Che Guevara:
Guevara the terror, fresh Kangol wearer,
(Kangol is a hat company, specializing in the type of beret that Che Guevara wore. Guevara is wearing his iconic hat, and he states that he is doing so in a virile manner. The way he delivers his name is similar to the word "give out", which, combined with the words that follow, says that he is feared.)
Ill rhyme-slayer from the '60s era!
(Guevara boasts about his rapping prowess. Even though he would be remembered for several decades to come, Guevara experienced his prime during the 1960s, where he and Castro were the heads of a new socialist Cuban government and led several social and political reforms such as improved education systems and diplomatic relations with the Soviets.)
Revolting heavy metal rebel blood-spiller,
(Guevara was a Marxist revolutionary and guerilla warfare leader. His rebellious and hardened spirit would go on to inspire several heavy metal rock musicians who share a similar counterculture attitude.)
Me and my guerrillas are a squad of killers! (Hoo!)
(Guerrillas are a small independent force of soldiers, usually a force uprising against a government. Che Guevara was part of a guerrilla force that fought in the revolution against Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship in Cuba and killed many of Batista's forces, succeeding in overthrowing him. As a guerrilla, Guevara was famous for his willingness to kill all who stood in his way. "Guerrilla" also sounds like "gorilla", hence why Guevara chants in a way that resembles a gorilla noise.)
I'm known worldwide for my steely-eyed look.
(Guevara is most famously known around the world for his iconic photograph, called Guerillero Heroico.[1], which has become a pop culture icon. He says it makes him look strong and determined.)
You're famous 'cause of Alan Moore's third best book!
(Guevara says Fawkes is only famous because his face was used for V's mask in the comic book V for Vendetta by British writer Alan Moore as well as its 2006 film adaptation. Moore has written many other critically acclaimed stories including Batman: The Killing Joke and Watchmen, which were his top selling books of all time, so V isn't even his best one.)
All the children say, "We will be like Che!"
(In Cuba, schoolchildren are taught to chant: "Pioneers for communism, we will be like Che!" Guevara uses this line to show Guy Fawkes that his ideals are still remembered and taken to heart decades after his death, whereas Fawkes was executed and had his movement suppressed.)
Asthmatic, but I'll take your breath away. (Gasp!)
(Guevara was asthmatic. However, like asthma, he will leave Fawkes "breathless," or in awe. This could also serve a double meaning, as to take a man's breath away would kill him.)
You tried to rebel against James the First.
(Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plotters sought to assassinate King James I of England (who was King of Scotland as James VI before his ascension to the English throne upon Elizabeth I's death) by blowing up the Houses of Parliament. The plot's ultimate aim was to kidnap King James' then nine-year-old daughter Princess Elizabeth Stuart from Coombe Abbey and have her installed as a puppet queen with a Catholic as regent in order to restore Roman Catholic rule to England. However, he failed and was caught in the basement with the kegs of gunpowder.)
Here's a tip for your next plot: try to rehearse!
(Guevara suggests that before Fawkes attempts another plot, he should practice beforehand. Guevara mocks Fawkes for failing at his one and only chance to start a revolution.)
I've got my face on a magnet on your roommate's fridge.
(Guevara's face has been printed on many different products, including refrigerator magnets. Guevara brags about how ubiquitous his face is.)
Your head is on a spike up on London Bridge!
(In contrast to Guevara's universal visage, Guy Fawkes only has his head on a spike at London Bridge after being dismembered following his execution, as with most traitors at the time.)
You had one job, cabrón: to strike a matchstick!
("You Had One Job" is a common expression and meme used to call attention to perceived blunders on such simple tasks. Fawkes was assigned to wait with the explosives and strike the match that would ignite them but was caught several days before the explosives were to be ignited. Guevara mocks Fawkes for failing at such a simple task as striking a match, characterizing him as a Cabrón, meaning 'dumbass' in Spanish.)
Got caught with a fuse like your bars: not lit!
(Guevara continues to mock Fawkes for his failure to ignite the explosives. "Bars" are a segment of a musical composition defined by vertical lines, and something that is "lit" is exciting. Like the fuse that he failed to light, Guevara claims that Fawkes' bars are unexciting.)
You should have stayed anonymous, Epic Fail Guy.
(Anonymous is a decentralized, international hacktivist group represented by the mask of Guy Fawkes worn by V from the aforementioned graphic novel and film that its members sometimes wear in public. Epic Fail Guy is an internet meme of a stick figure wearing the aforementioned mask failing at some task. Guevara is suggesting that Fawkes shouldn't have revealed his identity or confessed the co-conspirators of the Gunpowder Plot during interrogation about the assassination attempt. Guevara may also be demeaning Fawkes by comparing him to an internet meme, rather than recognizing him as an actual revolutionary. He may also be saying that Fawkes revealing himself was an "epic fail".)
Treat this battle like the gallows, and take another dive!
(When Guy Fawkes was being led to the gallows to be hanged for his attempted bombing, he jumped off the ladder and broke his neck, sparing him from an agonizing death of being hanged, drawn, and quartered. To "take a dive" means to intentionally lose a competition, in this case, the rap battle. Guevara suggests that Fawkes gives up the battle before he is humiliated.)
Guy Fawkes:
As a communist, it must really hurt
(Guevara, a communist, was an important figure of the Cuban Revolution, which made Cuba a one-party communist state. Fawkes is saying that it must suck for him to be a communist because...)
That your face has been cheapened, weakened, besmirched,
(...Guevara's face, especially his famous Guerillero Heroico photo, has become very iconic, but for all the wrong reasons, according to Fawkes, in the process pointing out the flaws in Guevara's line about his face on a magnet.)
Being plastered on posters, coasters, and shirts,
(In addition to the aforementioned refrigerator magnets, Guevara's face appears on a lot of merchandise such as motivational posters, coasters, and T-shirts, which are commonly bought and owned by Americans with left-leaning views. )
Making capitalists rich off of you on merch!
(The ideology of communism is often said to be opposed to capitalism and Guevara himself blamed capitalism and US imperialism for the poverty he saw during his trip through Latin America. Fawkes is saying that it is ironic that despite being a communist icon, capitalists, as represented by J. P. Morgan, are able to profit off of his image as Guevara appears on the previously mentioned merchandise that they sell. Ironically, Guy Fawkes' image has also been treated the same way as Che's because it has been appropriated by groups espousing atheist and anarchist views, a far cry from Fawkes who was a Catholic and monarchist.)
Right, I'm a pious man, and I fight for the Lord!
(Fawkes was a devout Catholic in a time when England was Protestant, which lead to him attempting to carry out his infamous plot to kill the king, replace him with a Catholic alternative, and restore Catholic rule to England. In contrast, Guevara was an atheist and the regime he helped put in power initially restricted religious practice.)
I would cut you, but I don't want your sweat on my sword!
(In communist countries like Cuba, religious practice is usually forbidden or highly restricted as it may be used as a front for anti-communist opposition (also, Karl Marx famously claimed that "Religion is the opium of the people]]). Seeing a religiously oppressive figure like Guevara, Fawkes would like to murder him. However, he claims the only reason he wouldn't cut Guevara is because his sword would get dirty from Guevara's sweat.)
I was tortured until I could hardly sign my name,
(When Guy Fawkes was captured, he was tortured until he gave up the names of his co-conspirators. By the end of the torture, he was in so much pain that his signature was undecipherable.)
And listening to you felt pretty much the same!
(Fawkes finds listening to Guevara's raps to be just as terrible as being tortured.)
(Ooh!) Face it, Ernesto: you're Castro, but less so!
(Ernesto is Guevara's real name. Fidel Castro was the right-hand man of Guevara during the Cuban Revolution. He (Castro) became the President of Cuba, staying for nearly 50 years, while Guevara was the one controlling the government behind-the-scenes.)
He's Cuba Commander, you're more of the Destro!
("Cuba Commander" is a reference to Cobra Commander, the main villain of the G.I Joe: A Real American Hero series of toys. Destro is a mercenary hired by Cobra Commander to battle the Joes. Fawkes compares Guevara to Destro, that he is a subordinate to the more successful Castro like how Destro is subordinate to Cobra Commander.)
Revolt all you want, I don't give two Guy Fawkes!
(To "give two fucks" about something means to care about it. Fawkes is making a pun on his name and saying he is apathetic to Guevara's revolutions. During this line, Guy Fawkes is showing the V sign, which simultaneously means the rude British gesture equivalent of giving someone the middle finger, the number 2 in the line, the letter V from V for Vendetta, as well as the clock hand positions at 11:05, referencing 11/5 — the day the Gunpowder Plot took place.)
But look at Venezuela: what you're fighting for sucks!
(Guevara fought in Cuba for Communism, a variety of socialism. The two terms are often used interchangeably. Venezuela is currently lead by Nicolás Maduro, a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Venezuela is going through hyperinflation and food shortages, from which Venezuelans aren't able to afford basic needs, and it is commonly used by those opposed to socialism as an example of its failures, though it is commonly argued that Venezuela is only socialist in name, or that other factors caused the current situation to develop.)
Che Guevara:
Sucks? Guy, you died for the Catholics:
(Guy Fawkes was involved in the Gunpowder Plot whose aim was to restore Catholic rule to Protestant England. Guevara responds to Fawkes's religious beliefs, referring to both his name and how Fawkes' name can be used as a reference to any male individual, by pointing out the Catholics weren't good people themselves because...)
A group with a bad "touching little boys" habit!
(...during the time the battle was released, several prominent Catholic clergymen were facing accusations of either being involved in the sexual abusing of young boys (both directly and indirectly) or allowing such to happen behind closed doors. Also, Catholic priests are often stereotyped as being homosexual pedophiles, often molesting or "bad-touching" young boys or worse. The use of 'suck' in the previous line could be interpreted as a reference to fellatio.)
And this porn star pilgrim look, what's up with that?
(Guevara claims Fawkes’ outfit makes him look like someone who is dressing up as a pilgrim in a pornographic film due to how ridiculous it looks.)
It's more like V for very bad hat!
(Yet another reference to V for Vendetta. Guevara is insulting Fawkes' hat.)
Oh! What's the Fawkes say now?
(A pun on the popular song "What Does the Fox Say?" by the Norwegian comedic group Ylvis, which is directly referenced in the next line by Fawkes. Moreover, Guevara mocks Fawkes again by comparing him to a low-brow internet meme.)
Guy Fawkes:
Ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya!
(Fawkes yelps in pain as he clutches his groin. The lyrics of the song "What Does the Fox Say?" are as the title implies, painting the fox as a mysterious creature and questioning what the animal sounds like. The joke therein is that the chorus offers several possible answers to the question which do not remotely sound like an actual fox. The sound Guy Fawkes makes here would thus fit in the song as one of the chorus lines.)
Che Guevara:
When they cut your junk out!
(Guy Fawkes was to have his testicles cut off and be disemboweled after being hanged for his punishment. It was done posthumously as he leapt off the platform and broke his neck before they could carry it out. The sounds made by Fawkes can be interpreted as an expression of the pain that would have occurred while having his testes removed.)
I'm the hardest Marxist ever graced a banknote!
(Che Guevara was a dedicated Marxist Revolutionary. The Cuban financial currency is Peso, where Guevara's iconic photograph was used on the Cuban 3 peso banknote.)
You're an error-prone terrorist! Penny for the scapegoat!
(Guy Fawkes had a very small part to play in the Gunpowder Plot and his notoriety results simply from the fact that he was the man who was caught red-handed. A scapegoat is a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings of others, which describes Fawkes having only played a small role in a plot not even masterminded by him. The second part of the line refers to the phrase "penny for the Guy," one which beggar children carrying effigies of Fawkes would utter on Guy Fawkes Night. The word "penny" is also used to contrast against the "banknote" referred to in the previous line.)
Guy Fawkes:
Don't try to boast 'bout your banknotes with Guido!
(Fawkes fought for the Spanish during the Eighty Years' War, during which he went by the name Guido. He sees Guevara's depiction on money as an undeserved honor for the reason in the following line.)
You muddled your economy like mint in a mojito!
(Guevara served as Finance Minister and President of the National Bank of Cuba. His programs were unsuccessful, and lead to a rapid drop in productivity and a rapid rise in absenteeism. A mojito is a type of South American cocktail. It's required to lightly muddle the mint, but doing it too much would ruin it, just as Guevara's attempts to create a purely communist society had negative effect. Mint also refers to a facility that produces coins.)
This very battle disproves your communist initiative:
(Fawkes says that the rap battle proves Guevara isn't a true communist as he will explain in the next line.)
These rhyme skills are not evenly distributed!
(Communism and socialism are commonly misunderstood to mean even distribution of money and goods. Fawkes is saying that this battle distributes much better rhymes to Fawkes. This could also reference on how Guevara has 4 more lines than Fawkes.)
(Augh!) I'm Catholic, I've got Mass when I'm rapping!
(Mass can refer to how heavy something is or the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist. By saying this, Fawkes is saying that his raps are hard-hitting.)
You're an ump-Che! That's Bay of Pigs Latin!
(The Bay of Pigs is a location in Cuba where a failed invasion by CIA-backed anti-Communists took place in 1961. Pig Latin is a form of code spoken by taking the first consonant in a word, moving it to the end and adding an "ay" at the end. "Chump" thus becomes "ump-Che" in Pig Latin, so Fawkes is calling Guevara a chump while making a play on his name. This could also reference on how Catholic priests were required to learn Latin.)
After what just happened, you should retire!
(Fawkes claims Guevara should just retire after being humiliated.)
Is it the 5th of November? 'Cause I'm on fire!
(The 5th of November, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, was the night on which Guy Fawkes tried to carry out the Gunpowder Plot to assassinate King James I, which eventually failed. To celebrate the King's escape, English people typically burn bonfires, sometimes with a effigy of Guy Fawkes in the fire. If someone is "on fire", it means that they're excelling on what they're doing. Also, as Guy says this line, the barrels of gunpowder around him explode, enveloping him in flames; thus, he is literally "on fire".)
Scrapped lyrics
Guy Fawkes:
Face facts, Ernesto: you're like Castro, but less so!
(This lyric is what developed into "Face it, Ernesto: you're Castro, but less so!")
He was the Cuba Commander, and you, you're basically Destro!
(This lyric is what developed into "He's Cuba Commander, you're more of the Destro!")
As a socalist, I imagine it must hurt
(This lyric is what developed into "As a communist, it must really hurt.")
Revolt all you want, I don't give two Guy Fucks!
(This lyric is what developed into "Revolt all you want, I don't give two Guy Fawkes!")
But ask Venezuela: what you're fighting for sucks!
(This lyric is what developed into "But look at Venezuela: what you're fighting for sucks!")