Julie Lamming wrote to say, ‘I used to drive my family mad singing “Spanish Ladies” after watching the film for the first time.’ This was the original movie of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ made on location in the Lake District in 1973 and released by EMI Films fifty years ago in 1974.
It took me a while to realise it, but the traditional British naval song Farewell and Adieu to you Fair Spanish Ladies is sung in a number of other feature films from The Buccaneers (1957) to Jaws, which was released in 1975, a year after the original film Swallows and Amazons.
Robert Shaw sings a little more once at sea:
The ships crew come together singing it as a shanty in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
A Boston version is also sung in this television drama, Patrick Jane:
Can you think of anymore examples? Please add links to the Comments below.
I classic version of the song can be found here:
I’m afraid I sang it badly and made the mistake of muddling the words, Adieu and Farewell to you Fair Spanish Ladies rendered onto the LP of the film.
You can now listen to the audio book on ‘The Making of Swallows and Amazons’ that explains how the 1974 movie of Swallows and Amazons. It’s available on all the retail platforms and Audible here.
Sophie Neville 