Adios Hermanos

SAL
It was the morning of October 6th, 1960
I was wearing my brown suit
Preparing to leave the house of D.
Shook some hands then adios Brooklyn amigos
Maybe some of them had hopes of seeing me again
Some even said that my judge-Judge Gerald Culkin-
Wouldn't play it by the book
Maybe let us off the hook
But, WOH-OO-WOH, I knew better.

SAL & SALVADOR
Afraid to leave the projects
To cross into another neighborhood

SAL

The blancos and the nigger gangs
Well, they'd kill you if they could.

AUREA & WOMEN

Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the world
Spanish children are taught on their knees to believe
Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the island tonight,
Mothers weep

SAL & AUREA
Sisters grieve.

SAL
Well, I entered the courtroom, state of New York
County of New York, just some spic
They scrubbed off the sidewalk
Guilty by my dress
Guilty in the press
Let The Capeman burn for the murder
Well the "Spanish boys" had their day in court
And now it was time for some fuckin' law and order
The electric chair
For the greasy pair
Said the judge to the court reporter

SAL & SALVADOR
Afraid to leave the projects
To cross into another neighborhood

SALVADOR
The newspapers and the T.V. crews
Well, they'd kill you if they could

AUREA & WOMEN
Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the world
A Spanish boy could be killed every night of the week

SAL
But just let some white boy die
And the world goes crazy for blood-Latin blood.
I don't lie when I speak.

SAL & SALVADOR
Well they shackled my hands

SAL
A heavy belt around my waist to restrain me

SAL & SALVADOR
And they shackled my legs

SAL
Hernandez, the "Umbrella Man," chained beside me
Then we rode that Black Maria
Through the streets of Spanish Harlem
Calling old friends on the corners

SAL & AUREA
Just to lay our prayers upon them

SAL
Crying
Adios Hermanos, Adios

SAL & SALVADOR
Adios Hermanos, Adios

 

Voz Principal: Paul Simon
Voces de Fondo:
Briz, Myrna Gomila, Karen Bernod, Renee Connell-Adams,
DeWayne Snype, Kia Jeffries, Ed Vasquez y Derrick James
Órgano:
Oriente Lopez
Voces de fondo grabadas por Roy Halee
Producido por Paul Simon

© 1997 Paul Simon y Derek Walcott (BMI)
Disco:
Songs From The Capeman

Ver traducción en Español

Comentarios: "Adios Hermanos" está ambientada en 1959, cuando Salvador Agrón, un joven puertorriqueño de 16 años, es arrestado y condenado a muerte por el asesinato de dos adolescentes en una pelea entre pandillas. En la canción, Agrón y otros personajes describen la discriminación que enfrentan los latinos en Nueva York, la brutalidad policial y la falta de un juicio justo.

La canción es presentada como una carta desde la prisión, en la que Agrón se despide de sus amigos ("hermanos") y expresa su desilusión con el sistema judicial. La letra evoca un sentimiento de fatalismo y resignación, mostrando cómo la sociedad ya lo ha condenado antes de que siquiera tenga la oportunidad de defenderse.

Paul Simon compuso "Adios Hermanos" en un estilo doo-wop, un género popular en la década de 1950, para reflejar la época en la que se desarrolla la historia. El contraste entre la armonía dulce del doo-wop y la dura realidad del relato le da un impacto dramático especial.

Además, la canción introduce uno de los temas centrales de The Capeman: la lucha entre el destino y la redención.