Un político español and the eternal wait for an honest one

We'll have to wait. And wait. And keep waiting. The song starts with the patience of a health-centre waiting room, expecting something that never seems to arrive: an honest politician to vote for.

The answer comes straight away, with street sarcasm: well, don't hold your breath («espera sentado», wait sitting down). It's what your grandmother, your neighbour or the waiter in the bar downstairs tells you when you bring up the subject. I love that the lyrics sound exactly like that conversation, the one at the bar, after lunch, the one had in any home in Spain when the news comes on.

Fed up, unfiltered

There are no subtleties or weighty analyses here. There's being fed up, and it's said with the words people use when they're really fed up. Thieving politicians are a real pain in the balls, and the lyrics say so, without apologising. That frankness is part of the humour. Nobody is looking for a political science treatise. It's the outburst of someone who has been taken for a ride too many times.

My favourite line is the fake surprise: «No sabía yo que para ser un político español / es imprescindible ser un ladrón» ("I didn't know that to be a Spanish politician / being a thief is essential"). That "I didn't know" is pure castizo irony, like someone pretending to just find out about something they've been watching all their life.

The ending widens the focus and gives it a historical perspective full of sly humour. According to the lyrics, they've been thieves since the days of the Bourbons, and they take turns every so often to walk off with what they squeeze out of you in taxes. That idea of taking turns, of some leaving and others arriving to do the same, is probably the most widespread feeling among voters in this country. The song sums it up in four lines.

I like that it doesn't point at any particular party. The title speaks of a Spanish politician, any one, singular and generic. Everyone can put whatever face they like on it, and that's part of the fun.

To listen to on election day, on the way to the polling station. Or on the night of the count, when you check once again that the honest one wasn't standing either.

The full lyrics are further down. Listen on Spotify