Spanish Song

Did you ever have breakfast at Ronda

At the Fonda

De Cadiz?

Did you ever have coffee more creamy,

Hot and steamy,

Than that is?

You're a practised and persistent

eater--Did you ever have ham that was

sweeter,

Or bread that was whiter, Or rolls that were lighter, Than those that they serve you at Ronda

At the Fonda De Cadiz? . . .

Did you ever have steak that was juicier.

In Andalusia,

Than that is? . . .

And cutlets of mutton

That even a Hutton

Could never beg, borrow or buy,

No matter how hard he might try.

There's no mutton or veal

In Leon or Castile,

Like they serve in the city of Ronda. .

Did you ever see cloths that were cleaner,

Or waiters of suaver demeanor,

Or beans that were greener

To make even keener

Your taste for "arroz y Gallina?"

Did you ever know wines that were finer,

To content a gourmet and good diner?

And oh, such "tortillas de huevos,"

Lord save us!

They serve at the city of Ronda

At the Fonda

De Cadiz.

In 12 Hearst papers last week these nostalgic lines appeared in an unsigned column, hi the News. Most readers of the Hearst press, who know that In the News is written by the Old Man himself (TIME, March 18), suspected that he was the author of A Spanish Song. They were right. Though he has never before published any poetry, Publisher Hearst, now 77, admitted last week that he has "frequently written what might be called verse," that he jotted down A Spanish Song in 1934 during an automobile trip through Spain.

Said Poetaster Hearst, by way of apology: "It is often very warm in southern Spain. And sometimes the heat affects a traveler's head. It was in such a moment of aberration that [these] verses -- largely imaginative -- were written by your columnist."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.