Fue Terrible Aquel Año

That year was terrible, of drought and fear.
That year was terrible, remembering it is good.
The right-wing won, a bitter year in politics.
And doctors couldn't find a vaccine for AIDS.

That year was terrible, children were dying in Africa.
And right here on my street, they killed a homeless beggar,
An unhappy prostitute, an abused wife.
That year was terrible, the Balkans were smoking.

That year was terrible, the days were cold
and getting shorter. The months were rivers,
dragging abandonment. Love was forgotten.
There were no clouds, no rain. Autumn was forbidden.

That year was terrible, they held conventions
about the ozone layer, and men broke
the moratorium on hunting wolves and whales.
That year was terrible, blood was shed in Chechnya.

That year was terrible, the days were cold
and getting shorter. The months were rivers,
dragging abandonment. Love was forgotten.
There were no clouds, no rain. Autumn was forbidden.

That year was terrible, of hunger, of war,
of persecuted ideas, of prayers and misery.
That year was terrible, I can't forget.
That year was terrible when you, you left me,
you left me.