I mentioned Eurovision a couple of days ago and it reminded me of this song, e Depois do Adeus by Paulo de Carvalho, which has to be a strong candidate for the Eurovision entry that had the most impact in the real world. As you can see, it’s straight out of the seventies, with the sideburns and the big collar, and it’s hard to imagine anything more Conservative sounding (although this guy, for example, thinks there is a social criticism buried in the poetry of the lyrics)
So how did it come to have an impact? In a way, it was catapulted to a place in history by its very conservatism. It was the Portuguese entry in the 6th of April 1974 in Brighton. It was pretty popular and wasn’t banned, so it was used as a signal on the 25th of April 1974 at 10.55, for the troops involved in the Movimento das Forças Armadas to get ready, armed and at their post. Nobody listening, who wasn’t in on the plot, would have thought it a strange choice, so if the leadership had had to back out at the last minute there would have been no suspicions aroused. Later the same evening, when it was decided that everything was in place and the plan could go ahead, a second song was played, namely Grândola, Vila Morena, which was a revolutionary song by Jose Afonso, that had been banned by the Novo Estado since its release in 1971. Once that was transmitted by Radio Renascença, everyone knew shit had got real. The convoy left their barracks and there was no turning back.
Here are the lyrics.
Quis saber quem sou /I wanted to know who I am
O que faço aqui /What I’m doing here
Quem me abandonou /Who abandoned ne
De quem me esqueci /Who I had forgotten
Perguntei por mim /I asked for myself
Quis saber de nós /I wanted to know about us
Mas o mar /But the sea
Não me traz /Didn’t bring me
Tua voz /Your voice
Em silêncio, amor /In silence, love
Em tristeza enfim /In sadness, finally
Eu te sinto, em flor /I feel you flowering
Eu te sofro, em mim /I feel you, in me
Eu te lembro, assim /I remind you like this
Partir é morrer /That to leave is to die
Como amar / Just as to love
É ganhar /Is to win
E perder /and to lose
Tu vieste em flor /I saw you in flower
Eu te desfolhei /I plucked off your petals
Tu te deste em amor /You gave yourself in love
Eu nada te dei /i didn’t give you anything
Em teu corpo, amor /In your body, love
Eu adormeci /I slept
Morri nele /I died in it
E ao morrer /and by dying
Renasci /was reborn
E depois do amor /And after the love
E depois de nós /And after us
O dizer adeus /The saying goodbye
O ficarmos sós /And being alone
Teu lugar a mais /Too much space for you
Tua ausência em mim /Your absence in me
Tua paz /Your peace
Que perdi /That I lost
Minha dor que aprendi /My pain that I learned
De novo vieste em flor /I saw you again in flower
Te desfolhei /I plucked off your petals
E depois do amor /And after the love
E depois de nós /And after us
O adeus /the goodbye
O ficamos sós /The being alone
Luso 