Granada, I’m falling under your spell
And if you could speak what a fascinating tale you would tell
Of an age the world has long forgotten
Of an age that weaves the silent magic in Granada today
The dawn in the sky greets the day with a sigh for Granada
For she can remember the splendour that once was Granada
It still can be found in the hills all around as I wander along
Entranced by the beauty before me
Entranced by a land full of sunshine and flowers and song
And when day is done and the sun starts to set in Granada
I envy the blush of the snow clad Sierra Nevada
For soon it will welcome the stars
While a thousand guitars play a soft Habanera
Then moonlit Granada will live again
The glory of yesterday romantic and gay
That note Frankie hung beginning at 1:06 seconds is one of the longest ever sustained in recorded history. (I timed Mario Lanza's version, and they both lasted for 11 seconds.) A statue in honor of the composer Agustin Lara exists in Madrid. It was sculpted by Humberto Paraza and unvieled on May 13, 1975, to commemorate Lara's many songs about Spanish cities, Granada, Seville, Toledo, etc.
Who does not love Rawhide, Jezebel, Gunfight at the OK Koral, (his version of-) High Noon.........?
Well, of course people who were born in the 40/50/60s. My God, am I that old already?!?!
I notice that nobody referenced Mario Lanza's iconic, immortal
version of this gem. I previously left a remark commending Laine's version. But after re-listening to Lanza's version that pops up when googled, [the actual commercial recording rather the one from a movie], Lanza's for me is the greater. Although both vocalists were of Italian ancestry, Lanza's opera training and skill in speaking and singing in Italian
enabled him to accent certain consonants that Italians characteristically trill, primarily the letter "R." Lanza also held/hung more notes throughout the song, and most for longer durations. And the orchestral bridge was longer. All told, this gave his version around an extra minute, coming in at 4:01 duration. And nobody out-powered Mario. His phrasing and everything gave me chills that I was not getting from Frankie Laine's version, as splendid as it is.
I stayed in Granada for a month,after searching our relative in the city of Sevilla in Spain,a good and loovely place to stay for a while and unwind,go out places ,and most of all,eat the famous Spanish dishes ,a good remembrance to go backward and smile upon remembering about,
