It seems appropriate to post a little Manu Chao after that last post. Born in the Basque region of Spain, Chao (born Jose-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao) and his family fled to Paris to escape Francisco Franco’s regime. Their strong conviction for social justice and equality deeply influenced Chao and comes up often in his folk rock music.
Chao’s always been an avid musician and worked with British rockabilly outfit, Hot Pants in the mid-80s. He had bigger things in mind, however, and struck out on his own as the century came to an end, releasing the critically acclaimed Clandestino in 1998. Sung in myriad languages, the album became an international smash, although didn’t get quite enough recognition here in the States. Nor did his two follow up albums.
This here’s the video for the titular track from his aforementioned solo debut. We’ve included an English translation after the jump. Regular babel fish, we are…
Alone I go with my sorrow
Alone goes my sentence
To run is my destiny
To escape the law
Lost in the heart of the great Babylon
They call me
clandestine
For not having any papersTo a city of the north
I went to work
I left my life
Between Ceuta and
Gibraltar
I’m a line in the sea
A ghost in the city
My life is forbidden
So says the authorityAlone I go with my sorrow
Alone goes my sentence
To run is my destiny
For having no papers
Lost in the heart
Of the great Babylon
They call me clandestine
I’m the lawbreakerBlack Hand clandestine
Peruvian clandestine
African clandestine
Marihuana illegalAlone I go with my sorrow
Alone goes my sentence
To run is my destiny
To escape the law
Lost in the heart of the great Babylon
They call me
clandestine
For not having any papersAlgerian, Clandestine
Nigerian, Clandestine
Bolivian, Clandestine
Black Hand, Illegal
javier
i like very much Manu Chao. A kiss from Spain. 🙂
Ash
Manu Chao is awesome because of the awesome song “Bong Bong” about a little monkey who plays the bongos. You should put THAT up too.
Michael
That was a nice flashback – thanks! Manu Chao rocks!
Jim Burroway
I’ve been a fan of Manu Chao for years. Thanks for the video!