Sérgio Godinho

Sérgio Godinho, singer, writer and all-round renaissance man, has been working for 50 years now and Radio Comercial produced this really nice video of other musicians covering one of his best known songs. Of course, this sort of ensemble cast has been besmirched by that Imagine song in 2020, but they go a long way toward redeeming it.

I don’t recognise all the participants but I’ve definitely mentioned A Garota Não, António Zambujo, Miguel Araújo, Tiago Bettencourt, Ana Bacalhau, Claudia Pascoal, Tim from Xutos e Pontapés. I’m a little surprised I’ve never mentioned Camané apart from a couple of passing references. His eyebrows alone deserve their own blog post. And I’d been thinking of doing something about Os Quatro e Meia, but hadn’t got around to it yet

Aside from playing spot the celebrity, there’s a lot to look at in the video: there are shots taken in front of A Ponte D Luís in Porto, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, and a mural by Vhils. You should also be able to spot where they’ve tried to mock up some of his album covers too. Compare this discography – I can see a couple (Samuel Úria and David Fonseca), but I feel like I’m probably missing some because a few of the scenes look so staged that they seem like the director is trying to set up the shot – like at 2.02 Diogo Piçarra is sitting on a park bench and as he sings the line he puts his elbow up on the backrest, then 7 seconds later at 2.09 João Só does the exact same thing but on the other side. That’s not a coincidence! Likewise the weird quantum superposition of Rita Redshoes on the same bench at 1:56 looks like it’s not just random.

A lot of them I’d never heard of before, or heard of but never sat down and listened to, so I picked on a few who took my interest:

• Capicua is quite interesting – she’s one of the first on screen. She’d broken the dress code by just turning up in normal clothes instead of being in her finery. I am not a rap aficianado, so I wasn’t really moved by her stuff, but her videos are quite interesting and worth a look. My favourite actual song is “Maria Capaz“, which is obviously a wordplay on Maria Rapaz, and I like that she’s turned it around and made it a good thing like that. Very good!
• I feel like there’s split in the genders of the singers: Most of the guys are showbiz veterans like Palma, Abrunhosa and Ribeirinho, all grizzled and weatherbeaten. Then there are people like Zambujo and Araújo in the next generation down, younger than me but not exactly spring chickens; and there is a fair sprinkling of young dudes in there too. The women, on the other hand, are almost all young, hot and immaculately groomed. I don’t really see any female fadistas of that older generation, coming out of retirement. I wonder if they were asked. The only woman I noticed who looks like she had done the hard miles and approaching his level of seniority was Mafalda Veiga, who is straight after Capicua. She seems to have done quite a lot of duets with the other musicians in the video (here) and I liked that there was someone there representing for us grown-ups.
• Buba Espinho is the least rock star-looking person I’ve ever seen and I checked out a video of his and it’s charming because he acts like a big ol’ doofus as well. His music’s Ok though and I don’t hold it against him that he isn’t trying to be super-cool in the american style. There are videos of him doing more straightforward Fado too and he looks more at home there.
• Carolina Deslandes is also fine but I didn’t feel the need to buy all her music. That’s a shame because she has an amazing voice.
• Rui Ribeirinho seems like an interesting guy. He’s from a band called GNR – not to be confused either with Guns ‘n’ Roses or with the Banda da Guarda Nacional Repúblicana. They’ve been around since the eighties and they’re still rockin’. HOLD THE PHONE – My wife’s just told me she met him at a party once! What the actual fuck?
• Rita Redshoes is someone I’d heard of but never paid much attention to. I quite liked this video where she is surrounded by Caretos… wait, why don’t I have any posts about Caretos? I could have sworn I’d written about them a few months back but I can’t find it now. Oh well, add it to the to-do list. Rita Redshoes has a very diverse back catalogue. There are some in english, this children’s show and even some relaxing white noise to send you to sleep!
• Pedro Abrunhosa is another name I know but I’ve never listened to. I can’t say I was that interested to be honest. Sorry, Pedro. He’s been around a long time though. I might put him on my Spotify for a while and see if I can find something I like. Listen to the crowd on this video – they love him!
• Sara Correia has a cracking set of pipes – she really belts it out, sailing that line between fado and more commercial pop, a bit like Ana Moura. She and Abrunhosa have collaborated before in the past on a fundraiser for Ukraine and it’s really powerful. Better when she’s singing than him, it must be said, but powerful all the same. Oh and she’s singing at Cadogan Hall in February – right, get that one in the diary!

Let’s do the lyrics, shall we? Lots of passive voice here: it’s going to be difficult to render it into english without sounding affected but I’ll do my best.

Portuguese	English
A principio é simples, anda-se sozinho Passa-se na rua bem devagarinho Está-se bem no silêncio e no borburinho Bebe-se as certezas num copo de vinho E vem-nos à memória uma frase batida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida	At first it’s simple, walk alone It happens in the road, nice and slowly It’s OK in the silence and the noise Certainties are drunk in a glass of wine And a well-worn phrase comes to mind Today is the first day of the rest of your life Today is the first day of the rest of your life
Pouco a pouco o passo faz-se vagabundo Dá-se a volta ao medo, dá-se a volta ao mundo Diz-se do passado, que está moribundo Bebe-se o alento num copo sem fundo E vem-nos à memória uma frase batida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida	Little by little, the step becomes slow One takes a turn to fear, a turn to the world It’s said that the past is dying Breath is drunk in a bottomless cup And a well-worn phrase comes to mind Today is the first day of the rest of your life Today is the first day of the rest of your life
E é então que amigos nos oferecem leito Entra-se cansado e sai-se refeito Luta-se por tudo o que se leva a peito Bebe-se, come-se e alguém nos diz bom proveito E vem-nos à memória uma frase batida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida	And then friends offer a place to sleep One enters tured and leaves refreshed And fights for everything that’s taken to heart Drinks, eats, and someone says “Enjoy!” And a well-worn phrase comes to mind Today is the first day of the rest of your life Today is the first day of the rest of your life
Depois vêm cansaços e o corpo fraqueja Olha-se para dentro e já pouco sobeja Pede-se o descanso, por curto que seja Apagam-se dúvidas num mar de cerveja E vem-nos à memória uma frase batida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida	Afterwards comes tiredness and the body weakens One looks inside, little remains Asks for rest, no matter how short Doubts are washed away in a sea of beer And a well-worn phrase comes to mind Today is the first day of the rest of your life Today is the first day of the rest of your life
E enfim de uma escolha faz-se um desafio Enfrenta-se a vida de fio a pavio Navega-se sem mar, sem vela ou navio Bebe-se a coragem até dum copo vazio E vem-nos à memória uma frase batida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida	And in the end, a choice becomes a challenge Life is confronted in its entirety Navigating without a sea, without a sail or a ship Courage is drunk from an empty cup And a well-worn phrase comes to mind Today is the first day of the rest of your life Today is the first day of the rest of your life
E entretanto o tempo fez cinza da brasa E outra maré cheia virá da maré vaza Nasce um novo dia e no braço outra asa Brinda-se aos amores com o vinho da casa E vem-nos à memória uma frase batida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida Hoje é o primeiro dia do resto da tua vida	And meanwhile time turns the coal to ash And another high tide follows a low tide A new day is born, on the arm another wing Loves are toasted with house wine And a well-worn phrase comes to mind Today is the first day of the rest of your life Today is the first day of the rest of your life