It’s time for another translation! This isn’t your avô’s fado, it’s a bit noisier and punkier than most of theportuguese music I’ve heard. “Quero Ser Um Ecrã” by Baleia Baleia Baleia
This is obviously about screens, and it could be any time of electronic screen, but I think it’s mostly used for handheld devices – which is presumably why they’ve got all the spectators in the video to film the whole thing and view it through their screens instead of just watching the performance. Screen is “Ecrã” in this sense. Masculine, despite the a at the end. I gather if it was a PC screen, that would be “monitor”, but tela and visor are also in use for similar kinds of surfaces – I just don’t hear them so often (Brazilian? Slang?). There’s also the word “biombo” which is the kind of screen you might find in a doctor’s surgery for example, for people to have privacy during procedures. Anyway, none of that – we’re thinking social media, mobile phones – all that stuff – happening on a screen.
| Quero Ser um Ecrã | I want to be a screen |
| E a vida, a morte, em fotos no ecrã Os dias compridos e os olhos no ecrã O mundo perdido, achado no ecrã Quero ser um ecrã E os sonhos dos outros cumpridos no ecrã O monstro do visível escondido do ecrã Quero ser um ecrã, quero ser um ecrã | And life, death, in photos on the screen The short days and the eyes on the screen The lost world, found on the screen I want to be a screen And other people’s dreams, accomplished on the screen The monster of what’s visible, hidden on the screen I want to be a screen, I want to be a screen. |
| E as balas que nunca passam do ecrã A força dos gritos, regulável no ecrã As lendas e os mitos, imortais no ecrã Quero ser um ecrã Medos e incertezas no armário do ecrã Celulite e flacidez no ginásio do ecrã Quero ser um ecrã, quero ser um ecrã | And the bullets that never pass through the screen The force of the screams, adjustable on the screen The legends and the myths, immortal on the screen I want to be a screen Fears and uncertainties in the closet of the screen Celulite and flabbiness in the gymnasium of the screen I want to be a screen, I want to be a screen |
| [Ponte] E é sempre verão no ecrã E os corpos estão sempre nús E há tantos gatinhos no ecrã E sushi E bolinhos E coisas boas | [Bridge] And it’s always summer on the screen And the bodies are always naked And there are so many kittens on the screen And sushi And little cakes And good things |
| [Hook] Quero ser um ecrã (x13) | [Hook] I want to be a screen (x13) |
Luso 