La Paloma
"La Paloma", "The Dove" in English, is a popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was written by the Spanish Basque composer Sebastián Iradier (later Yradier) around 1860 after a visit to Cuba. In 1879, it was registered at the copyright office in Madrid as a "Canción Americana con acompañamiento de Piano". Iradier was to die in obscurity within few years, never to learn how popular his song would become.
Very quickly, "La Paloma" became popular outside of Spain, particularly in Mexico, and soon spread around the world. In many places, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Colombia, Hawaii, the Philippines, Germany, Romania, Venezuela, Zanzibar, and Goa it gained the status of a quasi-folk song. Over the years, the popularity of "La Paloma" has surged and receded periodically, but never subsided. It may be considered one of the first universal popular hits and has appealed to artists of diverse musical backgrounds. There are more than one thousand versions of this song, and together with "Yesterday" by The Beatles, is one of the most-recorded songs in the history of music; it is certainly the most-recorded Spanish song.

The motif
The motif of "La Paloma" (the dove) can be traced back to an episode that occurred in 492 BC, before Darius the Great's invasion of Greece, a time when the white dove had not yet been seen in Europe. The Persian fleet under Mardonius was caught in a storm off the shore of Mount Athos and wrecked, when the Greeks observed white doves escaping from the sinking Persian ships. Those were most probably homing pigeons which the Persian fleet carried with them when sallying forth out of Persia for battle. This inspired the notion that such birds bring home a final message of love from a sailor who is lost at sea.

History
In the Portuguese novel O Crime do Padre Amaro (The Crime of Father Amaro), written in 1871 by the Portuguese writer José Maria de Eça de Queirós, it is referred to as "[l]a Chiquita, an old Mexican song".German and French versions appeared in the 1860s. Harry James recorded a version in 1941 on Columbia 36146., and a version in English titled "No More" with lyrics by Don Robertson and Hal Blair was recorded by both Dean Martin and Elvis Presley. That version was written by request as an adaptation of an Italian or French folk song with new English lyrics, specifically to be sung by Elvis in the movie Blue Hawaii. It was based on musical melody as remembered, and had lyrics fit to the melody which emerged during composition.In 1973 French singer Mireille Mathieu had a huge hit across Europe with her interpretation named "La Paloma, Adieu", released outside the francophonie countries as "La Paloma, Adé".
"La Paloma" has been interpreted by musicians of diverse backgrounds including opera, pop, jazz, rock, military bands, and folk music. The song entered the Guinness Book of World Records being sung by the largest choir, 88,600 people, in Hamburg on May 9, 2004.

Movies
"La Paloma" is played in these movies:

"La Paloma" Screen Songs cartoon, 1930
The Private Life of Don Juan, 1934
La Paloma, Ein Lied der Kameradschaft, 1934 (also listed as La Paloma, 1938)
Juarez, 1939
Große Freiheit Nr. 7, 1944, Hans Albers singing a German version
Stray Dog, 1949
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956
La Paloma, Germany 1958
Habanera, Spain 1958
Freddy, die Gitarre und das Meer, 1959
Freddy und der Millionär
Adua e le compagne, 1960
Blue Hawaii, 1961, Elvis Presley singing "No More". His recording was also featured on the soundtrack album and a re-recorded "live" version for the American version of Aloha from Hawaii which was not used in the broadcast. This 1973 version was originally released on the budget album Mahalo from Elvis but has since been included on various reissues of the live album.
The Godfather Part II, 1974. The band are playing "La Paloma" in the opening scene of the New Year party in Havana.
Bröderna Lejonhjärta, 1977. Karl's mom is heard singing the Swedish version of "La Paloma".
The Tin Drum, 1979
Das Boot, 1981 (performed in German by Rosita Serrano).
Mortelle Randonnée, 1983. In the film, the Hans Albers version is heard.
The House of the Spirits, 1993
Sonnenallee, 1999
A Moment to Remember, 2004
"La Paloma" is the subject of the 2008 documentary La Paloma. Sehnsucht. Weltweit (German for La Paloma. Longing. Worldwide) by Sigrid Faltin.
Soul Kitchen, 2009
Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story, 2011
In the musical film, Down Argentine Way, Charlotte Greenwood sings an upbeat, fast song called "Sing To Your Senorita". The melody is loosely based on that of "La Paloma".

Lyrics
References
Further reading
Rüdiger Bloemeke: La Paloma – Das Jahrhundert-Lied, Voodoo Verlag 2005, ISBN 3000155864
Sigrid Faltin / Andreas Schäfler: La Paloma – das Lied, Marebuch Verlag 2008, ISBN 3866480881

External links

Sheet music, artsongcentral.com
Audio, Banda de Zapadores de Mexico, Project Gutenberg