“Fernando”, revisited
by richibi
despite still so profound an emotional
impact I haven’t been the only one to
wonder about “Fernando“‘s specifics
what’s happening, apart from the
throbbing melancholy, glory
it turns out that there are a couple of
people here, two men, or maybe a man
and a woman, reviewing a long gone
night when they crossed the Rio Grande
so Mexico, rather than Spain, must’ve
been the setting, I conjectured
the Mexican-American War, 1846 –
1847, established the border between
the victorious Americans and Mexico
these two must’ve been remembering
a particular private night, but I suspect
a more momentous night, conquering
territory, however ultimately it may
have been, however ignobly, lost
Wes Carr, an Australian Idol contestant,
does an impressive interpretation of a
song that is too iconic to much ever
overtake, not to mention overwhelm
but what do you think
Richard
Richibi's Weblog 
Dear Richard:
There are dozens of Rio Grandes, and one of them is in Galicia in northern Spain, which tried to declare independence during the Spanish Civil War. There was heavy fighting there during the Civil War, and a lot of to-ing and fro-ing. I still suspect that the lyrics are a dramatic monologue about an aging Nationalist (i.e. left-wing / losing side) soldier who fought “for liberty” and is saying at the end of his life that he’d do it all again.
James
yes, Jim, but I’ve got an international
border defined to argue in my favour
and who knew about Galicia
no argument about the speaker, “an aging
Nationalist (i.e. left-wing / losing side) soldier
who fought “for liberty” and is saying at the
end of his life that he’d do it all again.”, but
have you determined yet if s/he’s a boy
or a girl, a not especially peripheral
question
also, more precision about Galicia and
the Spanish Civil War, please
but, hey, they’re writing the song
from Sweden, how close to the
Mexican-American War is that
I could easily be wrong
imagine
cheers, and thanks
Richard
Interesting discussion you guys are having here. I always just assumed it was a Mexican vs American thing. Another sad example of might vs right. But then like you said, that’s a long way from Sweden. And as for who knew about Galicia, probably every European school kid…they teach different history over there. Maybe you could give Benny, Bjorn or Stig a call and ask them. HA!
…
Lynne
Dear Richard:
The lyrics don’t make sense to me from a Mexican perspective. They do from a Spanish Republican perspective, particularly as they were written by a European from a country which decidedly was on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, at a time in recent history when Spanish Republican veterans could finally come out into the open (i.e. after Franco died and a constitutional democracy was established in Spain).
It would be interesting to find out for sure.
James