Spanish Ladies
Robert Shaw Chorale Lyrics


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Farewell and adieu to you Spanish ladies
Farewell and adieu you ladies of Spain
For we've received orders for to sail for old England
But we hope in a short time to see you again

We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors
We are rant and real roar all on the salt sea
Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England
From ... to ... is 35 leagues





We hove our ship to with the wind from Souwest, boys
We hove our ship to our soundings for to ______

Overall Meaning

The first verse of Robert Shaw Chorale's song "Spanish Ladies" bids farewell to the Spanish ladies, hinting that they will soon be leaving Spain for England. The second line repeats the farewell, emphasizing their departure from Spain. The reason for their departure is that they have received orders to sail to England. The British sailors hope to see the Spanish ladies again soon, indicating that they might have formed some kind of relationship or attachment to them during their stay in Spain.


The second verse describes the sailors' enthusiasm for their impending journey. They will rant and roar like true British sailors as they sail on the salt sea. The third line depicts their anticipation for the moment they reach the channel of old England. The next line mentions that the distance from where they are to the channel is 35 leagues. The final line is incomplete, leaving us to wonder what the soundings are for.


Line by Line Meaning

Farewell and adieu to you Spanish ladies
We bid you farewell and goodbye, dear ladies from Spain


Farewell and adieu you ladies of Spain
Goodbye and adieu to all the ladies residing in Spain


For we've received orders for to sail for old England
We have been instructed to embark on a journey to Old England


But we hope in a short time to see you again
However, we remain optimistic about returning to meet all of you soon


We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors
We shall express our jubilation and boisterousness that true British sailors are known for


We are rant and real roar all on the salt sea
We shall continue to express our joy at the high seas


Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England
We'll keep going until we reach the channel of old England and hear the soundings


From ... to ... is 35 leagues
There are 35 leagues between these two points


We hove our ship to with the wind from Souwest, boys
We brought our ship to the stop, using the wind from Souwest, my friends


We hove our ship to our soundings for to ______
We brought our ship to the stop to take soundings for our safety




Writer(s): Robert Shaw, Alice Parker

Contributed by Gavin O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@sherryrobinson7389

Beautiful men's voices! I miss good choirs!๐Ÿ˜ฅ

@thedungeondelver

This caused my speakers to grow beards.

@uranobnut

Fukin brilliant comment !!

@stevenhodge64

Fucking hilarious.

@michaelsmitten302

+thedungeondelver Funniest thing on YouTube comments yet - but I am an Ex Royal Navy sailor with a beard...

@TheDustysix

A drop of Nelson's Blood.

@AmitsShenanigans

My headphones are growing balls in the mean time

@CtrlAltGiveUp

Easily the best version of Spanish Ladies. Love this song.

@insertusername130

I like the "JAWS" version more

@jagc1969

I agree with you.

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