A little bird tells me that a well-known podcast might be publishing a Deolinda episode soon, and it reminded me that I hadn’t done a translation of one of my favourite songs of theirs, “Um Contra o Outro”.
It’s a really nice extended metaphor, based on the idea that the guy she’s talking to just wants to play videojogos all day and she’s challenging him to forget all that nonsense because he’s missing out on real life by not going out with her. There are some gaming terms in there – lives (not to be confused with your actual life!), stealth mode, levelling up and so on. It would be so easy to have the result be super corny, but I think it works pretty well.
I basically get most of what’s being said, but as usual, it’s hard to “pull it together” into a coherent narrative without working through it like this. And I’m glad I did. There were a couple of things I misunderstood – like I couldn’t work out why she mentions “cavalos” at one point but apparently she says “mostra o que vales”. Ahhhh! And I hadn’t really understood the nature of the challenge she lays down in the last few lines either.
I’ve linked the live video here because it’s very energetic. The original music video is a bit confusing since it just seems to be suggesting she just wants to play Jogo da Macaca or Jogo da Laranjinha with him. And maybe she wouldn’t say no, but I think the game she wants to play is one that’s going to take a lot longer, maybe even the rest of his life.
| Português | Inglês |
|---|---|
| Anda Desliga o cabo Que liga a vida A esse jogo Joga comigo Um jogo novo Com duas vidas Um contra o outro | Come on Unplug the cable That links your life To that game Play with me A new game With two lives One against the other |
| Já não basta esta luta contra o tempo Este tempo que perdemos a tentar vencer alguém Ao fim ao cabo Que é dado como um ganho Vai-se a ver desperdiçámos Sem nada dar a ninguém | This race against the clock* isn’t enough This time we waste trying to defeat someone When all is said and done** What is given with a win Will be seen as as time we wasted With nothing to give to anyone |
| Anda Faz uma pausa Encosta o carro Sai da corrida Larga essa guerra Que a tua meta Está deste lado da tua vida | Come on Take a break Park the car Get out of the race Let go of this war Because your objective Is on this this side of your life |
| Muda de nível Sai do estado invisível Põe um modo compatível Com a minha condição Que a tua vida É real e irrepetível*** Dá-te mais que o impossível Se me deres a tua mão | Level up Come out of stealth mode Activate a mode that’s compatible With mine Because your life Is real and unrepeatable It gives you more than the impossible If you give me your hand |
| Sai de casa e vem comigo para a rua Vem, que essa vida que tens Por mais vidas que tu ganhes É a tua que mais perde se não vens | Leave the house and come with me into the street Come, because this life you have, No matter how many extra lives you gain It’s yours that will lose out if you don’t |
| Sai de casa e vem comigo para a rua Vem, que essa vida que tens Por mais vidas que tu ganhes É a tua que mais perde se não vens | Leave the house and come with me into the street Come, because this life you have, No matter how many extra lives you gain It’s yours that will lose out if you don’t |
| Anda Mostra o que vales Tu nesse jogo Vales tão pouco Troca de vício Por outro novo Que o desafio É corpo a corpo Escolhe a arma A estratégia que não falha O lado forte da batalha Põe no máximo poder Dou-te a vantagem Tu com tudo E eu sem nada Que mesmo assim desarmada Vou-te ensinar a perder | Come on Show me what you’re worth You, in that game, Count for so little Swap one addiction For another Because the challenge Is body to body Choose your weapon The strategy that won’t fail The stronger side of the battle Put it on full power I’ll give you the advantage You with everything And me with nothing So even like that, disarmed, I’ll show you how to lose. |
*It says fight against time really but I think Lutar contra o tempo is a set phrase meaning like a time trial, race against time or some sense that you only have a certain amount of time to achieve the goal, so I gave it a rough equivalent in english.
**Listening to it without the written lyrics, I thought she was saying “do cabo” – so “at the end of the cable” which sort of made sense if you imagine holding a game controller that’s plugged into a game console via a wire, but I think it’s cabo as in “levar a cabo”, so she’s talking about what you have left over, at the end, when you’ve won, what you win isn’t as good as what you lose by staying indoors all day
***The source I copied the lyrics from has this as “real e repetida” which clearly makes no sense and if you listen closely that’s not what she’s saying. It’s almost like we can’t implicitly believe everything we read on the internet or something
Luso 