Closely related to the post about vir and chegar: what’s the difference between “vir a saber” and “vir saber”? Well, I’m glad you asked!
Vir a saber, as you’ll know if you read “The Spy Who Chegged Me” is a way of saying that you came to know something, perhaps in a slightly roundabout way, by chance, but the light dawned and then you knew.
Vir Saber is more like “I came to find out”.
This is good because I had been wondering how to interpret a line in one of the poems (it’s a song, actually) that I learned a week or two back. the people in the next room either “finally got to know about us” or “came to find out about us”. Well, now I know so here we go with a translation of the whole thing
| Portuguese | English |
| Bem te avisei, meu amor Que não podia dar certo Que era coisa de evitar | I gave you fair warning, my love That this wasn’t going to turn out well And it was something best avoided |
| Como eu, devias supor Que, com gente ali tão perto Alguém fosse reparar | Like me, you have to suppose That with people so nearby Someone was going to notice |
| Mas não Fizeste beicinho E como numa promessa Ficaste nua para mim | But no You made a pouty face And as if in a promise Got naked for me |
| Pedaço de mau caminho Onde é que eu tinha a cabeça Quando te disse que sim | Bit of a wrong turn Where was my head at When I said yes to you |
| Embora tenhas jurado Discreta permanecer Já que não estávamos sós | Although you had sworn To remain discreet Since we weren’t alone |
| Ouvindo na sala ao lado Teus gemidos de prazer Vieram saber de nós | Hearing in the room next door Your moans of pleasure They came to find out about us |
| Nem dei pelo que aconteceu Mas mais veloz e mais esperta Só te viram de raspão | I didn’t even know what had happened But being faster and smarter They only caught a brief glimpse of you |
| A vergonha passei-a eu Diante da porta aberta Estava de calças na mão | I went through the shame In front of the open door With my trousers in my hand |
It’s great isn’t it! Lots of really good stuff in there. The one line that I really had trouble understanding was the first line of the last stanza “A vergonha passei-a eu” which seems like he’s saying “I passed her the shame” as if he were trying to blame it all on the girl, but that doesn’t make sense for all sorts of reasons. The “-a” on the end of passei is actually referring to “a vergonha”. So it’s like “The shame, I passed through it”. Normally in conversation you’d say “passei pela vergonha” but poetic license applies. Here’s the full thing. I’ve probably posted it on here before but I just love it so much it’s worth repeating.
Luso 