Translation time! This one is a classic fado, which is mentioned in the book I reviewed the day before yesterday. It also gives us some insight into the Portuguese language’s radical commitment to singular verb endings for collective nouns. The video is majestic and well worth watching, even with the sound off, for the glances between the guitarist and the guy on the guitarra portuguesa. I’d love to know what was going on between them. The song itself is written by Amália but it is really more of an adaptation of a longer poem called “Povo” by Pedro Homem de Mello.
First of all, I think we’re meant to envision people washing their clothes in the river, rather than skinnydipping, in case that’s not obvious! But let’s focus in on how she refers to the noun “povo” here. I’ve highlighted the relevant words in the first verse. As you can se, she’s addressing the “povo” (the people – especially the simple, common people) as “Tu”. In other words, she’s addressing them all, collectively, using the form normally reserved for one singular person who’s familiar to the speaker.
This was really jarring to me. Of course, it’s not that hard to find people referring to “a gente” using third person singular pronouns – I wrote about this a couple of months back – and the portuguese generally take a firmer line on treating the collective as one singular entity (as opposed to using words like eles/them) than we would in english. But to see her speaking directly to the people like this and just address the whoel population like it was her little sister is quite a cultural leap, at least for me.
| Povo que lavas no rio | People who wash in the river |
| Povo que lavas no rio Que talhas com teu machado As tábuas do meu caixão Povo que lavas no rio Que talhas com teu machado As tábuas do meu caixão Pode** haver quem te defenda Que compre o teu chão sagrado Mas a tua vida não | People who wash in the river Who cut with your axe The boards for my coffin* People who wash in the river Who cut with your axe The boards for my coffin There might be people who defend you Who buy your sacred land But not your life |
| Fui ter à mesa redonda Beber em malga que esconda Um beijo de mão em mão Fui ter à mesa redonda Beber em malga que esconda Um beijo de mão em mão Era o vinho que me deste Água pura, fruto agreste Mas a tua vida não | I ended up at the round table*** To drink from a bowl that hides A kiss from hand to hand I ended up at the round table To drink from a bowl that hides A kiss from hand to hand It was the wine you gave me Pure water, wild fruit But not your life |
| Aromas de urze e de lama Dormi com eles na cama Tive a mesma condição Aromas de urze e de lama Dormi com eles na cama Tive a mesma condição Povo, povo eu te pertenço Deste-me alturas de incenso Mas a tua vida não | Scents of heather and dirt I slept with them in the bed I was in the same condition. Scents of heather and dirt I slept with them in the bed I was in the same condition. People, people, I belong to you You gave me moments of incense**** But not your life |
| Ai, povo que lavas no rio Que talhas com teu machado As tábuas do meu caixão Povo que lavas no rio Que talhas com teu machado As tábuas do meu caixão Há-de haver quem te defenda Quem compre o teu chão sagrado Mas a tua vida não | People who wash in the river Who cut with your axe The boards for my coffin People who wash in the river Who cut with your axe The boards for my coffin There might be people who defend you Who buy your sacred land But not your life |
*=Could this be more emo?
**=Some versionf oe the lyrics use “ha-de” in place of “pode” but this seems to be teh version she’s singing in the video above. I’m pretty sure the há-de version is taken from Dulce Pontes’ rendition.
***=What’s the word “ter” doing here? According to priberam “ir ter a” is a compound verb meaning the same as “ir dar a” or “ir parar a” – um… OK, I’m none the wiser… but according to the Guia Prático de Verbos Com Preposições, that means “terminar em” or “desembocar”. So basically, to lead to something, to end up at something. Hence “ended up at”
****=I must admit, I got confused about this since the incense reference seemed a bit random, and I was trying to make sense of it by looking at alternative meanings of that word. Figuratively, it can mean praise or subservience, but I think I was overthinking it because it looks like she’s just referring to the smells at the top of the verse. OK, right, that makes sense!
Luso 