Libre
Fr. Stan Fortuna Lyrics

Oh my beloved world
The singer addresses the world that they have both loved and struggled with

You have given me so much and yet so little
The world has both provided and withheld from the singer

Always offering an answer to my questions
The world seems to have a response for everything the singer asks

Always with a comeback for where I come from
The artist feels that the world has something to say about their origins

And yet here I stand
Despite the world's dialogue, the artist still exists and stands independently

Still full of questions of self
The singer is still searching for answers within themselves

For your responses my world,
The world's answers and responses shape how the singer sees and interacts with the world

Have been an unread subscription
Despite receiving responses from the world, the artist has not truly engaged with them or found them fulfilling

That lingers on the coffee table
The artist's unopened metaphorical subscription remains unused and overlooked like an old magazine on a coffee table

With images that grab.
Despite the artist's disinterest in the world's responses, some aspects still catch their attention

But your answers do not fill
The singer still feels empty and dissatisfied despite the world's persistent responses

So I just wanna say, "Yo soy libre"
The artist proclaims that they are free

Because I have been freed by the great I Am.
The singer attributes their freedom to God

For I am as the cobblestone on
The singer sees themselves as a cobblestone on a specific street in New York City

The Grand Concourse that call out
The singer's position calls out to others

From breaks in the asphalt
The artist's place in the world is disruptive to the norm

What was once suffocating
The artist compares their former state to suffocation

From sinful tar and stony heart
The singer's former self was weighed down by sin and a hardened heart

Has been freed from the heat of Grace
The singer believes that divine grace has liberated them from their former self

I now see through the melting-pot holes
The artist has a new perspective shaped by their experiences and hard-won freedom

And now by my presence I call out
The artist's mere existence challenges traditional views

To the world that this land on the
The artist wants to show the world that what they see is not all there is

Surface is not all there is or was
The singer believes that the world holds deeper truths than the surface reveals

Yo soy libre porque El me ha liberado
The artist reiterates that God has set them free

I am Carravagio spray painted
The singer compares themselves to a graffiti-covered painting by the artist Caravaggio

On the Spanish-Harlem wall
The singer's location is specific to the Harlem neighborhood in New York City with a large Hispanic population

The beauty is unquestionable
The singer believes that their existence, like the painting, is unquestionably beautiful

And it calls out to all
The artist's beauty is something that can attract people from any background

But some choose to dismiss it
Despite the artist's beauty, some still ignore or overlook them

As Medieval graffiti
Some see the singer as an outdated and irrelevant form of art

Chaining themselves up
Those who can't see the singer's beauty are holding themselves back

With the fetters of false ideologies
The belief systems that prevent some from recognizing the artist's worth are flawed

Worshipping the beauty of creation
Some people place too much value on the created things, rather than on the Creator

While executing in their hearts the Creator
Those who ignore the artist's beauty may simultaneously reject or harm the one who created them

Who has freed me
The singer reiterates that their freedom comes from God

I am one who stands in awe of the martyrs,
The artist admires those who have sacrificed their lives for a higher purpose

But my tastes have changed
The singer has a new perspective on who they admire and why

For once my heroes were
The singer used to look up to different people

Pancho Villa, Che and Trotsky
The singer previously admired people associated with revolutionary or anti-establishment movements in Latin America

For these died for what they believed
The artist believes their former heroes deserve admiration because they acted on their convictions

But man cannot find his end in himself
The artist now believes that humans cannot satisfy themselves through individual means alone

I too have envied the rich
The singer has also desired material wealth

Wishing it were I instead of they
The singer has struggled with jealousy

For these lived for what they achieved or received
The artist previously believed that the wealthy had meaningful lives because of their possessions or accomplishments

But man cannot be his own measure
The artist now believes that humans cannot define themselves by their own standards

So I have traded in the rhetoric of empowerment
The artist has given up their previous beliefs about individual empowerment

For the contradiction of the Cross.
The singer has replaced the idea of individual empowerment with the idea of surrendering to a higher power, represented by the symbol of the Cross

And now I know what freedom is
The artist feels more free now that they have embraced new beliefs

For what the Lord has kept from the wise and learned
The singer believes that God's truths are not necessarily exclusive to the most educated or intelligent people

He had revealed to mere children
The singer believes that people of any age can discover God's truths

That one must lose his life in order to gain it
The singer believes that self-surrender is necessary to achieve a greater purpose

Now my heroes are
The artist now admires different people

A wrinkled blue and white
The artist admires a certain person or people represented by an unspecified blue and white item

Flower from Calcutta
The person or people the singer admires are associated with Calcutta, India

A bishop of a war torn land
Another one of the singer's heroes is a religious leader from a place that has been affected by violence

Killed for preaching peace
This bishop was murdered because of their message of peace

And a man who goes throughout the world
Another one of the artist's heroes is someone who travels extensively

Clothed in white
This person is associated with the color white

Saying, "Do not be afraid"
The singer admires this person's message of courage and hope

Lord, help me not to be afraid...
The artist seeks help from God to be courageous

Lord, I need you to help me to not to be afraid...
The singer reiterates their dependency on God's help

Porque Yo soy libre,
The singer reiterates their freedom

Tu me has liberado.
The singer attributes their freedom to God

Libre.
The song ends with the refrain "Free."