Inno verdano [English translation]

Take up your rifle, get your cannon ready

Protect the goldilocks Greener 1

Send away the n*gger, stab the Southerner

And serve your people with bright honor

Though I’m from the Gargano 2

I dream of becoming a Greener

Dry your tears, mom, I take my ass

To factories we don’t even have 3

Let my hand go, I say, let go

‘cause since I was born I crave for the Greener State

No, I don’t love what’s below my meridian 4

When I was a child I used to hate

The guy living on the first floor

On my school desk I would draw borders

No stickers of Rijkaard and Guillit 5

Boys and girls in the schoolyard

I was green with rage 6

I would put my Monopoly pawns in prison

Fine, I’m fine with my role, I fly!

I’m not alone, we’re many

The Greenia calls to arm, I enlist

With my cucumber-green uniform I…

I want a secessionist Greenia

With a secessionist flag

A secessionist girlfriend

To have secessionist sex

A secessionist apartment

With secessionist furniture

Secessionist waste collection

What on Earth is going on?

We will march on Robber-Rome 7

Because who goes to Rome takes his seat 8

At first that guy heating up at the rally 9

Looked like a drunkard on St. Patrick’s Day

Talking from an orifice dirty with prejudice

To an audience on loan from the Egyptian Museum

Now I understand how he was right

Now that I’m a soldier of a State with no South

Now that we’re out of toilet paper

But that’s not a problem

I’m using the Constitution instead 10

Now that my ambition is to do a cleansing

A spring one or an ethnic one

My stick is hard 11 so I’ll stick it everywhere 12

For the power of the water of the Po river 13

The Greener people just can’t wait

For the tearing secession from Italy

And if that wall in Germany falls

Who gives a shit, I’ll build one in Greenia, because…

I want a secessionist Greenia

With a secessionist newspaper

A secessionist newscast

With a secessionist journalist

A secessionist catwalk

With a secessionist model

The dream of any secessionist

What on Earth is going on?

We’ll conquer the subdivided state TV 14

To find a job for our newspaper director

I want to become a drunkard Greener

Spit while talking a broken Italian

I, servant of a State

That discriminates those who aren’t like me

I want to passionately wave

The Italian flag with no white nor red 15

I want to praise the exalted MP

Who wants the immigrant humiliated and beaten

I want to denigrate prostitutes

Disinfecting the trains they’re on 16

A matter of skin you can’t question

I’m pure as air, a health tool

I want to swear loyalty to the senatùr 17

I want to have revenge for my Pearl Harbour 18

Something that would make spin in their caskets

Gaetano Salvemini 19 and the count of Cavour 20

So follow me: let’s go to Greenia

All the Italians: let’s go to Greenia

All the Ottomans: let’s go to Greenia

All the Venusians: let’s go to Greenia

All the Andeans and the Aztecs: let’s go to Greenia

All the Kazak and the Uzbeks: let’s go to Greenia

All the Arditis and Galatis: 21 let’s go to Greenia

Where there’s job, profits and food

I want a secessionist Greenia

With a secessionist flag

A secessionist girlfriend

To have secessionist sex

A secessionist apartment

With secessionist furniture

Secessionist waste collection

What on Earth is going on?

Take up your rifle, get your cannon ready

Protect the goldilocks Greener

Send away the n*gger, stab the Southerner...

1. The original word, Verdano, is pun on "Padania" (the Po valley in Northern Italy, which the Lega Nord party want[ed?] to secede from Italy) and "verde" (green, the colour of the Lega). It is translated as "Greenia/Greener" just because Greenland actually exists :\2. Gargano is an area of a Southern region of Italy, Puglia, which is also the Author’s actual birthplace.3. Southern Italy is historically less developed and less industralised than the Northern region.4. Geographically speaking, it should say “parallel”. This is probably a poetic licence, less likely a reference to the low cultural level Lega Nord voters and members are often accused of.5. Famous Dutch soccer players (of African descent) in the 90s AC Milan. Soccer stickers collection is a popular hobby for children.6. Lit. “green with bile”, an Italian idiom here used to refer to the Lega Nord colour.7. Reference to the Fascist “march on Rome”, which lead Mussolini to power. “Roma Ladrona” (“Robber Rome”) is a popular slogan used by Lega Nord.8. A pun on a popular Italian idiom which says “who goes to Rome loses his seat”, often used as a reply when someone who had left a seat on a bus or in a public place comes back and demands the seat back. The Author refers to the cliché of the politician who’s elected (“takes a seat”) and then is tipically reluctant to resign.9. Reference to the rallies of the Lega Nord founder, Umberto Bossi, which were considered to be fiery by his supporters, but rather vulgar by the opponents.10. Bossi infamously said “I’m gonna clean my ass with the Italian flag”. The reference here is to the Constitution instead, because many of the campaign promises of Lega Nord were unconstitutional, like the secession of the North, or many racist immigration policies.11. Another infamous slogan used by Bossi is that members and supporters of Lega Nord “have the d*ck hard”, as (supposedly) a sign of strong ideals and determination.12. The Italian word for “cleaning with a broom” also means “to have sex”. The Author has censored the word “d*ck” with “(broom) stick” to make the pun work better.13. During the ever-folkloristic Lega Nord annual conventions, Bossi would bring a glass jug filled with water he had taken from the Po river springs, as Po river is one of the symbols of Northern Italy. Bossi would also “baptize” some members of his party with that water.14. State TV and others State-owned companies are usually "subdivided" between the government parties upon each new election.15. The Italian flag is green, white and red, while the Lega Nord colour is green.16. As one of the former Lega Nord MPs, Borghezio, did in order to mock the many African women who were there.17. Since Bossi’s election to the Italian Senate, he’s being referred to as the “senatùr”, the Northern dialect word for “senator”.18. One of the many examples used by Lega Nord propaganda.19. Italian Medival history professor and socialist politician (1873-1957), known for his anti-fascist activity. He’s also a distant relative of the Author (whose actual name is Michele Salvemini).20. Camillo Benso, count of Cavour. Major political figure of the Italian independence wars and first Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy.21. “Arditi Galati” is an Italian bank.

• Artist:Caparezza
• Album:Habemus Capa