Sarcofagia - The Practice of Eating Meat

Fu nefasta e temibile l’età del tempo Di profonda e irrimediabile povertà Quando ancora non si distingueva l’aurora dal tramonto Quando l’aria della prima origine mischiata a torbida E instabile umidità al fuoco ed alla furia dei venti Celava il cielo e gli astri Come può la vista sopportare l’uccisione di esseri Che vengono sgozzati e fatti a pezzi Non ripugna il gusto berne gli umori e il sangue Le carni agli spiedi crude E c’era come un suono di vacche Non è mostruoso desiderare di cibarsi Di un essere che ancora emette suoni Sopravvivono i riti di sarcofagia e cannibalismo Sopravvivono i riti di sarcofagia e cannibalismo Fu nefasta e temibile l’età del tempo Di profonda e irrimediabile povertà Quando ancora non si distingueva l’aurora dal tramonto Quando l’aria della prima origine mischiata a torbida E instabile umidità al fuoco ed alla furia dei venti Celava il cielo e gli astir Sopravvivono i riti di sarcofagia e cannibalismo Sopravvivono i riti di sarcofagia e cannibalismo Sarcofagia © 2001 Franco Battiato & Manlio Sgalambro "Sarcofagia" uses images and material taken from Plutarch's De Esu Carnium, a treatise written when he was young arguing against eating meat. Battiato became a vegetarian sometime in the 1990s.

It was nefarious and terrifying the age of the time of deep and hopeless poverty, when they still didn’t distinguish sunrise from sunset, when the air of the first origin, mixed with turbid and unstable humidity, from the fire and the fury of the winds concealed the sky and the stars. How can sight stand the killing of beings that become slaughtered and made into pieces. Drinking the juices and blood isn’t repugnant, the raw meats on the skewers, and there was something like a sound of cows. It’s not monstrous to desire to feed oneself a being that still emits sounds. The rites of flesh eating and cannibalism survive. The rites of flesh eating and cannibalism survive. It was nefarious and terrifying the age of the time of deep and hopeless poverty, when they still didn’t distinguish sunrise from sunset, when the air of the first origin, mixed with turbid and unstable humidity, from the fire and the fury of the winds concealed the sky and the stars. The rites of flesh eating and cannibalism survive. The rites of flesh eating and cannibalism survive. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Ferro Battuto was released in 2001, with a sound decidedly more pop than Gommalacca, reflecting a desire on Battiato's part to communicate more directly with his public. The lyrics on most of the songs were co-written by Battiato and Manlio Sgalambro.

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