La Bella Lola

La Bella Lola (Beautiful Lola) is, for many, the Hymn of the Sailor. The lyrics describe the beauty of a woman and the surrounding sea. The author is unknown and it is said that it is nothing more than a folk song. Some sources say that it arose during the late 19th century, from the floral games at the annual Carnival in the port of Guaymas, Mexico. The inspiration came from a woman named Maria Dolores Ferrá Calderón, the adopted daughter of a Barber. Both Maria and her father were natives and residents of the port.

In 1967, the famous Mexican singer, Estanislao García Espinosa signed a deal with the record company RCA Victor. He presented the song to the Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico (SACM) with the title “The Beautiful Lola”, and an uncertain history. The SACM, through Maria Elena Parra, found a pre-existing copy of the song, also with the title The Beautiful Lola. The composer Don Juan Solano had registered the song in the Spanish registry in 1966. Maria Elena, given these two contradictory documents, doubted the songs authenticity and catalogued it as in the public domain.

The version popular in Mexico and sung by merchant sailors is:

MY BEAUTIFUL LOLA

WHEN ON THE BEACH MY BEAUTIFUL LOLA
HER PRETTY FIGURE GOES A'SHINING
THE SAILORS BECOME SO CRAZY
EVEN THE CAPTAIN LOSES THE COMPASS

OH THE PLEASURE I FELT
WHEN AT THE BEACH
SHE TOOK OUT HER HANDKERCHIEF AND WAVED TO ME
LATER SHE APPROACHED ME
GAVE ME A HUG
AND WITHIN HER GRASP I THOUGHT I HAD DIED

AND WE THE POOR SAILORS
HAVE MADE A LITTLE BOAT OF WAX
TO LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA
FOR ONE CANNOT LIVE ON THE LAND.