Poem of the Deep Song by Federico García Lorca

Away from the tourist spots on the south side of the Guadalquivir are many hidden bars that are open every night of every day of the week. In Sevilla the Deep Song continues to live on. The poet was killed in 1936 after an anonymous denunciation as an enemy of the authoritarian Franco regime. Despite his fame, he soon made enemies in higher circles.

Lorca realized that his country was crumbling to pieces and voiced his opinion openly. But as with many artists of the time, his work was considered ‘degenerate art’ by the fascists.

His close relationship with the painter Salvador Dal may or may not have been an indication of some surrealist tendencies, but when asked, he never publicly associated with any of the artistic currents of the time. What made Lorca’s poetry so special was the inherent surrealist element. To him it was merely a watered down version … the Rock’n’Roll of the Deep Song. He was a man who thoroughly rejected the widely known form of flamenco. Lorca contributed his own interpretations of the Deep Song. Together with his composer friend Manuel de Falla, he organized the “Competition of the Deep Song” in Grenada in June 1922 to commemorate this art form. One of Lorca’s main concerns was that the Deep Song would one day disappear from the face of the earth as the last descendents of the tradition were taking their legacy to the grave. I began to understand where he was coming from … the magic of the land, the wandering souls and death lovers, the desperation, the strength to always get up when beaten and the uncanning ability to not take life so seriously. Love and death are simply a part of life and there is always time for a good song. I was touched by the warm-heartedness of the people that live in the poorest region of the country and to my surprise, they were not at all morbid as I had expected. Andalucia is truly a uniquely beautiful place and the Guadalquivir still winds along the orange and olive groves as it did sixty years ago. I wanted to see for myself that “river Guadalquivir winds through orange and olive trees…” My expectations were not disappointed. I traveled to Andalucia, the Southern part of Spain and homeland of the poet. After I had read Lorca’s “Poem of the Deep Song”, I wanted to find out what moved a man who wrote so sadly, yet so passionately about love and death, about life.

He was the son of a people that have always fascinated me. He was also the most famous victim of the Spanish Civil War. More than sixty years ago one of the greatest poets of this century died.

Poem of the Deep Song by Federico García Lorca