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Lletanía

Joan Manuel Serrat
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OriginalEnglish Version by Gustavo Sierra Fernandez
LLETANÍALITANY
  
Tot canvia, res canvia,Everything changes, nothing changes,
mira el tren, mira la via.look at the train, look at the railway.
Si t'ho penses i bé observes,If you think about it and you watch well,
ja sabràs filosofia.you shall know philosophy.
  
Mil discursos, pocs recursos,A thousand of speeches, little resources,
és el pa de cada dia.that’s our daily bread.
Sols Espanya, qui ho diria,Only Spain, who would have thought,
vol ser sola i no canvia.wants to be alone and is not changing (1).
  
Monarquia, oligarquia,Monarchy, oligarchy,
dictadura, cara dura.dictatorship, cheeky,
Barret frigi sens prestigiPhrygian cap (2) without prestige
i després vingué el prodigi.and later came the prodigy (3).
  
Una guerra que ho esguerraA war that spoil it,
i un cabdill que adoptà un fill:a chieftain (4) that adopted a child:
un jove de molta empentaa young man with a lot of spirit
a qui li faltava un grill.who had a crew loose.
  
Hi ha feixistes i papistes,There are Fascists and Papists,
i un grapat de llargues llistes,and a bunch of large lists,
rabassaires, mercenarislandlords (5), mercenaries
i gents que resa rosaris.and folks who say the rosary.
  
Hi ha carlistes i marxistes,There are Carlists and Marxists,
i també alguns optimistes,and also some optimistists,
policies i espies,policemen and spies,
i gent que no té manies.and people that has no shame.
  
I "la no intervención"And the “Non Intervention”
i "los del Real Perdón".and those of the “Royal Pardon”.
  
I segueix la llarga cursa,And continues the large curve,
que s'allarga i que s'escurça,lenghtening and shortening,
de corsaris i falsaris,of corsairs and forgers,
i visites a altres barris.and visits to other neighbourhoods.
  
Els que passen la fronteraThose that cross the border
fent el salt de la pantera,do the panther’s jump,
ben folrada la cartera,the wallet well covered,
foten "tiros" pel darrera.*fuck the shooting behind*.
  
Les rates de sagristia,The sacristy rats,
considerada gent pia,considered as pious folks,
i, ¡ai vés qui ho diria!,and, you see who would have thought!,
fins i tots la meva tia.even my aunt.
  
I segueix la lletaniaAnd continues the litany
de l'amor, la mort i els dies.of the love, the death and the days.

(1) After the defeated of the Axis countries in the II World War, Franco’s was the only standing “allie” of Germany. During a time, Franco wished to be in peace with the winners, but in front of the threats of some democratic and socialist countries, and, in the other side, the demanding of a change into a more democratic regime, the dictator summoned to great shows of patriotism against foreigner intereferences, although at the same time, he made a little changes… Later, with the US president Eisenhower’s visit to Spain, the Francoist regime was, finally, recognized by the Nations Society.

(2) As in other countries, the Phrygian cap was the symbol of Republican and, also, Catalanists.

(3) These lines describes the last days of Alphons XIII’s reign, that, due to the national troubles, took place to the General Miguel Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship (1923-1930), and finally the advent of the II Spanish Republic.

(4) It’s not casual that the word used is cabdill, “caudillo” in Spanish: that was Franco’s sobriquet, equivalent to German Führer and Italian Duce.

(5) The Catalan landlords, cat. rabassaires, were opnely conservatives.


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