Ilegal Lyrics in English by Plastilina Mosh, Al Jourgensen
Adoctrinar means “to indoctrinate,” or to teach someone to accept a set of beliefs without questioning them. In the song, the speaker uses it ominously while promising to impose a saving religion, making this distinctive word especially memorable and revealing of the song’s themes of control and authority.
“Ilegal” feels like a warning broadcast from an unseen authority. The speaker watches Earth from “mi satélite espía” [my spy satellite], using a “cruel metralleta” [cruel machine gun], while insisting that nobody asked for his permission or opinion. He mocks public talk about revolutions, tyrants, and thieves, then says, “La vida es culera” [life is fucking harsh], using culera as blunt Mexican slang for something nasty or unfair. “No hay devoluciones” [there are no returns] makes life sound like a bad purchase you cannot take back. The central message is “este mensaje es ilegal” [this message is illegal], as if speaking the truth itself breaks the rules.
The song gets even sharper when this hidden watcher claims to control everyday life: “Tu libre albedrío es mío” [your free will is mine]. He follows people without being seen, delays their well-being, teaches them how to live, judges them, and says he will indoctrinate them with a religion because God told him to observe them. That polite-sounding “Te voy a felicitar” [I’m going to congratulate you] next to threats and control is especially darkly funny. The repeated image of “un bandido que acecha el nido” [a bandit stalking the nest] suggests a predator waiting until people leave, then slipping into their private space. With Plastilina Mosh from Mexico featuring Al Jourgensen, the song turns surveillance, authority, and forced obedience into a theatrical villain’s speech, then asks a pointed question: “¿Y qué tal si yo no estuviera aquí / y tuvieras que tomar decisiones por ti?” [What if I weren’t here, and you had to make decisions for yourself?]
