Al Bando Vencido

To the Defeated Band

Al Bando Vencido

They are taking away the memory,Se van llevando la memoria,
leaving in history a stain, a blot.queda en la historia una mancha, un borrón.
While the rest suffers amnesia,Mientras el resto sufre amnesia,
an old man remembers a song,un viejo recuerda una canción,

from that distant battlede aquella lejana batalla
where he could have died,donde pudo morir,
in a war not won,en una guerra no ganada,
sometimes he asks about you.a veces me pregunta por ti.

He still believes in the trench,Se cree aún en la trinchera,
another flag, of a different color,otra bandera, de otro color,
solemnly waving in the wind,solemne en su viento ondea,
over the summit and in his hall.sobre la cima y en su salón.

Sometimes he talks to ghostsA veces habla con fantasmas
whose names he forgot.de cuyo nombre se olvidó.
Defeated, they never returnedVencidos, nunca regresaron
from their inner exile.de su exilio interior.

Not a moment, not a memory,Ni un momento, ni un recuerdo,
for those who lost, those who builtpara los que perdieron, los que construyeron
the tomb, the mausoleum,la tumba, el mausoleo,
of misery, of the butcher.de la miseria, del carnicero.

How do you expect to win without them¿Cómo esperas ganar sin ellos
the battles they previously lost?las batallas que anteriormente perdieron?
If they are to be silent, let those be silent,Si han de callar, que callen aquellos,
those who signed pacts of silence.los que firmaron pactos de silencio.

They try to convince him, grandfather,Tratan de convencerle, abuelo,
the explosions have ended.las explosiones han terminado.
But when he goes out into the street,Pero cuando sale a la calle,
Madrid seems bombed.Madrid parece bombardeado.

And he reads writings on the walls,Y lee escritos en los muros,
screams against those he fought,gritos contra los que luchó,
and characters with dark facesy personajes de rostro oscuro
who instilled terror in him.que le inculcaron el terror.

And one day, without us realizing,Y un día, sin darnos cuenta,
the old man, with his stories, consumed himselfel viejo, con sus historias, se consumió
And in the memory of his grandsonY en la memoria de su nieto
only a trace, a faint blot,sólo una huella, un leve borrón,

from that distant battle,de aquella lejana batalla,
where he could have died,donde pudo morir,
in a war not wonen una guerra no ganada
where he fought for you.donde luchó por ti.

Where he fought for you.Donde luchó por ti.