I heard this on Instagram and I was entranced, and had to hear the whole thing. The name of the band is Rouxinol Faduncho, which is like “Bad Fado Nightingale”, which sets expectations right from the start. Let’s see what the hell is going on in the lyrics.
| (Ora o público pediu, e mais aderiu e até ganiu nesta campanha internacional e até europeia intitulada: Help Me a Pôr os Cães de Loiça a Sorrir a “Gane”. A gane quer dizer a sorrir a gane ou a ganir. tem sido, Maravilhoso…) | Well, the public asked and even subscribed and even whined in this International, and even european campaign entitled Help me make china dogs smile a gane*. A gane means smile until whine or while howling. It has been marvelous. |
| Oi pra o sofrimento um bom remédio há afinal Ajudem os cães de loiça, esse pobre animal Ao vê-lo feroz no portão, eu sempre me comovo Se a tinta cair ao chão, dou-lhe mais uma demão** e ele fica como novo | Hey, finally there’s a remedy for suffering China dogs help, that poor animal When I see them, ferocious at the gate, i always feel moved If the paint falls on the flour, I’ll give it some more One more coat and he’ll be good as new |
| Se gostas de animais, cães de loiça Que não sujem os quintais, cães de loiça São “bobbies” bestiais, cães de loiça São cãezinhos mal tratados, de olhos esbugalhados e nada saltitões Nunca se vão babar, nem ganir, nem ladrar, nem ferrar os ladrões | If you like animals, china dogs That don’t dirty the garden, china dogs They are beastly “bobbies”, china dogs They are badly treated little dogs with googly eyes and not at all frisky They never drool or whine or bark or injure burglars |
| Por serem portugueses e parecidos com o Toy Que os restaurantes chineses não fazem deles “chopsói” Não largam pelos ou pena, nunca roem os sofás Reparem bem nesta cena, são estrelas de cinema Cento e um Dalmatás | Because they are Portuguese, and look like Toy Because chinese restaurants don’t turn them into chop suey*** They don’t drop hairs or feathers, they never chew sofas Pay attention to this scene, they are stars of cinema 101 Dalmatians |
| Se gostas de animais, cães de loiça Que não sujem os quintais, cães de loiça São “bobbies” bestiais, cães de loiça São cãezinhos mal tratados, de olhos esbugalhados e nada saltitões Nunca se vão babar, nem ganir, nem ladrar, nem ferrar os ladrões | If you like animals, china dogs That don’t dirty the garden, china dogs They are beastly “bobbies”, china dogs They are badly treated little dogs with googly eyes and not at all frisky They never drool or whine or bark or injure burglars |
| (Aquilo é uma maravilha, aquilo corre corre… é uma companhia… pfff! e aquilo tem que se fazer, tem que se levar um saquinho sempre para apanhar os cócós Depois… Há que manter… que isto da camada do ozoto está a acabar, não é? temos que manter isto… planeta limpo… mas são muito engraça… e fofos? ui!) | That’s amazing, it runs… it’s company… pff!! And you know what you have to do, you have to bring a little bag with you every time to hold its poo afterwards, you have to maintain… because of this thing about the ozogen**** layer disappearing, right? We have to keep this planet clean, but they are very funny… and cute? Ui! |
| Se gostas de animais, cães de loiça Que não sujem os quintais, cães de loiça São “bobbies” bestiais, cães de loiça São cãezinhos mal tratados, de olhos esbugalhados e nada saltitões Nunca se vão babar, nem ganir, nem ladrar, nem ferrar os ladrões | If you like animals, china dogs That don’t dirty the garden, china dogs They are beastly “bobbies”, china dogs They are badly treated little dogs with googly eyes and not at all frisky They never drool or whine or bark or injure burglars |
*I actually googled “sorrir a gane”, but I’m pretty sure this is a pun. The name of the campaign starts with “help me” so I guess “a gane” is meant to sound like “again”. Help me make the dogs smile again, where “gane” is the third person singular of the verb “ganir” – to whine. I went and looked at the release date, confidently expecting it would be in or after 2016, so playing on a certain well-known catch-phrase of that absolute fuckwit the Americans have elected to pretend to be a president and plunge themselves further into decline. But no – it was released in 2007, so they obviously just hit on a pun that would become much more topical and more depressing 9 years later.
** Wow, I was sure this was a typo in the lyrics and it should be “de mão” (ie, he’s painting it by hand) but no, uma demão is a coat of paint or a retouch.
***😬
****I think the original “ozoto” is a deliberate mistake, mixing Ozono (ozone) and Azoto (nitrogen) so I have translated it in the same way.
Luso 