Rebel Song

Now I want to talk about a rebel song, and the song I choose is "L'Estaca" of Lluís Llach. The reason why I have chosen this song is because it talks about a difficult period of the recent history of Spain, especially to the catalans. Yes, the song is talking us about the Franco regime.
In 1939 Francsico Franco won the Spanish Civil War. Then began the government of Franco, who governed until his death in 1975. 

He started a dictatorial regime, so the country became to be ruled by one person, Franco. This dictatorship, as others around the world, is a authoritarianism government, so the politicians regulate every aspect of the public and private behavior of the people. In Catalonia, for example, he banned the Catalan language in the public sector, and in all Spain he imposed the Spanish language at the schools.

The song of Lluís Llach was composed around 1975, and "L'Estaca", the stake, symbolizes the authoritarianism government of Franco. The song tells us that if we fight together we can drop the stake and we will be free again.

Answering to the question if I rebel against this, I must say yes, because nowadays we are living a similar situation in Catalonia. We only have to see how the people go to the streets on 11th of September shouting to the world, and to the Spanish government, that the catalans want to be free. So, forty years after the ending of the Franco government, in Catalonia we are living again a long argument against the Spanish government. It seems that they prefer a bad flatmate than a good neighbour. So, in my opinion, we can sing this song again, and it will have the same meaning than in 1975. 

The Stake

The old Siset talked to me
on the porch during dawn
while we waited for the sun
and watched the carts passing by.

Siset, don't you see the stake
to which we are all tied?
If we can not separate us from it,
then we can never walk!

If we all pull, it will fall
and it will not endure for long,
it is sure that it falls, falls, falls,
it should already be well rotten.

If you pull hard here,
and I pull hard there,
it is sure that it falls, falls, falls,
and we can liberate ourselves.

But, Siset, so much time has passed,
the hands are being flayed,
and when my strength goes away,
it will be wider and bigger.

I very well know that it is rotten,
but it is just, Siset, that it weighs so much
so that sometimes my strength leaves me.1
Tell me your song again.

If we all pull, it will fall
and it will not endure for long,
it is sure that it falls, falls, falls,
it should already be well rotten.

If you pull hard here,
and I pull hard there,
it is sure that it falls, falls, falls,
and we can liberate ourselves.

The old Siset now said nothing.
A bad wind came about
- he knows towards where -
and I went under the porch.

And while the new lads passed by,
I stretched my throat to sing
the last song of Siset,
the last that he taught me.

If we all pull, it will fall
and it will not endure for long,
it is sure that it falls, falls, falls,
it should already be well rotten.

If you pull hard here,
and I pull hard there,
it is sure that it falls, falls, falls,
and we can liberate ourselves