 05 10:45 PM. A great archive.

Guthrie's "Jarama Valley"- based on Red River Valley- can be downloaded at this Spanish Memorial website: Republicanas

Fifteen other songs, most Spanish artists, at this site.

28 Jan 05 - 08:27 PM (#1391870)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translat
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman

Thanjks to all, especially Q for your fine scholarhsip. These answers have cleared up a lot. Bob

13 Jul 07 - 10:59 PM (#2102146)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translat
From: GUEST

Yes, an earlier folk song with "Anda, jaleo" in the chorus appears in music collected and arranged by Federico Garcia Lorca. It's been recorded on a CD called "Falla: El corregidor y la molinera; Garcia Lorca: canciones españolas antiguas"

27 Sep 08 - 04:38 PM (#2451759)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translat
From: GUEST,franciscum

To one who grew up with the "Songs of the Lincoln Brigade" and had the the living members as somewhat cranky elder heroes, (I was born in 1937), this was a really interesting discussion. With my poor schoolboy Spanish, I always thought I was hearing the the Spanish cognate of "eliminating the traitors" and the line was-- I dream of the elimination of the traitors.
Q I have heard some of the old guys speaking their Spanglish, the errors of the younger american folksingers may have come from the mouth of the actual veterans.
Q and Offer thanks for such an interesting rundown
franciscum

25 Jul 09 - 11:21 PM (#2687239)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: GUEST,Guest

Just want to say, how fabulous is the internet, when for no particular reason, Venga Jaleo (which I heard as a Weaver's song in my teens) pops into my head, allows me to try to research its origins and meanings.

06 Mar 10 - 01:22 PM (#2857668)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: GUEST,Guest

The song's lyrics are similar in the chorus to "El Tren Blindado," or "The Armored Train." That may have been the origin.

As for the chorus:

Venga jaleo, jaleo
- different interpretations mean different things. In "Tren," this line is an onomatopoeia for the whistle that a train makes. However, it can be used to refer to a general din (a "jaleo").
Sueno de una metralladora
- literally, it means "sounds of a machine gun." In "Tren," an image is drawn of a train armed with a machine gun firing indiscriminately into some fields. However, in the other version, it can represent any skirmish between the Brigades and the Nacionalistas.
Y Franco [or Mola, etc.] se va a paseo
Y Franco se va a paseo
- as the song plays out, different names of fascist generals are substituted for "Franco." It means that he takes a walk or leaves, and could be used to indicate walking smartly, jogging, or even sprinting. Some say that it indicates that he is running away from the train or the battle, and others say it is symbolic of his imminent defeat.

This is a fairly subjective song, and the translation depends on the listener and the context. Hope this helps.

06 Mar 10 - 05:26 PM (#2857868)
Subject: Lyr. Add: Los Contrabandistas de Ronda
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Interesting how this old Andalusian folk song about a girl's love of a smuggler fathered the well-known Spanish Civil War song. The usual Spanish lyrics of the folk song were given above (26 Jan 05).

A translation was not given at the time. Improvements welcome!

Lyr. Add: The Contrabandists
(The Smugglers)

I went out into the green pines
In order to see in the distance
And only I saw the dust of the wagon
which carried him.
Let us rejoice, rejoice!
In the twilight they left
to the sound of gunfire.

In the street of the muleros
A dove was strutting.
With my hands I will dress
the flowers of its crown
And rejoice, rejoice!
[to have seen my contrabandist]

Available in an album of Victoria de los Angeles (Victoria des Angels) and in a better one by Germaine Montero (currently out-of-issue).

06 Mar 10 - 05:59 PM (#2857893)
Subject: Lyr. Add: ANDA JALEO, JALEO! (Garcia Lorca)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

I missed Bob Coltman's reference to "El tren blindado" which should have led be to the Garcia Lorca reworking of the folk song as

Lyr. Add: Anda jaleo, jaleo!
Garcia Lorca, 1936.

Yo me subí a un pino verde
por ver si Franco llegaba (bis)
y solo vi un tren blindado,
lo bien que tiroteaba. (bis)

¡Anda, jaleo, jaleo!
silba la locomotora
y Franco se va a paseo. (bis)

Por tierras altas de Burgos
anda Mola sublevado. (bis)
Ya veremos cómo corre
cuando llegue el tren blindado. (bis)

¡Anda, jaleo, jaleo!
silba la locomotora
y Mola se va a paseo. (bis)

Yo me fui en el tren blindado
camino de Andalucía (bis)
y vi que Queipo de Llano
al verlo retrocedía. (bis)

¡Anda, jaleo, jaleo!
silba la locomotora
y Queipo se va a paseo. (bis)

Also known as El pino verde or Anda, Jaleo.

http://histoirecortazar.blogspot.com/2008/11/guerra-civil-espaola-canciones-de-garca.html

06 Mar 10 - 06:15 PM (#2857902)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

The above should be labeled "attributed to Garcia Lorca."
Sorry about that.
I will post his original reworking of "Anda jaleo" shortly.

06 Mar 10 - 07:14 PM (#2857935)
Subject: Lyr. Add: ANDA JALEO (Lorca)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

06 Mar 10 - 07:30 PM (#2857945)
Subject: Lyr. Add: Anda Jaleo (Lorca)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

ANDA JALEO
(García Lorca)

Yo me alivié a un pino verde
por ver si la divisaba,
y solo divisé el polvo
del coche que la llevaba.

Anda jaleo, jaleo:
ya se acabó el alboroto
y vamos al tiroteo.

No salgas, paloma, al campo,
mira que soy cazador,
y si te tiro y te mato
para mí será el quebranto,

Anda jaleo, jaleo:
ya se acabó el alboroto
y vamos al tiroteo.

En el calle de los Muros
han matando una paloma.
Yo cortaré con mis manos
las flores de su corona.

Anda jaleo, jaleo:
ya se acabó el alboroto
y vamos al tiroteo.

Poemas de Federico García.
Anda jaleo

From a site with Lorca's poems. The one in the preceding post is from a blog site- I should have known better.

06 Mar 10 - 09:49 PM (#2858030)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Monique

I'd say : "Yo me subí a un pino verde" = I climbed a green pine tree"

07 Mar 10 - 04:11 AM (#2858128)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Monique

Los contrabandistas de Ronda: (from the version posted on 01/25 2005)
Previous post, correction "I climbed up a green pine tree".
La calle de los mulos: "the street of the mules"

Btw: Rojo y Azul Spanish site about the Spanish Civil War with songs from both sides

07 Mar 10 - 01:56 PM (#2858470)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

subir is a word that is difficult; its several meanings make it hard for me to select the right one.
On reflection, I agree with you.

In the translations of the folk song I found it has the sense of 'to come up', or 'to enter' (given as one of the definitions in the dictionaries I looked into).

'To mount or to climb' is the common definition and why the other is used in the translations I found, I don't know.

Also pino verde suggests a single tree, not a wood.

07 Mar 10 - 04:20 PM (#2858560)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Monique

I agree about "pino verde" being a single tree -even if it'd been in a pine forest. A wood would have been "un pinar" not "un pino".
It's a feeling I can't explain but had it meant "to come up to/to enter a pine wood" it'd have been "Yo subí a un pinar verde" without using "me". Do you feel this too?

11 Nov 15 - 05:02 PM (#3750119)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Mrrzy

Nothing substantial in the other thread (*sniff*) - it had that wild night they slipped me caffeinated Irish coffee! I hadn't realized it had been that long since I could handle caffeine, en plus.

Thanks for the Weavers' lyrics, which were the ones I was seeking. I also would have refreshed the older thread, but since my answer was here...

11 Nov 15 - 05:42 PM (#3750124)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: keberoxu

Impressive, how you all made sense out of the song recorded as Venga Jaleo, in this thread. It truly takes a village, as they say.

That Weavers recording was part of my childhood as well, with its Guerra Civil lyrics.

In my experience, limited to music study, what the above posters have stated is true: Venga Jaleo is the conflation of two melodies into one. Those two melodies really are folk tunes, they go back to well before the war.

"El Vito" is definitely an old one, and turns up in many places. This is the tune that gives the melody to the verse-words of "Venga Jaleo." there is no mistaking it:

the melody for the words
"Con el vito, vito, vito,
Con el vito, vito, va"

is identical to the melody for the words:
"Con el Quinto, Quinto, Quinto..."

Arrangements of "El Vito" for voice and piano, for concert/recital format, appear in the works of such academically-credentialled composers as Fernando Obradors and Joaquin Nin, and as such, these arrangements are published in anthologies under the composers' names. But it is clear that the composer takes credit for the arrangement alone, and that the source is traditional.

I recall seeing the Obradors version of El Vito, and the chorus words above are followed by:

"no me haga usted 'cosquillas'
que me ponga colora'!"

"don't do ??? because it makes me blush!"

11 Nov 15 - 05:50 PM (#3750126)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Monique

Don't tickle me because it makes me blush!

12 Nov 15 - 11:21 AM (#3750281)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: Mrrzy

Wow, it is *still* really hard to sing along with the Weavers on this. Was Ronnie fluent in Spanish or did she just do this song really, really well?

12 Nov 15 - 04:01 PM (#3750344)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: GeoffLawes

Hello Q. . Joe Offer and anyone else who would like a copy of Canciones Here is a link to Abe Books Uk where there are numerous copies aavaiable at prices from £ 5.10 upwards.This is a facsimile edition of the songbook created by Ernst Busch for the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.< a href="http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?isbn=9788484723431&sts=t&tn=Canciones+de+las+Brigadas+Internacionales%2C%22">Abe Books page
But there is no record with it

Enjoy, Geoff

12 Nov 15 - 04:04 PM (#3750345)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: GeoffLawes

That link doesn't work .Try this

Abe Books page

05 Jun 19 - 02:48 AM (#3995285)
Subject: RE: Origins: Venga Jaleo origin & refrain/translation
From: GUEST,Wolfgang Hintze

The tune of el vito appears also in the classical piece Seguida espanola (4. Andaluz) by the cuban composer Joaquin Nin from 1929.