Translation of the song La Consciència artist Joan Manuel Serrat
La Consciència
The conscience
Ens l'encolomen des de la infantesa.
They hammer it into us since childhood.
És partidista i desproporcionada.
Is partisan and disproportionate.
Complement del pecat
Complement of sin
I del remordiment,
and remorse,
No ens deixa dormir en pau i ens treu la gana.
it doesn't let us sleep peacefuly and makes us lose the appetite.
Ens emmotlla a un guió convencional
It adjusts us to a common script
On gairebé mai som protagonistes.
where we're almost never the leading roles.
La consciència, senyors,
The conscience, gentlement,
Ens fa amagar a les golfes
makes us hide in the attic
El que hauria d'estar a l'aparador.
what should be in the sideboard.
N'hi hauria prou amb el respecte, la sinceritat
It'd be enough with respect, sincerity
I una miqueta de benevolència.
and a little bit of benevolence.
Però ens pengen, sense cap necessitat,
But they hang on us, without any need
La llufa de la consciència.
the stigma of the conscience.
És del tot anticonstitucional.
It's completely anticonstitutional.
Fomenta la mentida i aliena.
It promotes lying and alienation.
No ens deixa bellugar
It doesn't let us move
Amb espontaneïtat.
with spontaneity.
La quintacolumnista del sistema.
It's the fifth columnist of the system.
Em porta pel camí del pedregar.
It drags me through the stony road.
No se'n pot estar, de passar factura
It can't stop taking its toll
Ni de picar-me els dits
or biting my fingers
Quan estem canviant cromos
when we're trading cards
Que a mi em falten i tu tens repetits.
and I lack and you have repeated.
De fora manen lleis i reglaments
From outside they send laws and rules
I de dins ella completa la bronca.
and inside it completes the anger.
Això no pot anar bé.
That can't be going well.
De seguida es veu que
Suddenly is seen that
Algú vol fer entrar el clau per la cabota.
someone wants to hammer the nail by the point.
Què hi deu haver darrera tot això?
What must be behind all this?
Qui ens confon les necessitats i els vicis?
Who is mixing needs with vices?
Alliberem els sentits
Lets set the senses free
I, com diu la policia,
and, like the police says,
Investiguem els qui en treuen profit.
find out who's getting profits.