The Heart of Barcelona

English · Catalan version

The story

Hispano-Suiza was founded in Barcelona in 1904. Its name joins two countries: the company was Spanish, and its chief engineer, Marc Birkigt, was Swiss. Birkigt first made his name with cars, and when the war began he turned to aero engines.

The result was the Hispano-Suiza 8, which appeared in 1915. It was a V8 with an aluminium block, light and powerful for its time. The French designer Louis Béchereau drew the SPAD VII around it. The engine also powered the SPAD XIII, the Sopwith Dolphin and the S.E.5, some of the best Allied fighters of the war.

Demand was far greater than one factory could meet. Almost 50,000 were built, but only 112 in Barcelona during the war: the rest were made under licence in France and other countries, including Britain, Italy and the United States.

The song tells the story as a waltz, with the engine as a heart born "beside the Mediterranean sea". It keeps the real proportion in view: most of these engines were built far from Barcelona, but the design, and the first engine, came from there.

Lyrics · English

The Heart of Barcelona

Verse 1In a city by the sea, where the mountains meet the shore,
A Swiss engineer had a dream and wanted something more.
Spanish and Swiss, the name on the door,
Hispano-Suiza, and a V that would roar.

Pre-ChorusEight small cylinders, light as a breath,
An aluminum heart that would outrun death.

ChorusHeart of Barcelona, beating in the sky,
Eight cylinders singing as the fighters fly!
Heart of Barcelona, strong and free,
Born beside the Mediterranean sea.

Verse 2Nineteen fifteen, and the first one ran,
A fighter was drawn around the plan.
SPAD took the engine and the sky took fire,
And Allied pilots climbed a little higher.

Pre-ChorusEight small cylinders, light as a breath,
An aluminum heart that would outrun death.

ChorusHeart of Barcelona, beating in the sky,
Eight cylinders singing as the fighters fly!
Heart of Barcelona, strong and free,
Born beside the Mediterranean sea.

Verse 3From Paris to London, from Turin to the West,
Licences crossed the sea to build the best.
Nearly fifty thousand hearts were made,
But the first one beat where the first plans were laid.

BridgeUnder French wings, under British too,
The same Barcelona heartbeat carried them through.

Final ChorusHeart of Barcelona, beating in the sky,
Eight cylinders singing as the fighters fly!
Heart of Barcelona, strong and free,
Born beside the Mediterranean sea.

OutroBorn by the sea... beating still.

Lyrics · Catalan

The Heart of Barcelona (Catalan version)

Vers 1Entre Collserola i el mar, una fàbrica treballava,
un enginyer suís que un motor somiava.
Hispano-Suiza, dues terres,
i una V d'acer que rugirà.

Pre-tornadaVuit cilindres lleugers com un alè,
un cor d'alumini que venç l'aire.

TornadaCor de Barcelona, bategant al cel,
vuit cilindres canten quan les ales volen.
Cor de Barcelona, lliure i fort,
nascut vora el mar Mediterrani.

Vers 2Mil nou-cents quinze, ja arrenca,
un avió neix al seu voltant.
L'SPAD pren el motor, el cel s'encén,
els pilots aliats recuperen el cel.

Pre-tornadaVuit cilindres lleugers com un alè,
un cor d'alumini que venç l'aire.

TornadaCor de Barcelona, bategant al cel,
vuit cilindres canten quan les ales volen.
Cor de Barcelona, lliure i fort,
nascut vora el mar Mediterrani.

Vers 3De París a Londres, de Torí a l'Oest,
llicències que creuen el mar.
Gairebé cinquanta mil cors fets,
però el primer va néixer aquí.

PontAles franceses, ales angleses,
el mateix batec de Barcelona els va dur.

Tornada finalCor de Barcelona, bategant al cel,
vuit cilindres canten quan les ales volen.
Cor de Barcelona, lliure i fort,
nascut vora el mar Mediterrani.

OutroNascut al mar, bategant.