}
La Paloma (The Dove) is a popular song, having been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by the Spanish composer of the Basq regionSebastián Iradier (later Yradier) after he visited Cuba in 1861. Iradier may have composed "La Paloma" around 1863, just two years before he died in Spain in obscurity, never to learn how popular his song would become.
The motif of La Paloma (The Dove) can be traced back to an episode that occurred in 492 BC preliminary to Darius' invasion of Greece, a time when the whitedove had not yet been seen in Europe. The Persian fleet under Mardonius was caught in a storm off the shore of Mount Athos and being wrecked when the Greeks observed white doves escaping from the sinking Persian ships. This inspired the notion that such birds bring home a final message of love from a sailor who is lost at sea. This theme that a final link of love overcomes death and separation is reflected in "La Paloma". While the lyrics may not always be true to the original, the soul of the song seems to survive all attempts to recast it in whatever new form and shape there may be and is able to express the tension between separation with loneliness, even death, and love.
La Paloma (The Dove) has been interpreted by musicians of diverse backgrounds including opera, pop, jazz, rock, military bands, and folk music. And it entered the Guinness Book of World Records being sung by the largest choir, 88,600 people, in Hamburg on May 9, 2004.
Also, to practice the piano, this song would be the ideal choice as La Paloma (The Dove) stave is really simple.
