El País

The Country

El País

My country was never poorMi país nunca fue pobre
Others have impoverished itOtros lo han empobrecido
With their words of copperCon sus palabras de cobre
And because of them we learnedY por ellos aprendimos
To deny what is possibleA negar lo que es posible

In my land, the thievesEn mi tierra, los ladrones
Wear silk tiesUsan corbatas de seda
And from plastic mansionsY desde plásticas mansiones
They distribute what is leftSe reparten lo que aún queda
Of invisible povertiesDe pobrezas invisibles

In their waterproof soulsEn sus almas impermeables
The pain of others is obsceneEl dolor de otro es obsceno
With their unbreakable logicCon su lógica infranqueable
Everything unjustifiableTodo injustificable
They refer it to the heavensLo remiten a los cielos

On Sundays they go to massLos domingos van a misa
And in their newspapers are publishedY en sus diarios se publican
Their hypocritical smilesSus hipócritas sonrisas
Forgiven, they mortgagePerdonados hipotecan
What does not belong to themLo que no les pertenece

And they marry among themselvesY se casan entre ellos
To create new ownersPara crear a nuevos dueños
Who will be breastfedQue serán amamantados
By some tanned breastsPor unos senos trigueños
That are never consultedQue jamás son consultados

In their words of steelEn sus palabras de acero
And in their waterproof soulsY en sus almas impermeables
The one who is poor is responsibleEl que es pobre es responsable
Because they were born without moneyPorque nació sin dinero
The pain of others is obsceneEl dolor de otro es obsceno

With their plastic smilesCon sus plásticas sonrisas
And in their icy SundaysY en sus domingos de hielo
These owners of my landEstos dueños de mi tierra
Enriched by evilDe maldad enriquecidos
Mortgage the heavensHipotecan a los cielos

The country was never poorEl país nunca fue pobre
Others have impoverished itOtros lo han empobrecido
And we are all responsibleY somos todos responsables
For having allowed themPor haberles permitido
To belch our dreamsEl que eructen nuestros sueños

Where they buy if you don't sellDonde compran si no vendes
The one who sells is defeatedSe derrota el que se vende
They defeat you if you sell yourselfTe derrotan si te vendes
They defeat us if you sell yourselfNos derrotan si te vendes
The one who sells is defeatedSe derrota el que se vende