History
Spanish Rhyme
"Mambru se Fue a la Guerra"
(Marlborough went to War)
John, 1st Duke of Marlborough
by Godfrey Kneller
Spanish nursery rhyme referring to the 1st Duke of Marlborough
and his campaigns in the Peninsular Wars of the 1700s.
The verse is sung to the tune of "For he's a jolly good fellow"
and "Mambru se fue a la guerra" is quoted by Beethoven in
"The Battle for Vitoria".
Mambru se fue a la Guerra
Que dolor, que dolor y que pena
Mambru se fue a la Guerra
No se cuando vendrá
Si vendrá por la Pascua
Que dolor y que pena
Si vendrá por la Pascua
O por la Trinidad.
Mambru went to War
What a sorrow, what a pity
Mumbru went to War
I don’t know when he will come back
Whether he would want to be back for Easter
What a sorrow, what a pity,
Whether he would come back for Easter
Or for Trinity
As told by D.Carlos Manso
historian of Bilbao & Madrid, Spain, 2nd July 2005.