Truth in quotation marks

The clash between the illusion of justice and the reality of media manipulation. Driven by the heavy groove of Manguebeat, the track narrates the frustration of a citizen watching a police raid against the powerful, only to witness the news being hollowed out, tailored, and distorted by the masters of consensus. An acidic critique of the illusion of information in a society where the news has become "truth between quotation marks."

Behind the Scenes: "Verdade Entre Aspas" was born from the impact of studying the book Media by linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky. The work exposes how mainstream media outlets shape consensus and manufacture public opinion to protect private interests and untouchable figures, serving as the spark for the composition. The song portrays the exact moment when optimism gives way to disgust. The protagonist initially celebrates the arrest of corrupt figures on Faria Lima Avenue by the Federal Police, believing that justice has finally arrived. However, subsequent developments reveal the shielding of the guilty and the omission of what is fundamental. Choosing Maracatu and Manguebeat is a way to use the drums of the periphery and distorted guitars to break the comfortable silence of the boardrooms where the world is sketched.

Federal Police inside a building on Faria Lima,
(PF em prédio na Faria Lima,)

They have the powerful in their crosshairs.
(Tem poderosos na mira.)

This time there will be no way out!
(Dessa vez não vai ter saída!)

I can't believe it! ... Finally, justice! ...
(Não acredito! ... Enfim justiça! ...)

Another news scoop.
(Mais um furo de reportagem.)

A suitcase full of money in the garage.
(Mala de dinheiro na garagem.)

The origin is unknown.
(A origem não é conhecida.)

He tried to flee, caught at the exit.
(Tentou fugir, preso na saída.)

No resources left, indicted,
(Sem recurso, indiciado,)

The thug is a "friend of high society".
(Meliante é "amigo da vida".)

They're all mixed up together.
(Todos junto e misturado.)

But the guilty one, the media avoids.
(Mas o culpado a mídia evita.)

They deny me what I saw,
(Me negam o que eu vi,)

They omit what is fundamental.
(Omitem o fundamental.)

They patch up what I know,
(Costuram o que sei,)

I no longer know what is real.
(Já não sei o que é real.)

I see myself drowning
(Me vejo afogado)

In quicksand,
(Na areia movediça,)

In the water, in the shallows,
(Na água, no raso,)

In a labyrinth with no exit.
(No labirinto sem saída.)

The eye burns with the glare of the screen,
(Olho arde com brilho da tela,)

The throat doesn't speak inside the cell.
(A garganta não fala na cela.)

My eyes are full of splinters:
(Meus olhos estão cheios de farpas:)

The news is truth between quotation marks!
(Notícia é verdade entre aspas!)

Explosions, screams, and smoke,
(Explosões, gritos e fumaça,)

If what I saw disappeared on paper,
(Se o que vi sumiu no papel,)

What I don't see makes me the defendant.
(O que não vejo me torna réu.)

They tell me there is nothing to be done.
(Me dizem não tem o que se faça.)

So many facts and so many versions,
(São tantos fatos e tantas versões,)

The Earth became flat on paper,
(A Terra ficou plana no papel,)

Decisions made in boardrooms.
(Decisão em salas de reuniões.)

They sketched borders back in the barracks.
(Rascunharam fronteiras no quartel.)

The eye burns with the glare of the screen,
(Olho arde com brilho da tela,)
The throat doesn't speak inside the cell.
(A garganta não fala na cela.)
My eyes are full of splinters:
(Meus olhos estão cheios de farpas:)
The news is truth between quotation marks!
(Notícia é verdade entre aspas!)

I open the window, the horizon is immense,
(Abro a janela, o horizonte é imenso,)

Far beyond the shadows of what is consensus.
(Muito além das sombras daquilo que é consenso.)

Speaking the truth brings no honors.
(Falar o real não dá honras.)

In this soup of half-truths...
(Nesse caldo de meias verdades...)

Being sincere is the ultimate fraud.
(Ser sincero é a maior fraude.)