This song is actually by Maximiano de Sousa (aka “Max”) but I don’t think there’s a video of him performing it so I went with this cover by Raul Solnado instead. Max is from Funchal, and he says his wife is from Ponta do Sol, a few miles up the south coast. Another nearby town – Camacha – is mentioned too.
As you can see – or maybe you can’t – Solnado is wearing a hat that I recognise as a Maderian style, and I think the clothes are specific to the island too. The set shows a traditional house and I’m pretty sure the musical instruments the guys at the back are using are Brinquinhos*. Solnado is a mainlander from Lisbon so this is definitely cultural appropriation and he would be cancelled if he did this today. Quite right too. Throw him in jail!
I am publishing this on the 3rd of February to commemorate the birthday of another island girl – my wife. Since my birthday is on the 6th of May, she is numerically an older woman for the next 3 months. Feliz Aniversário, velha linda!
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| Casei c’uma velha Da ponta do sol Deitei-a na cama e o raio da velha rasgou-me o lençol Tornei-a a deitar Tornou a rasgar Perdi a cabeça e atirei co’a velha de perna p’ró ar | I married an old lady From Ponta do Sol I laid her in bed but that blasted old lady Tore my sheet** I laid her down again She ripped the sheets again I lost my head and threw the old lady and she landed upside down |
| A tua mãe foi às lapas O teu pai aos caranguejos Ficaste sozinha em casa, fui*** dar-te abraços e beijos Ó menina da Camacha Diz de mim o que quiseres Menos que não tenho jeito p’ra agasalhar as mulheres | Your mother went to the limpets Your dad to the crabs You stayed at home alone, I went to give you hugs and kisses Oh girl of Camacha Tell me what you want from me Unless I’m just don’t have the knack of taking care of women |
*More about traditional Madeiran instruments here if you’re interested.
**I had a little trouble following the action here: When he says “rasgou-me o lençol” did she actually make a hole in the sheets or just tear them away from him? I checked on r/portuguese just to be sure and it’s the former. And then how am I supposed to understand “atirei (com a) velha“? Is he throwing himself on her? No, apparently not. “Atirar com” isn’t in my handy guide to verbs with prepositions, but “atirar-se a” is, and that means to throw yourself at someone in an attack. No, my informant told me atirei com means that he just threw, shoved or otherwise propelled the old lady away. The “com” emphasises the force and “brusquidão” of the “sova” or “arremesso” he gave her (3 new items in the word hoard!), so she ended up “de pernas para o ar” – upside down. Probably not literally, but it wasn’t a graceful landing. Hmm… I think it’s one of those songs that’s really fun to listen to but just try not too hard to think about what it is he’s actually describing.
UPDATE – Well, i was joking about the violence and really imagining it as a kind of slapstick scene, but I am told I should consider it might be much more suggestive. That the legs in the air and the ripping of sheets and the warming up of the women could all be interpreted as taking about his sexual prowess, broadcast in an age when you couldn’t really say this sort of things directly. OK, well, that gives a whole new spin on things!
***Online lyrics say “foi” but I think that’s a typo because it doesn’t make any sense. Oh wait, it says fui in the subtitles doesn’t it! Oh well, glad to know I was right about that!
Luso 