Este Madrid (Versión 1978)

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a stark, almost surreal portrait of Madrid, starting with a sense of defiant unity between two people despite physical separation. They share vices and a feeling of freedom, finding a supposed sanctuary in Atocha's clean air. This initial setup, however, is immediately undercut by the brutal, visceral chorus: "Es una mierda este Madrid / Que ni las ratas pueden vivir." This jarring contrast sets the stage for a deeply cynical, almost nihilistic view of the city. The second verse takes a sharp turn into dark satire, envisioning a desire for a nuclear power plant not for progress, but for destruction. The target is the city's own vegetation, framed as an obstruction to construction, and the lyrics explicitly call for the elimination of anti-nuclear activists. This section feels like a fever dream of unchecked industrial ambition and violent suppression, highlighting a perverse desire to obliterate nature and dissent. The final verse offers a bewildering meta-commentary, telling the listener to disregard the song's message because it's all a lie. The narrator then lists a series of desired comforts – pure air, beer, bacon, sausage, firewood, coal, a woman, and a mattress – creating a bizarre juxtaposition of basic survival needs and simple pleasures. It’s a desperate, almost absurd craving for tangible, primal satisfactions amidst the proclaimed falsehoods and the oppressive urban environment. The song's power lies in its relentless negativity and its abrupt shifts in perspective. The initial camaraderie dissolves into a critique of destructive industrialism and then into a self-negating confession of lies. The stark imagery of rats unable to survive in the city's filth, repeated throughout the chorus, serves as a potent, unforgettable emblem of Madrid's utter desolation as depicted here.