Ignacio lay dying in the sand
A single red rose clutched in a dying hand
The women wept to see their hero die
And the big black birds gathered in the sky

Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows

The years went by and then the killers came
And took the men and marched them up the hill of pain
And Lorca, the faggot poet they left till last
Blew his brains out with a pistol up his arse

Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows

The killers came to mutilate the dead
But ran away in terror to search the town instead
But Lorca's corpse, as he had prophesied, just walked away
And the only sound was the women in the chapel praying

Mother of all our joys
Mother of all our sorrows
Intercede with him tonight
For all of our tomorrows



Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death

Lorca's Novena Lyrics as written by Shane Macgowan

Lyrics © DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

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Lorca's Novena song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    A "Novena" is a specific Catholic prayer attributed to someone.

    The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939. Andalusia was one of the first regions of Spain to be overtaken by the Nationalists in 1936. Federico García Lorca, a Republican poet living in Andalusia, was among the most famous to be killed during the invasion. The Guardia Civil (or "Civil Guard")—the guardia civil was in fact, a Nationalist paramilitary force—who were affiliated with the Republicans were the troops protecting Spain from the Nationalists.

    The Nationalists eventually overtook the government, and leader Francisco Franco ruled Spain until his death in 1975; during his reign the Spanish people cried out for liberation. Many people fighting and dying for the Republican side were poets and artists (such as the aforementioned Fredrico Lorca). The end of the song lists sites that were bombed and invaded by the Nationalists. Granada, in particular, was the home town of Garcia Lorca and was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the war.

    Travis69on September 15, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is about the spanish civil war. Lorca was a gay spanish poet who was supposedly murdered in the way described above.

    loneghanon October 25, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I always really liked the music of this song, but I really had no clue what he was saying in the lyrics until now. Wow.

    bkbroileron October 31, 2007   Link

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