The lyrics come from a poem written in Arabic by the last Abencerrages king of Granada, Aben Humeya, in a translation by Niceto de Zamacois, which Serradell found in a magazine used as packing material.[1]
La golondrina
The Spanish lyrics use the image of a migratingswallow to evoke sentiments of longing for the homeland. It became the signature song of the exiled Mexicans. The song was recorded in 1906[2] by Señor Francisco.[3][4]
A guitar instrumental was recorded by Chet Atkins in 1955.
Felice & Boudleaux Bryant wrote lyrics in English, as "She Wears My Ring", which was first recorded by Jimmy Sweeney (also known as Jimmy Bell) in 1960. Other notable cover versions are by:
The song, recorded by 13-year-old Heintje, became a German number-one hit in August 1968 (title: Du sollst nicht weinen, "Thou shalt not cry").
Anita Hegerland version
In June 1970, the 9-year-old Norwegian singer Anita Hegerland became a famed child singer with a recording[8] in Swedish (Mitt sommarlov, "My summer break") that topped the Swedish best selling chart Kvällstoppen for five weeks and Svensktoppen for seven weeks[9] as well as the Norwegian singles chart for three weeks.[10] At age 10, she became Norway's first artist to sell over a million copies[11] and she now is one of the best-selling solo singers in Norway, with sales of more than 7 million albums and singles. Hegerland's songs have been released on nearly 30 million albums worldwide, most of which are with Roy Black and Mike Oldfield.
The song figures prominently in the 1969 film The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah and scored by Jerry Fielding. The local people serenade the bandit protagonists with it as they leave Angel's Mexican village.
