The Dispute for the “People” and Its Songs: A Sonic Battle at the Front and Rearguard during the Spanish Civil War

Abstract

Music, especially with lyrics, has long accompanied wars, from those fought by the smallest societies to those of the most complex. One need only look at the multitude of warrior chants, marches, hymns, singsongs, airs, ditties, and jingles related to warfare that have been produced throughout time. Many of these songs share a communitarian aim: tying the soldiers’ or warriors’ social and even personal identities to that of the group or the unit, fomenting camaraderie as well as heroism and self-sacrifice. The elements most conducive to such feelings are invoked in the lyrics with references to the patria or homeland; groups of membership or kinship such as family, lineages, or clans; as well as the common religion, the countryside; and of course, the great modern monster, the nation.