Notes from Spain would like to apologise for prematurely announcing earlier this week that Spain had found lyrics for its wordless (since 1978) national anthem.
Apparently the poetic attempt to keep all parts of this divided nation happy received too many complaints, and the Spanish Olympic Committee, who were behind the initiative, have canceled a star-studded gala due to take place next week, when Placido Domingo was to sing the new words in public for the first time.
It is believed that the inclusion of the phrase ‘Viva España‘ in the lyrics is to blame for the controversy: who, after all, could realistically expect a Catalan, Basque, or Gallego, to sing that?
There is no doubt that this whole merry dance is far from over, as many talk of taking the lyrics to parliament for ratification, but things don’t look good. Read the lyrics again below and decide – could you write something more harmless than that?
Full news here in Spanish. Words of the anthem below:
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 