I had a feeling that writing about Betis would become a lot harder with the passing of Lopera, Oliver and the rest of the goon squad - and I am being proved sadly right. You can say what you like about (alleged) fraud on a grand scale, but at least it's interesting. Ditto for comparing respected members of the Spanish judiciary to genocidal sociopaths. Nowadays the Betis pages of the Seville newspapers only seem to carry interviews with clever, well intentioned men in moustaches talking about "maximising the potential of the Betis brand" - and where's the fun in that?
So, in a bid to find something more diverting to talk about, here's the first in a regular(-ish) series looking at some of the songs you're likely to hear tumbling down from the stands of the Benito Villamarín on any given Saturday/Sunday this season. First up, Pobre, Pobre Palanga - currently nestling just inside the top 5 on the Betis hit parade (I'd say). From the top, lads...
OK, so in case you didn't catch them, the words go...
Pobre, pobre Palangana,
Amargado se te ve,
Cada vez nos falta menos,
Para volvernos a ver...
In English, something like:
Poor, poor Palangana,
Why d'you look in so much pain?
Every day we're getting closer
Till you'll be seeing us again
(With bit of poetic licence to make it rhyme - but that really is the gist.)
Palangana, as I'm sure most readers will know, is the colloquial word for a Sevillista. Literally the word means an old-fashioned wash basin, but as I understand it there was apparently a particularly common type in Andalucía that was white with black piping (something like this, I guess) - hence the Sevilla reference.
Get practising - this is one of the easier ones for a guiri to master. Next we'll try the Himno del Betis - the official anthem - in which you're required to fit "Y aunque último estuvieras..." into about three syllables. Abide With Me it certainly isn't.
Comments