Compañeros

The good ship granma lies at anchor in the harbour
Waiting for the evening tide
To rise and bring high water
Bound for Cuba she must go
Across the Gulf of Mexico
And The Caribbean Ocean
She’s carrying a human cargo 83 good compañeros
Each one burning with determination to be free
Against Batista, The Fidelistas
Courage was their armour
As they fought at Fidel’s side
With Che Guevara
Five days out from Mexico these compañeros
Landed on the Cuban beach Los Colarados
Fidel said this year will see
Our country and our people free
Or else we will be martyrs
We’ve only guns enough for twenty
The enemy has arms a plenty
Meet him and defeat him and he’ll keep us well supplied
Against Batista, The Fidelistas
Courage was their armour
As they fought at Fidel’s side
With Che Guevara
Five weeks later in the Canyon De La Rio
Fidels army was reduced to 18 compañeros
Hungry, weak and unafraid
Learning revolutions trade
In the high Sierra Maestre
Where the mountain winds did blow
Bearing seeds to sprout and sow
New crops in Cuban soil that marked the death of slavery
Compañeros, tu valaderos
Courage was their armour
As they fought at Fidel’s side
With Che Guevara
They made their way across the peak of El Torquino
Joined by bands of volunteers and the men from Santiago
They faced Batista’s tanks and trains
Drove them back across the plains
From the high Sierra Maestre
They drove the gangsters from Los Vios
Straight across the Cordileros
Santa Barbra fell to Che Guevara and was free
Compañeros, tu valaderos
Courage was their armour
As they fought at Fidel’s side
With Che Guevara
The fire lit on that Cuban beach by Fidel Castro
Still shines all the way to Terra del Fuego
Sparks are blown upon the breeze
People rise from off their knees
When they see the night is burning
It blazes up in Venezuela, Bolivia and Guatemala
Lights the road that we must go in order to be free
Compañeros, Americanos
Courage was their armour
As they fought at Fidel’s side
With Che Guevara
Courage was their armour
As they fought at Fidel’s side
With Che Guevara