[Verse 1]
The good ship Granma lies at anchor in the harbour
Waiting for the evening tide to bring high water
It's bound for Cuba, she must go
Across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Ocean
She's carrying a human cargo, eighty-three good compañeros
Each one burning with determination to be free

[Chorus]
Against Batista, the Fidelistas
Courage was their only armour
As they fought at Fidel's side with Che Guevara

[Verse 2]
Ten days out from Mexico, these compañeros
Landed on the Cuban beach Los Colorados
And Fidel said, "This year we'll see our country and its people free
Or else we will be martyrs
We've only guns enough for twenty
The enemy has arms a-aplenty
Meet him and defeat him and
He'll keep us well-supplied"

[Chorus]
Against Batista, the Fidelistas
Courage was their only armour
As they fought at Fidel's side with Che Guevara
[Verse 3]
Five weeks later in the canyon Del Arroyos
The People's Army numbered eighteen compañeros
Hungry, weak, but unafraid, they're learning revolution's trade
In the high Sierra Maestra
And in the mountains, winds are blowing
Bearing seeds of hope and sowing
Crops in Cuban earth that mark the birth of victory


[Chorus]
On compañeros, to El Uvero!
Courage was their only armour
As they fought at Fidel's side with Che Guevara

[Verse 4]
They fought their way across the peaks of El Turquino
Joined by peasant bands and men from Santiago
They faced Batista's tanks and planes
And drove them down into the plains
From the high Sierra Maestra
They drove the gangsters from Las Villa
Straight across the cordilleras
Santa Clara fell to Che Guevara and was free

[Chorus]
Against Batista, the Fidelistas
Courage was their only armour
As they fought at Fidel's side with Che Guevara
{Verse 5]
The fire lit on that Cuban beach by Fidel Castro
Shines all the way to Tierra del Fuego
Sparks are blown upon the breeze
And men rise up from off their knees when they see
The night is burning
It blazes up in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Guatemala
Lights the road that men must go in order to be free

[Chorus]
On compañeros, Americanos
For a people's free America
Fidel he has shown the way with Che Guevara