La Carta

The Letter

La Carta

I received a letterMe mandaron una carta
By the early mail,Por el correo temprano,
In that letter they tell meEn esa carta me dicen
That my brother was arrested,Que cayó preso mi hermano,
And without compassion, in chains,Y sin compasión, con grillos,
They dragged him through the street, yes.Por la calle lo arrastraron, sí.

The letter states the reasonLa carta dice el motivo
For arresting RobertoDe haber prendido a roberto
For supporting the strikeHaber apoyado el paro
That had already been resolved.Que ya se había resuelto.
If this is a reasonSi acaso esto es un motivo
I am also a prisoner, sergeant, yes.Presa voy también, sargento, si.

I, who am so far awayYo que me encuentro tan lejos
Waiting for news,Esperando una noticia,
The letter comes to tell meMe viene a decir la carta
That in my homeland there is no justice,Que en mi patria no hay justicia,
The hungry ask for bread,Los hambrientos piden pan,
The militia gives them lead, yes.Plomo les da la milicia, sí.

In this pompous wayDe esta manera pomposa
They want to keep their seatsQuieren conservar su asiento
Those with fans and tuxedos,Los de abanico y de frac,
Without deserving it,Sin tener merecimiento,
They come and go from the churchVan y vienen de la iglesia
And forget the commandments, yes.Y olvidan los mandamientos, sí.

Have you ever seen such insolence,Habrase visto insolencia,
Barbarism and treachery,Barbarie y alevosía,
To present the musketDe presentar el trabuco
And kill in cold bloodY matar a sangre fría
Someone who has no defenseA quien defensa no tiene
With empty hands, yes.Con las dos manos vacías, si.

The letter I have receivedLa carta que he recibido
Asks for a response,Me pide contestación,
I ask that it be spreadYo pido que se propale
Throughout the population,Por toda la población,
That the 'lion' is a bloodthirsty oneQue el «león» es un sanguinario
In every generation, yes.En toda generación, sí.

Luckily I have a guitarPor suerte tengo guitarra
To cry out my pain,Para llorar mi dolor,
I also have nine brothersTambién tengo nueve hermanos
Apart from the one who was chained,Fuera del que se engrilló,
The nine are communistsLos nueve son comunistas
With the favor of my god, yes.Con el favor de mi dios, sí.