Joven Guardia (The Young Guard)
Joven Guardia (The Young Guard)
A song from the Spanish Civil War
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This week’s song is Joven Guardia, a song sung by Jovenes Socialistas Unidas (Unified Socialist Youth) during the Spanish Civil War. You can read about the background of the Spanish Civil War on my website. It contains some important information and vocabulary that will help you understand this song.
If you’d like to hear the song before you read the background, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article. The lyrics are in Spanish, but I’ve included a translation above the video at the bottom.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics. I’ve written the lyrics in italics. As with most everything, there are many ways to interpret things. If you have any questions or comments, just tap the little comments icon at the end.
For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.
(625 words)
Background
The new government established the Second Spanish Republic in 1932. The people wanted to create a better way of life for Spanish society, but not everyone in the country was happy about the changes. People who didn’t agree with these changes felt very strongly – strongly enough to take up weapons to defend the old way of life before the Republic. This led to armed conflict between the government, or the Republicans (those who wanted to modernize Spain’s economy, education, and other aspects of society) and the Nationalists (people who supported the aristocracy, the Catholic church, and in some regions, the monarchy).
Within the Republicans…
On the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, there were many groups who had a variety of ways of thinking about how the new Republic should be governed. Many of these groups were union organizations or groups of unions within industries, called syndicates. They were organized as “The Popular Front.”
One of these groups was called the CNT, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labor). Founded in 1910, it was made up of anarcho-syndicalists who believed that workers could manage themselves rather than working under bosses and managers.
The JSU
A group of young people formed the JSU, Jovenes Socialistas Unidas (Unified Socialist Youth). The JSU was part of the Popular Front, working together to defend the country against the Nationalist military.
After the war, thousands of young Spaniards, including many who fought with the JSU, crossed the border into France and were held in refugee camps. Many of these refugees were deported to Germany after Hitler invaded France during WWII. Other Republicans were sent to concentration camps in North Africa. There, they were forced to work in mines, repair roads or work on the construction of the Trans-Saharan Mediterranean-Niger railway.1
The Song
When you listen to the song, you can hear the young people singing of their hopes and ideals: We are the young guard that is shaping the future. Misery tempered us shows that they have led hard lives. “To temper” is a verb that means to make something hard. For example, tempered steel is a very hard material.
We will know how to win or die / Noble is the cause of freeing man from his bondage. Here, they are saying that it is virtuous to try to achieve liberation, to free people from their chains. Maybe the road has to be watered with blood of youth. These young people are singing of their dedication to their cause of freedom.
The chorus is a call to action on the part of the youth in the JSU. Be on guard, be on guard for the insatiable and cruel bourgeois / Young guard, young guard do not give him peace or mercy / Peace or mercy! These phrases show their solidarity with other JSU members in fighting against the rich and powerful in their country. It’s the final fight that begins the revenge of those who crave bread / in the revolution that is underway / the slaves will triumph.
The members of the JSU, as well as most of the peasants and workers throughout Spain who supported the Republic, believed that a new society was possible, one in which people who worked hard would not have to starve as their parents had:
Children of misery which made us rebellious / I hate the tyranny that exploited our parents
We must not suffer more hunger / Those who work will eat / The exploitation is coming to an end / Our factories will be [on guard].
Joven Guardia was a song that the JSU sang to show solidarity among the members and to encourage one another to keep fighting for a better life for the people in Spain.
VOCABULARY
aristocracy 貴族階級(の人々)
monarchy 君主政治
syndicate 企業連合
anarcho-syndicalist 無政府組合主義
tempered 強化
bondage 服従
virtuous 高潔
liberation 解放
dedication 献身
insatiable 飽くなき探究心
bourgeois 富裕層
revenge 復讐
crave 渇望
underway 進行中
slaves 隷属
triumph 勝利
peasant 農民
starve 飢える
misery 不幸
rebellious 反抗的
tyranny 暴虐
exploited 搾取
solidarity 連帯
The Lyrics in English (this is a translation of the lyrics in Spanish)
We are the young guard that is shaping the future
Misery tempered us, we will know how to win or die
Noble is the cause of freeing man from his bondage
Maybe the road has to be watered with the blood of youth
Chorus:
Be on guard, be on guard
For the insatiable and cruel bourgeois
Young guard, young guard
Do not give him peace or mercy
Peace or mercy!
It's the final fight that begins the revenge
of those who crave bread
In the revolution that is underway
The slaves will triumph
Always be on guard, always be on guard, young guard
Children of misery which made us rebellious
I hate the tyranny that exploited our parents
We must not suffer more hunger
Those who work will eat
The exploitation is coming to an end
Our factories will be…
Listen to the song in Spanish:
And sung in 2017 by surviving members of the JSU: