"The Holy Thorn" is a sardana composed by Enric Morera with lyrics written by Àngel Guimerà. It is considered an ethnic anthem of the Catalans.
It was premiered in 1907 in the Teatre Principal of Barcelona as part of a zarzuela of the same name and nowadays is usually performed as the final piece in many cobla concerts. Because of its Catalanist connotacions La Santa Espina was prohibited during the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Francisco Franco, when also the Catalan national anthem "The Reapers" was forbidden.
Lyrics[]
Original text | English translation |
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Som i serem gent catalana
tant si es vol com si no es vol, que no hi ha terra més ufana sota la capa del sol. Déu va passar-hi en primavera i tot cantava al seu pas. Canta la terra encara entera, i canta que cantaràs. Canta l'ocell, lo riu, la planta canten la lluna i el sol. I tot treballant la dona canta, i canta al peu del bressol. I canta a dintre de la terra el passat ja mai passat, i jorns i nits, de serra en serra, com tot canta al Montserrat. Som i serem gent catalana tant si es vol com si no es vol, que no hi ha terra més ufana sota la capa del sol. |
We are and we shall be Catalan people
Whether others like it or not, For there isn't a more beautiful land Anywhere under the sun. God passed through it in Springtime And everything sang as He walked by. The land still entire is singing And it shall keep on singing more and more. The bird, the river and the plant sing, As do the moon and the sun. And as she works, the woman sings, She sings right at the foot of the cradle. And inside the land is singing The past that never came to be, And days and nights, from a mountain range to another, As everything sings in Montserrat. We are and we shall be the Catalan people Whether others like it or not, For there isn't a more beautiful land Anywhere under the sun. |