La Locomotiva

I don't know what her face looked like, or even what her name was
What kind of voice she had, or how she sang
How many years she had seen back then, what color her hair was
But in my imagination, I have her image
Heroes are all young and beautiful
Heroes are all young and beautiful
Heroes are all young and beautiful

I do know the time of the events, what her job was
The early years of the century, engineer, railroad worker
The times when the holy war of the poor began
The train seemed like a myth of progress too
Racing across the continents
Racing across the continents
Racing across the continents

And the locomotive seemed like a strange monster
That man controlled with his mind and his hand
Roaring, it left behind distances that seemed infinite
It seemed to have a tremendous power inside
The same force as dynamite
The same force as dynamite
The same force as dynamite

But another great force was spreading its wings back then
Words that said: All men are equal
And against kings and tyrants, it exploded in the streets
The proletarian bomb lit up the air
The torch of anarchy
The torch of anarchy
The torch of anarchy

A train passed by every day at her station
A luxury train, headed for a far-off destination
She saw respected people, thought of those velvets, the gold
Thought of the meager days of her people around
Thought of a train full of gentlemen
Thought of a train full of gentlemen
Thought of a train full of gentlemen

I don't know what happened, why she made the decision
Maybe an ancient rage, generations without names
That screamed for vengeance, blinded her heart
She forgot mercy, forgot her kindness
Her bomb was the steam engine
Her bomb was the steam engine
Her bomb was the steam engine

And on the tracks stood the locomotive
The pulsing machine seemed almost alive
It seemed like a young colt that, just freed from the brake
Bit the rail with muscles of steel
With the blind force of lightning
With the blind force of lightning
With the blind force of lightning

And one day like any other, but maybe with more rage in her body
She thought she had a way to right some wrongs
She climbed onto the sleeping monster, tried to push away her fear
And before thinking about what she was doing
The monster devoured the plain
The monster devoured the plain
The monster devoured the plain

The other train was running unaware and almost without hurry
No one imagined they were heading toward vengeance
But at the Bologna station, the news arrived in a flash
Emergency news, act urgently
A madman has thrown himself against the train
A madman has thrown himself against the train
A madman has thrown himself against the train

But meanwhile, the locomotive runs, runs, runs
And the steam hisses and seems almost alive
And it seems to say to the bent farmers, the whistle spreading in the air
Brother, don’t fear, I’m rushing to my duty!
Let proletarian justice triumph!
Let proletarian justice triumph!
Let proletarian justice triumph!

And meanwhile, it runs, runs, runs even faster
And runs, runs, runs, runs toward death
And nothing can hold back the immense destructive force
Just wait for the crash and then the arrival of the mantle
Of the great comforter
Of the great comforter
Of the great comforter

History tells us how the race ended
The machine derailed along a dead line
With its last animal-like scream, the machine erupted with ash and lava
It exploded against the sky, then the smoke spread the veil
They picked her up while she was still breathing
They picked her up while she was still breathing
They picked her up while she was still breathing

But we like to think of her still behind the engine
While she makes the steam engine run
And that one day we’ll still receive the news
Of a locomotive, like a living thing
Launched like a bomb against injustice
Launched like a bomb against injustice
Launched like a bomb against injustice!