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El Himno de Riego is a song dating from the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823 and named in honour of Colonel Rafael del Riego. It was the national anthem of Spain during the Trienio Liberal and the First and Second Spanish Republics (1931-1939).

Contents 1 Trivia 2 Text 3 English Lyrics 4 Apocryphal Lyrics 5 Translation for the apocryphal lyrics 6 External links

At the Davis Cup tennis finals held in Australia in 2003 El Himno de Riego was played in error instead of Spain's current national anthem, the Marcha Real (or "Royal March"). The mistake provoked a row between Spanish and Australian tennis officials, although this only had to do with accusations of incompetence. One side-effect of the incident was that it brought this rather joyful tune (which had been banned under the Franco régime) to the attention of at least two generations of Spaniards who had never heard it before.

Serenos y alegres, valientes y osados,

Cantemos, soldados, el himno a la lid.

De nuestros acentos el orbe se admire

Y en nosotros mire los hijos del Cid.

Soldados, la patria nos llama a la lid.

Juremos por ella vencer o morir.

El mundo vio nunca, más noble osadía,

Ni vio nunca un día más grande el valor,

Que aquel, inflamados, nos vimos del fuego,

Excitar a Riego de Patria el amor.

Soldados, la patria nos llama a la lid.

Juremos por ella vencer o morir.

La trompa guerrera sus ecos al viento,

Horror al sediento, ya ruge el cañón.

A Marte sañudo la audacia provoca

Y el ingenio invoca de nuestra nación.

Soldados, la patria nos llama a la lid.

Juremos por ella vencer o morir.

Serene and happy, brave and daring,

Let us sing, soldiers, the battle hymn.

Our voices shall astonish the world

Which will see us as the children of the Cid.

Soldiers, the country calls us to the fight.

We swear to her to conquer or to die.

Never saw the world more noble daring,

Nor any day when greater valour was shown,

Than that when excited we saw the fire of battle

Awaken in Riego the love of his land.

Soldiers, the country calls us to the fight.

We swear to her to conquer or to die.

The war trumpet echoes to the winds;

Affrighting the greedy, the cannon now roars.

Our warrior daring calls forth the audacity

And the ingenuity of our nation.

Soldiers, the country calls us to the fight.

We swear to her to conquer or to die.

Amongst the Spaniards, an apocryphal version of the hymn text was inmensely popular at that time, particularly in Catalonia (Shown by the fact that a whole part of it is written in Catalan). The rudeness of these lyrics make reference to the dislike of the republican Spain for the church and, particularly, for the Spanish monarchy. During the Spanish Civil War and, later, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, the apocryphal lyrics regained their old popularity and were used, first by the supporters of the republican government and, after the defeat of the republicanos, by Franco's detractors and enemies. Those lyrics attained a level of popularity so extreme that still now many people, particularly the younger ones, think they're indeed the official lyrics for the Himno de Riego.

(Spanish)

Si los curas y frailes supieran,

la paliza que les van a dar,

subirían al coro cantando:

"¡Libertad, libertad, libertad!"

Si los Reyes de España supieran

lo poco que van a durar,

a la calle saldrían gritando:

"¡Libertad, libertad, libertad!"

(Catalan)

La Reina vol corona?

que vingui a Barcelona!

Corona li darem...

I el coll li tallarem!

(Spanish)

Un hombre estaba cagando,

y no tenía papel,

pasó el Rey Alfonso XIII

¡Y se limpio el culo con él!

If priests and monks knew;

the beating they're going to receive,

they'd make a chorus and sing:

"Freedom, freedom, freedom!"

If the Kings of Spain knew

how little they're going to last,

they'd go out on the street and sing:

"Freedom, freedom, freedom!"

The queen wants a crown?

Let her come to Barcelona!

We'll give her a crown...

And we'll cut her head off!

A man was shitting

But had no paper.

King Alfonso XIII came by

So he wiped his arse with him.

• MP3 file
• The Davis Cup incident