Un jupon serré sur les hanches,
Un peigne énorme à son chignon,
Jambe nerveuse et pied mignon,
Œil de feu, teint pâle et dents blanches :
          Alza ! olà !
             Voilà
La véritable Manola.

Gestes hardis, libre parole,
Sel et piment à pleine main,
Oubli parfait du lendemain,
Amour fantasque et grâce folle :
          Alza ! olà !
             Voilà
La véritable Manola.

Chanter, danser aux castagnettes,
Et, dans les courses de taureaux,
Juger les coups des toreros,
Tout en fumant des cigarettes :
          Alza ! olà !
             Voilà
La véritable Manola.

Note for line 7, word 3 of each stanza, "Manola": Spanish word meaning "lively Spanish working-girl"

Composition:

Set to music by Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946), "Séguidille", 1909, published 1910 [ voice and piano ], from Trois mélodies, no. 3, Paris, Rouart, Lerolle & Cie.

Text Authorship:

• by Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872), "Séguidille", written 1843, appears in España, first published 1845

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Seguidilla"
• ENG English (Michael P Rosewall) , copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 82