Adagio in My Country
In my country, how sad,
poverty and animosity.
My father says that another time will come
from the depth of time,
and he tells me that the sun will shine
on a people who he dreams will be
working their green land.
In my country, how sad,
poverty and animosity.
You didn’t ask for war,
Mother Earth, I know.
My father says that just one traitor
can handle a thousand brave people;
he feels that the people, in their immense pain today,
refuse to drink
from the clear source of honor.
You didn’t ask for war,
Mother Earth, I know.
In my country we are tough,
the future will show that.
My people sing a song of peace.
Behind every door
my people are alert,
and no one can silence their song,
and tomorrow they will sing again.
In my country we are tough,
the future will show that.
In my country, how weak, at dawn.
My people say that they can read
destiny in their hands of labor
and that there is no prophet, nor is there any king,
who can mark the path that they will follow.
In my country, how weak, at dawn.
In my country we are thousands and thousands
of tears and rifles,
a fist and a vibrant song,
a burning flame, a giant who shouts:
Onward! Onward!
In my country, I know,
the people’s sun will shine again, burning bright,
illuminating my land.
This video, set to the song “Adagio en mi país” (written and composed by Alfredo Zitarrosa, an Uruguayan singer and composer as well as poet and journalist, in 1973, the year of the military coup in Uruguay which lasted until 1985), was brought online on 5 July 2009. The text above is an English translation of the lyrics of the song. Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com).