No Pasarán
Aaron Kurtz (July / August 2006)

This July marks the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War-the resistance of the Spanish Republic to the fascist forces led by General Francisco Franco, supported by Hitler and Mussolini. The defeat of the Republic in 1939 was followed by 36 years of fascist dictatorship, ending only with the death of Franco in 1975.

No Pasarán
(dos shpanish lid)

dos lid zingt af ale radios.
dos lid zingt durkh dayne dinste odern
un laykht-oyf in dir
herlekher fun ale faynste aries.

dos lid iz di libshaft fun gutn mentsh,
dos lid shmekt mit blumen-zun fun andaluzia,
melodie-fun lebns tseveytikt harts
af toyzntyorike iluzies.

dos lid iz der tam fun malager vayn,
fun seviler goldene oranzherayen,
dos lid iz shpanies flaterdike freyd,
vos zingt ir troym durkh umet fun tliendike veyn.

dos lid zingt mitn shvaygn fun madrids almones,
dos lid zingt mit tsar fun libe in a velt fun sine,
dos lid zingt mit ayngehaltenem geveyn
fun zukhndike hent un oygn in ashike ruines.

dos lid iz
di tif fun tifenish
fun doyres romantseros,
dos lid iz der drang
tsu di mentshlekhste bagern.

dos lid, dos lid: "no pasaran!"
zingt iber der velt der gorer.
vi gliendiker mayrev-himl glit dayn gloybn in dem ton.
yedes folk hat aza lid.
aza folk-ken nit eybik zayn farloren.

1938

No Pasarán

They sing this song on all the radios.
They sing this song through your narrowest veins
and it lights you up,
glory of the finest arias.

This song is the love of good people,
this song smells of sunflowers in Andalusia,
melody of life's aching heart
from thousand year illusions.

This song tastes of Malaga wine,
of golden Seville oranges,
this song is the fluttering joy of Spain,
that sings its dream through the sadness of smoldering pain.
This song sings the silence of the widowed of Madrid,
this song sings the sorrow of love in a world of enmity.
This song sings with the stifled cry,
of searching hands, of eyes in ashen ruins.

This song is
the depth of depths
of generations of romanceros,
this song is the striving
for the most human of desires.

This song, this song: "No Pasaran!"-
sings across the whole wide world.
Your belief glows from its melody like the sky glows in the west.
Every nation has such a song.
Such a nation can't be forever lost.