I haven’t done a song translation for while and I fancied having a go at “Cancao de Engate” by António Variações. There aren’t many decent videos of it and anyway he’s a bit hard to follow because of his distinctive singing style so if you don’t know it, try this orchestral acoustic version by Tiago Bettencourt
Cancão de Engate
My sense, going into it, is that it uses a lot of slightly oblique language so this is going to be a tricky one, but here goes…
Tu estás livre e eu estou livre E há uma noite p’ra passar Porque não vamos unidos Porque não vamos ficar Na aventura dos sentidos
You’re free and I’m free* And there’s a night to get through Why don’t we get together Why don’t we get Into the adventure of the senses
Tu estás só e eu mais só estou E tu tens o meu olhar Tens a minha mão aberta À espera de se fechar Nessa tua mão deserta
You’re alone and I’m alone too And you have caught my eye You have my open hand Ready to close On your lonely hand
Vem que o amor não é o tempo Nem é o tempo que o faz Vem que o amor é o momento Em que eu me dou Em que te dás
Come, because love is not time Nor is it time that makes it Come, because time is the moment In which I give myself And you give yourself
Tu que buscas companhia E eu que busco quem quiser Ser o fim desta energia Ser um corpo de prazer Ser o fim de mais um dia
You who are looking for company And me who is looking for whoever wants To be the end of this energy To be a body for pleasure To be the end of another day
Tu continuas à espera Do melhor que já não vem Que a esperança foi encontrada Antes de ti por alguém E eu sou melhor que nada
You keep waiting For something better that isn’t coming Because what you hope for has already been found By someone before you And I am better than nothing
Vem que o amor não é o tempo Nem é o tempo que o faz Vem que o amor é o momento Em que eu me dou Em que te dás
x3
Come, because love is not time Nor is it time that makes it Come, because time is the moment In which I give myself And you give yourself
x3
* I’m sorry, but I am a man of a certain age but I am already reading this in a Mr Humphries voice
Hey, well that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. One of the easier ones I’ve done, in fact!
I did a translation of “Super Ego trip Humilde” by Gandim a while ago and I fancied doing a second one. It took me a while because the page kept crashing and losing my work but I finally finished the bugger, Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you an english translation of The senstiment is pretty familiar – standard observational comedy – so it’s relatable content for pretty much anyone, but he manages to end it in a way that saves it from being cliché.
Este é um som bué positivo, bué lá em cima /This is a really positive sound, really uplifting Alegria, dedicado a todas as pessoas do mundo inteiro / Happiness going out to everyone in the whole world Yeeeeehahhhh / Yes Estou a gozar… isto é para todas as pessoas que eu odeio /I’m kidding… This is for all the people I hate E que vocês deviam odiar também / And that you should hate too Se por acaso alguém ficar ofendido /If by chance anyone gets offended I don’t give a shit / I don’t give a shit Odeio pessoas que pedem francesinha vegetariana / I hate people who ask for vegetarian francesinha Odeio pessoas que querem pizza sem queijo ou com banana / i hate people who want pizza without cheese or with banana Odeio pessoas que mastigam feitas vacas de boca toda aberta / I hate people who chew like cows with their mouths wide open Odeio pessoas na faixa do meio com a estrada deserta / I hate people in the middle lane with the road deserted Odeio pessoas que usam comic sans como fonte /I hate people who use Comic Sand as a font Odeio pessoas que dizem tou a chegar mas inda vão na ponte / I hate people who say I’m about to arrive but they’re still on the bridge Odeio pessoas com música sem phones no autocarro / I hate people who listen to music without headphones Odeio pessoas que passeiam na rua a puxar catarro / I hate people who walk in the road and cough up phlegm Odeio quem chega sempre atrasado / I hate people who always arrive late Odeio quem pede bife do lombo bem passado / I hate people who order sirloin well done Odeio quem não responde às mensagens / I hate people who don’t reply to messages Odeio quem mostra mil fotos de viagens / I hate people who show a thousand holiday photos Odeio pessoas que usam a palavra top / I hate people who use the word “top” Dizem face e insta / And say Face and Insta Falam à tia tipo de snob / Speak to their aunt like a snob Odeio velhas a pagar as contas no atm / I hate old ladies who pay their bills at the ATM Adultos com boné / Adults in baseball caps Quem come o último m&m / Who eat the last M&M Odeio pessoas / I hate people Podiam morrer todas / They can all die Odeio pessoas / I hate people De qualquer idade / Of whatever age Odeio pessoas / I hate people Velhos e crianças / Old people and children Odeio pessoas na generalidade / I hate people in general Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I yearn for extinction O fim do mundo / The end of the world É a melhor solução / Is the best solution Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I yearn for extinction O asteroide / The asteroid É a melhor solução / Is the best solution
Odeio pessoas que falam alto na sala de cinema / I hate people who talk in the cinema Odeio pessoas que ainda acham cool dançar o esquema / I hate people who still think it’s cool to dance the esquema Odeio pessoas que se guiam pelos signos / I hate people who follow the signs (I think this is about people followijg astrology rather than road signs) Odeio pessoas que acham tarólogos fidedignos / I hate people who believe astrologers Odeio pessoas que usam sunga na piscina sem ser natação / I hate people who wear speedos when they’re not even swimming Odeio pessoas com bebés a chorar no avião / I hate people with babies who cry on the plane Odeio os bebés… a chorar em qualquer lado / I hate babies crying anywhere Odeio os pais que não os calam um bocado / I hate parents who can’t get them to be quiet for a bit Odeio quem diz que tem wi-fi, mas é lento / I hate anyone who says they have wi-fi but it’s slow Odeio quem sorve a sopa, é nojento / I hate anyone who serves sleep, it’s disgusting Odeio quem diz que não precisa de beber para se divertir / I hate anyone who says they don’t need to drink to have fun Odeio quem entra no metro antes de te deixar sair / I hate anyone who gets on the metro without letting people get out Odeio pessoas que puxam o lençol / I hate people who hog the sheets Não sabem fazer rotundas / They don’t know how to use a roundabout E riem-se com lol / And they laugh by saying “lol” Odeio betos que sinalizam virtude / I hate posh people who virtue-signal Activismo de hashtag / Hashtag activism Não há quem os ature Nobody can put up with them Odeio pessoas / I hate people Podiam morrer todas / They can all die Odeio pessoas / I hate people De qualquer idade / of whatever age Odeio pessoas / I hate people Velhos e crianças / Old people and children Odeio pessoas na generalidade / I hate people in general Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction O fim do mundo / the end of the world É a melhor solução / Is the best solution Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction A peste negra / The black plague É a melhor solução / Is thebest solution
Odeio pessoas de óculos escuros em espaços fechados / I hate people who wear sunglasses indoors Odeio pessoas que passam à frente nos supermercados / I hate people who get in my way in the supermarket Odeio pessoas que metem a toalha em cima com a praia vazia / I hate people people who put out a towel on an empty beach Odeio pessoas que não respondem a um bom dia / I hate people who don’t reply when you say hello Odeio pessoas que publicam indirectas nas redes sociais / I hate people who talk shit on the internet** Odeio casais com facebook conjunto siameses digitais / I hate couples with joint facebook pages like digital siamese twins Odeio pessoas felizes logo de manhã / I hate people who are happy first thing in the morning Odeio pessoas com unhas de gel a bater no ecrã / I hate people with gel nails tapping on their phone screen Odeio quem deixa o carro estacionado em segunda fila / I hate anyone who leaves their car double-parked Odeio quem diz que é doce de ovos mas afinal é de gila / I hate anyone who says that they’ve made egg custard but actually it’s made of gila*** Odeio quem tem iphone e não arranja os dentes / I hate anyone who has an iphone but doesn’t get their teeth fixed Odeio quem estaciona no lugar dos deficientes / I hate anyone who parks in the disabled parking space Odeio a namorada que não queria nada / I hate a girlfriend who didn’t want anything Come as tuas batatas / She eats your potatoes**** E ainda fica indignada / And still gets annoyed Odeio as pessoas que dizem “as ‘soas” / I hate people who say “peeps” ***** Fanhosos a fungar / Snotty people sniffing Porque é que não te assoas / Why don’t you blow your nose? Odeio pessoas / I hate people Podiam morrer todas / They can all die Odeio pessoas / I hate people De qualquer idade / of whatever age Odeio pessoas / I hate people Velhos e crianças / Old people and children Odeio pessoas na generalidade / I hate people in general Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction O fim do mundo / the end of the world É a melhor solução / Is the best solution Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction Holocausto nuclear / Nuclear holocaust É a melhor solução / Is the best solution
Ainda tenho muito ódio em mim / I still have a lot of hate in me Mas a música está quase no fim / but the song is almost over Por isso sem rodeio / So without further ado Aqui vão mais umas quantas pessoas que odeio / Here are some other people I hate Quem faz espuma nos cantos da boca / People who froth at the sides of their mouth Gémeos adultos com a mesma roupa / Adult twins with the same clothes Quem diz que anda aí com um projecto / Anyone who says it’s out with a project Quem diz sande, apesar de estar correcto / Anyone who says “sande” (even though that’s correct) Odeio quem não sabe cortar queijos / I hate anyone who doesn’t know how to cut chese Odeio quem se dá um em vez de dois beijos / I hate anyone who gives one instead of two kissed Odeio quem se despede com abreijos / I hate anyone who signs off with “abreijos“ Odeio quem se queixa que em agosto está sol / I hate anyone who complains that the sun is shining in August Que são os mesmos que em dezembro dizem que faz briole / They’re the same people who say it’s chilly in December Quem não fez o trabalho de grupo, mas aparece na apresentação / Who doesn’t pull their weight in the team but still turns up at the presentation Quem filma concertos inteiros nas stories, mêmo pitas sem noção / Who films the whole concert on their stories – they really are clueless kids Odeio pessoas que interrompem as outras a falar / I hate people who interrupt when others are talking Puto olha aqui uma cena… man, não vês que estou a gravar? / “Dude, look at this thing…” Man, can’t you see I’m recording? Odeio quem usa chinelos com meias / I hate anyone who wears sandals with socks Modelos de Instagram feias / Ugly instagram models Com os seus pezinhos sapudos, enfiados na areia / With their podgy feet stuck in the sand Odeio quem luta pelo ac no trabalho, / I hate people who fight for air conditioning at work Dói-me a garganta, eh pá, vai pó caralho / It hurts my throat, hey man, fuck off! Quem não sabe conjugar o verbo haver / Anyone who doesn’t know how to conjugate the verb “haver” Quem não sabe usar palavra literalmente, podia morrer / Anyone who doesn’t know how to use the word “literally” can die. Odeio pessoas que só se queixam e dizem mal / I hate people who only complain and say bad stuff Odeio pessoas e seres humanos no geral / I hate people and huiman beings in general Odeio quem está no reflexo do espelho / I hate the person reflected in the mirror Por isso é que tenho tanto ódio / That’s why I have all this hate Não gosto do que vejo / I don’t like what I see Odeio-me a mim mesmo, ganda plot twist / I hate myself. Huge plot twist Afinal o misantropo / Ultimately the misanthrope Era só um inseguro triste / was just a sad, insecure man Ya, ganda final / Yeah, big finish Não é cómico, mas tem boa moral / It’s not funny but it has a good moral Ya, ganda final / Yeah, big finish Não é cómico, mas tem boa moral / It’s not funny but it has a good moral
*It says “inda” in the original and I’m pretty sure it should be “ainda” but whether that’s a typo or just slang like “tou” and some of the other words in the rap.
**Uma indirecta is a comment that appears to be nice but has a hidden, malicious intent. It’s not a straightforward personal attack and… actually, it’s a little hard to know how to translate it. Subtweet? Trolling? Something like that.
***I don’t know why it has taken me until now to find this out but apparently Gila is a kind of green squash that’s often used in sweets. Sounds weird, but then pumpkin pie exists, so is it really that strange? So he’s protesting about “doce de ovos” (egg custard type stuff) turning out to just be nasty pumpkin goo. Well, fair enough, I can see how that wold be annoying!
**** I wondered if this was some sort of expression, but no, it’s just literal. You ask someone if they want a portion of chips and they say no but then proceed to eat all of yours
***** I think ‘soas is short for “pessoas” so I’ve used the closest equivalent I could think of but I could be wrong…
Carrying on the translation tradition, I thought I’d have a go at this rap by Gandim because I can understand most of it but not quite all and I thought it would be fun to do the research and really understand it from top to bottom. Gandim means something like “workshy person”. He isn’t a real rapper, he’s a character invented by Guilherme Duarte. Duarte originally trained as a computer scientist (that’s relevant context for the song, believe it or not!) but he’s famous as a comedian who has been involved in a few different podcasts and media projects such as “Por Falar Noutras Coisas” (“Speaking of Other Things”). Here, he’s having a rap battle with himself in his “real” persona. It’s quite funny and has lots of good slang. It’s ABSOLUTELY FILTHY though. Seriously – this is definitely the rudest thing I’ve ever translated on here, so if you’re of a sensitive disposition you might want to skip this one!
It’s also interesting how they’re using some english words and expresions in ways that are close to but not quite identical to the way we use them ourselves: even in the title, “ego-trip”, seems just to mean a boastful rap and “feat” is obviously just “featuring” but later in the lyrics they seem to be using it as a noun, roughly equivalent to “collaboration”
Ya, Gandim feat Guilherme Duarte / Yeah, Gandim, feat Guilherme Duarte Juntos no mesmo som mesmo / Together in the same track Ninguém estava à espera / Nobody was expecting it Não sei se a tuga está preparada para isto / I don’t know if the Tuga was ready for this Vamos mostrar como é que se faz / Let’s show them how it’s done
Isto nunca foi visto / This has never been seen Porque nunca foi feito / Because it’s never been done Parece que viste o anti-cristo, boy / It looks like you’ve seen the anti-christ, boy Até te cai o queixo / Even your jaw is drooping Vai deixar mazela / It’s going to leave a wound Ainda nos vão pedir sequela / They’re going to ask us for a sequel As rimas são como as cricas / The rhymes are like pussies Aparecem tipo dicas / They appear like tips De todos os lados / From all sides Eu e o Guilherme (Olá Olá) os mais pesados / Me and Guilherme (Hello, Hello) the heaviest Espera lá… isto é uma egotrip? / Wait… is this an ego-trip? Ya, faz sentido pelo beat / Yeah, that makes sense from the beat Devia ter visto a tua parte antes de gravarmos o feat / I should have watched your part before we recorded the “feat“ Mas obrigado por me fazeres o convite / But thanks for the invitation Mas é melhor falares por ti / But it’s best to speak for yourself Eu nem sou bem rapper / I’m not really a rapper Há muitos melhores do que eu por aí / There are a lot better than me round here Não vale a pena essa humildade / This humility is no good Nu sta* rebenta sociedade / We are blowing up society O game vai mudar, a gente veio para ficar / The game is going to change – we came to stay Este som é bomba atómica, vai incinerar / This track is a nuclear bomb. It’s going to incinerate Calma, man / Calm down, man Não é preciso exagerar / There’s no need to exagerate Tipo exibicionistas / Like exhibitionists Não vamos estar aqui a criar / We didn’t come here to create Sei lá, expectativas irrealistas / I dunno… unrealistic expectations É um som razoável / It’s a reasonable track Um flow confortável / A comfortable flow Não vai ser nada memorável / It isn’t going to be memorable at all Nem raro de outro mundo tipo marte / Not rare, from another world like Mars Falo, claro, da minha parte / I’m speaking of course, from my own perspective As damas até ficam loucas, desvairadas, malucas / The women go crazy, frenzied, insane Desapertam as blusas e abanam as bundas / They loosen their blouses and shake their asses** Ficam com água nas bocas / Their mouths water Quando vêem as nossas bazucas / When they see our bazookas Vocês fazem cara de mau a pensar que têm pila grande / You make like a badass, thinking what big dicks you have Mole já mete respeito mas olha ainda expande / Soft, they give respect, but then they expand O que vocês têm de pau a gente tem só de glande / Our glans alone is the size of your whole dick*** Pah, o meu é médio, não vou mentir / Mate, mine is pretty average, not gonna lie Não é grande nem vale a pena medir / It’s not big but I’m not going to measure it Nem grosso nem fino, é banal quando estou contente / It’s not thick or thin, it’s OK when I’m happy E quando está murcho até é bastante deprimente / And when it’s soft, it’s pretty depressing Mas dizem que o tamanho não importa / But they say size doesn’t matter E mesmo que seja um bocado torta / Even if it’s a little bent Desde que não esteja morta / As long as I’m not dead O que conta é o que se faz com o membro peniano / What matters is what you do with your penile member E nisso, confesso, sou mais que mediano / And with that I am above average Aguento tipo 7 ou 8 minutos / I can last like 7 or 8 minutes Parece pouco, mas 5 é a média / It doesn’t seem like much but the average is 5 Não estou a gozar, li na Wikipédia / I’m not kidding, I read it on Wikipedia Cus e mamas, everywhere / Tits and ass everywhere Comemos com as mãos, sem talher / We eat with our hands, no cutlery Lambemos o prato todo da tua mulher / We lick your wife’s plate clean Até cai pó lado como Feher / Until she falls over like Fehér**** Ela quer mais diz que tu só reclamas / She wants more and says you only complain Nem é preciso férias nas Bahamas / A holiday in the Bahamas isn’t necessary É mesmo aí nas vossas camas / It’s right here in your beds Que vamos comer as vossas damas / that we eat***** your women Vamos? os dois ao mesmo tempo / “We”? Both at the same time? É um bocado estranho (caga nisso bro) / That’s a little bit weird (fuck this, bro) Tenho alguns complexos com o meu corpo / I have a few body issues E nem é pelo tamanho / And it’s not about the size Estar assim nu ao pé de outro homem / To be right there next to another man É demasiada nudez / That’s too much nakedness Não sei, dá para ir à vez / I dunno, maybe we could take turns Não quero ser mau companheiro / I don’t want to be a bad companion Mas se é para ir, vou em primeiro / But if I’m going, I’m going first A gente derrapa, drift fast and furious style / We slide in, Fast and Furious style Elas ficam molhadas com o nosso flow 8 mile / And they get wet with our 8 Mile flow Quer boleia a tua hoe / Does your ho want a ride? E não é só no meu lambo / And not just in my lambo****** Tem mudanças automáticas, 7 / It has seven automatic gears Mas ela tem a mão na manete / But she has her hand on my gearstick Não tenho guita para lambos / I don’t have the money for lambos E até acho que é muito show off / And I find them a bit showy Não curto dar nas vistas / I don’t enjoy showing off O meu bote é um clio de 99 / My ride is a 99 Clio Patina quando chove, faz barulhos da panela / It skids when it rains, makes a noise from the oil pan Tem pelos de cadela, rádio só à capella / It has dog-hairs everywhere and the radio is only a capella Não liga à primeira quando a noite gela / It doesn’t start first time on cold nights Deve ser problema de velas / It must be some problem with the spark plugs Aqui é faroeste, a lei é nossa / Here in the wild west******* the law is ours Tu estás a leste, baza ou levas coça / You are from the east, get the hell out of here or get spanked O que tu cospes cai no meu spam / What you spit******** falls into my spam folder Mas quem não cospe é a tua irmã / But your sister doesn’t spit Aqui é conflito, não é meninos da mamã / This is war, not mummy’s kids À noite é delito, dormir de manhã / the night is sin, sleep in the morning Vens dar para gangster com o teu clã / You’re coming like a gangster with your posse Ainda deixas a tua filha orfã / You’ll just leave your daughter an orphan Gandim, não sei se te consigo acompanhar assim / Gandim, I don’t know if I can carry on like this Eu não sou gangster nem g / I’m not a gangster or a G Só houve aquela vez que roubei uns cromos da panini / The only thing I have ever stolen is some Panini stickers Sempre fui bom aluno, calminho / I was always a good student, calm Eu sou bué humilde, mano / I’m really humble, man Já na autoavaliação pedia baixinho / In the self-evaluation I asked for a lower mark Menos do que achava que merecia no ano / Less than they thought I deserved that year Manda vir a tua crew / tell your crew to come E ainda sais daqui todo nu / And you’ll leave here naked Andas aí armado em clown / There you go, acting like a clown A tua tropa sai daqui tipo black hawk down / Your soldiers will leave here like Black Hawk Down Eu e o Guilherme a gente arrebenta / Me and Guilherme, we destroy Venham todos que a gente enfrenta / No matter who we face Tag team ninguém aguenta / Tag team nobody can withstand Humilhação tipo shot à panenka / Humiliation like a Panenka********* penalty kick Depende, quantos é que são / It depends how many there are São muito grandes ou um deles é anão / Are they very big or is one of them a dawrf? Se for malta da pesada ainda ficamos em maus lençóis / If these guys are heavy, we could be in a tight spot Consigo andar à porrada, mas não há cá heróis / I can fight but there are no heroes here Prefiro resolver de forma sensata / I prefer to resolve this sensibly Ser diplomata, sou franco / To be diplomatic, I am frank Mas se tem de ser, siga / But if it has to happen, go ahead Eu cubro-te o flanco / I’ll cover your back Fiz jiu jitsu, sou cinturão branco / I did ju-jitsu, I’m a white belt Invejas o don perignon / You envy the Dom Perignon O chamon, os diamonds e o rolex / The weed, the diamonds and the rolex Desculpa lá o flex / Pardon the flex Mas por isso é que a dama que me dá sex é a tua ex / But it’s because of this that the woman who gives me sex is your ex Tanto money no corpo uso o pulso como expositor / So much money on my body, I use my wrist like a showoff E tu honey, só lhe dás uso em frente ao computador / And you, honey, you only use it in front of your computer Eu nem tenho relógio / I don’t have a watch Vejo as horas no telefone / I check the time on my phone Que não é topo de gama / that isn’t top of the line Nem é sequer é um iphone / I don’t even have an iphone Não curto gastar assim / I don’t like splashing out like that Em booze, drugs e ostentação / on booze and drugs and ostentation Prefiro poupar e chegar / I prefer to save up and reach Aos setenta são / my seventies Os cães ladram e passa a caravana********** / The dogs bark and the caravan passes by E nós aqui a chillar com a marijoana / and we’re here chilling with marijuana Somos demasiado fat para ser fit / We’re too fat to be fit All day smoking weed, we don’t give a shit / All day smoking weed, we don’t give a shit Mais ou menos / More or less Não fumo há bué anos, mas não condeno quem fuma / I haven’t smoked in years, but I don’t judge those who do Só acho que há malta muito nova a fumar / I think it’s mostly young people smoking Não quero influenciar / I don’t want to influence them Porque depois o pessoal abusa / because then people abuse it Man, dá lá aí uma passa ya, fuma aí / Man, take a hit on this, smoke up É mesmo assim, Guilherme ya, somos os maiores deste a tuga até pequim / That’s how it is, Guilherme, we’re the greatest from Portugal to Peking é mesmo assim, os mais pesados / that’s how it is, we’re the heaviest Não curto gabar-me assim / I don’t enjoy boasting like this Não dá para fazer uma ego trip humilde / It’s no good making a humble ego-trip E deixar de parte ego / and leave out the ego part às vezes acordo tão negativo / Sometimes I wake up so negative Que me sinto abaixo de zero / That i feel less than zero Tenho as minhas inseguranças / I have my insecurities Acho que me está a bater a ganza / I think that weed is kicking in Dias depressivos, sem vaidade / Depressive days, without vanity Dias que não me acho capaz de fazer nada com qualidade / Days when I don’t feel able to do anything well O meu ego tem síndrome de Estocolmo / My ego has Stockholm syndrome Estou a ficar meio zonzo / I’m getting a little dizzy Estou a ficar meio zonzo / I’m getting a little dizzy Complexo deus aplaude o meu complexo de fraude / My god complex applauds my imposter syndrome Bué deep / Really deep Sou mil folhas / I am a thousand layers Flow bue quick / Real quick flow Beep beep / Beep beep Tenho bué camadas / I’ve got so many levels No sleep, horas acordadas / No sleep, awake for hours Porque na cama tenho sempre muitas queridas bué dadas / Because in bed I always have many well-endowed babes Sabia que tinha isso dentro de ti / I knew you had this in you Estava a ver que não / I was thinking you didn’t E se é para me gabar feito patrão / And if I have to boast, it’s done, boss Sou ganda boss da programação / I’m the big boss of computer-programming Tua cabeça não aguentavas a pressão, meu / You can’t stand the pressure, man Ainda te dava uma como a Maria João, Abreu / I even gave you one with Maria Joao Abreu***********
Ai, olha aí, há limites, mano / Hey look, there are limits, bro Acho bué falta de respeito dizeres uma cena dessas / I think it shows a lack of respect to say something like that É uma egotrip, tudo bem, mas calma lá / It’s an ego trip, OK, but calm down Não é preciso atirar com essa da programação à cara do pessoal / It’s not necessary to throw this computer-programming thing in people’s faces Nem toda a gente tem o mesmo acesso à educação / Not everyone has the same access to education Vou bazar, não curto estar aqui com gabarolas / I’m going to get out of here. I don’t want to be here with showoffs
*= Not sure what’s going on here – short for “nos esta(mos)” I think…?
**=I’ve gone against my principles and written this the american way because british spelling and rap do not mix
***=Look, I’m sorry, I’m just the translator, don’t blame me
****=I think this must mean the hungarian footballer who died of a heart attack on the pitch – hence the reaction!
*****=Comer a tua dama means “eat your lady” but comer is also a slang word for “have sex”, so I probably could have translated it less literally than this. The other relevant piece of information here is that the game we call drafts is called Damas in portuguese, and when you take the opponents piece, the word for taking can be “capturar” or “comer” so he could be talking about playing draughts. but in this context, probaby not!
******I guess he means Lamborghini here but the fact it’s so close to “lamber” is setting my double entendre radar pinging)
*******faroeste = far west? I’ve never heard this before, but I googled faroeste and it does indeed bring up a load of wild west films dubbed into portuguese!
********=-I assume this is the same as the slang use of spit in english – spitting lyrics, spitting facts. He’s dissing your rap lyrics, basically
*********= Panenka… he’s a footballer apparently. Good at penalties. Google him, I can’t explain
**********=This is an expression that comes up sometimes in exercise books – it just means something like – “we just carry on as normal, no matter what happens or who complains”
***********= Maria Joao Abreu was an actress who had died a few months before the video was released, so you’re meant to think that the shocked reaction that follows is as a result of the extreme bad taste of what he’s just said.
Another translation post. I’m in a translatey mood, I guess. This one is by Orelha Negra with A Garota Não (again!) on guest vocals. Like yesterday’s, it has a strong feminist theme, but whereas that was just calmly wishing for more representation, this one is about domestic violence so it’s pretty raw: far moreso than I would have guessed from the general vibe of the music. Batida can mean beat in the musical sense as well as “beaten” or “beating” in the violent sense, so I think I had an idea that it was jsut a song about making music until I started trying to translate it line by line.
To be honest, it comes across as pretty bleak, but I don’t think it’s *just * that: there seems to be sense of wanting to move beyond the situation and reassert dignity. For a start, you have the dialogue at the beginning and the end of the song in english, talking about being ready for something. Then there’s the woman who does the live painting in the video (below). She’s called Mázinha and she’s obviously got a positive sense of the song being about forgiveness and redemption (quote here) so she’s painted a really upbeat image, indicative of a new start – presumably after leaving the dude. There isn’t much of that in the song lyrics though, as far as I can see!
E tu tás pronto, honey? / And you – are you ready honey? Estarás pronto para ver / You’ll be ready to see Como é que a cor da batida fica na mulher / How the colour of a bruise looks on your woman Ela não é santa / She isn’t holy Só um santo para o ser / Only a saint for being it Como é que esses argumentos servem pra bater / How these arguments lead to beating
Cala esses demónios / Silence those demons Já te podes perdoar / You could forgive yourself Não levantes essa mão se não for pra lutar / Don’t raise that hand unless it’s to fight Por um dia mais claro / For a brighter day Por um tempo mais doce / For a sweeter time Não trocava um abraço p’la jóia que fosse / She didn’t exchange an embrace for any jewel
O tamanho da mini saia / The size of a mini skirt É inverso a essa cobardia / Is the inverse of that cowardice Se não aguentas a mulher que tens / If you can’t stand the woman you have É porque te fica em demasia / It’s because she’s too much for you
O tamanho do sorriso dela / The size of her smile Não precisa de autorização / Doesn’t need permission A liberdade é um barco à vеla / Freedom is a sailboat E o amor não é uma prisão / And love is not a prison
Liberta logo esse ciúmе amargo / Just let go of that bitter jealousy Porque o ciúme deixa o Homem bruto / Because jealousy makes a man brutal Já nem sequer vês o mundo direito / You don’t even see the world clearly Mas tu és o teu próprio instituto / But you’re your own boss
Quantos deuses / How many gods É que o medo cria / Does fear create Semear a morte / To sow seeds of death Sangue à terra fria / Blood in the cold ground Desce mais um corpo / Another body falls A história é igual / The story is the same Quando os cintos dançam / When the belts dance Chora a catedral / The cathedral cries
Quantos deuses / How many gods É que o medo cria / Does fear create Semear a morte / To sow seeds of death Sangue à terra fria / Blood in the cold ground Desce mais um corpo / Another body falls A história é igual / The story is the same Quando os cintos dançam / When the belts dance Chora a catedral / The cathedral cries
Here’s a translation of “Que Mulher é Essa” by A Garota Não, because why not? I think it literally comes out as “What woman is that” but I’ll translate it as “Who’s that woman” because it sounds better in English.
Que Mulher é Essa
Que mulher é essa /Who’s that woman Que eu vejo na telenovela /That I see in the soap opera? As mulheres à minha volta /The women around me Não se parecem nada com ela /Don’t look anything like her.
É só mulher sexy /It’s only a sexy woman Que desliza quando passa /Who glides by A coxa* não entra /No lame woman appears E se entra é pra dar graça /And if she does its only as comic relief.
Que mulher é essa /Who’s that woman Que eu vejo na publicidade /That I see in the ads Será que as feias /Do the ugly women Vivem todas na minha cidade /All live in my town?
Só mulher bonita /Only a beautiful woman Todas altas e esguias /All tall and slender E só entra a gorda /And the fat woman only shows up Para perder calorias /To go on a diet
A preta não entra /The black woman doesn’t appear A baixa não entra, não /The short woman doesn’t, no A velha não entra /The old woman doesn’t appear A torta não entra, não /The disabled** woman doesn’t appear, no Quanto talento gasto em vão /How much talent is wasted?
Que mulher é essa /Who’s that woman Que desfila lá na passarela /That parades up there on the catwalk Nunca há-de entrar na moda / It will never be fashionable O pé descalço da Gabriela /To have bare feet like Gabriela
Só mulher com estilo /Only a woman with style Com glamour e muito brilho /With glamour and lots of polish Toda a roupa assenta /Whose clothes all fit Só à gente é um sarilho /We’re the only ones with problems
Que mulher é essa /Who’s that woman Que aparece tanto na revista /Who’s in the magazines so often Três folhas só de fotos /Three pages of nothing but photos E um cantinho de entrevista /And a tiny corner for the interview
E o que é que importa..? /And what does it matter? Quem quer saber do que fala? /Who wants to know what she talks about? Muito mais importa /It’s much more important Que vestido leva à gala… /What dress she wears to the gala.
A preta não entra /The black woman doesn’t appear A baixa não entra, não /The short woman doesn’t, no A velha não entra /The old woman doesn’t appear A torta não entra, não /The disabled** woman doesn’t appear, no Quanto talento gasto em vão /How much talent is wasted?
*Coxa usually means thigh but I think the sense here is the feminine form of “coxo”, which is defined as “pessoa que coxeia” – a person who limps. So I have opted for “a lame woman” which I hope is what she meant!
**Torta, in this context, is a bit confusing. It means twisted or bent, and priberam gives a few informal meanings including rowdy, cross-eyed, disloyal. I’ve also seen twisted in the sense of having a crooked face after local anaesthetic at the dentist, so possibly someone with an asymmetrical or disfigured face…? I originally published this with the translation as “twisted” but I’ve edited it subsequently because some people I spoke to on reddit indicated that we’re supposed to picture someone whose bones are deformed in some way and who essentially has some form of physical disability or impairment.
I’d like to thank Heike Dio who commented under a recent post about the Dulce Pontes / Moonspell collab. She suggested I have a look at the Linda Martini performance on Antena 3 with Ana Moura on guest vocals. It’s good: very stylish and original, so I’m really glad to have it on my YouTube music playlist. I must say, I still prefer the chaos energy of the Dulce Pontes one though. I’ve been watching that at least once a day since I first found it. Here is Heike’s recommendatiin though, and I’ll try and translate the lyrics underneath because that’ll help me understand it.
If I Grow*
Espero que te venha o sono /I hope sleep comes to you Que te deites cedo, antes de eu chegar /That you go to bed early before I arrive Que isto de ser dois, longe do plural /Because this thing of being a couple, far from being plural É tão singular /Is so singular
Paredes de empena / Gabled walls Já nem vale a pena /It’s not even worth it any more Resta-nos arder / Now it’s time for us to burn Que esta chama lenta /Because this slow flame Já virou tormenta** / Has become a firestorm E ao entardecer / And as it gets late
Ninguém me diz / Nobody told me O que há depois de nós / That there was something after us E se depois de nós / And that after us both Os dois me Agiganto / I’ll grow.
Eu já fui embora / And i left Já marquei a hora / And i marked the time Pra não me atrasar / So as not to be late Já comprei bilhete / i bought a ticket Deixei-te um bilhete / i left you a ticket E a descongelar / And once thawed out Os restos de ontem / Yesterday’s leftovers Dão pra o jantar / Will be enough for dinner
Ninguém me diz / Nobody told me O que há depois de nós / That there was something after us E se depois de nós / And that after us both Os dois me Agiganto / I’ll grow.
*=Agigantar literally means become a giant, but with that little reflexive pronoun, it becomes a verbo pronomial meaning “get bigger” so “grow” seems like a better translation.
**=Tormenta looks like it ought to mean “torment”. It actually means “storm” but I translated it as firestorm because a flame becoming a rainstorm doesn’t seem right.
It’s hard to think of two musical. Genres that would be harder to turn into a crossover performance than Fado and Death Metal. And yet, if you think about it, is it that surprising a combination? They both deal in heavy stuff like death and despair, everyone’s wearing black and it’s all guitar-based (albeit a different kind of guitar). Fado is usually more subtle of course, but could it ever work? Well, here’s Dulce Pontes and Moonspell coming to test the theory at the Play Awards a few days ago.
It starts out with her singing fado and him not really able to keep up, and they go along together for a while, but by the end she’s pretty much reigning supreme over goth metal and he still can’t really keep up. The bit right at the end where he roars and she shrieks, but she can keep up the shrieking about four times as long as he can keep up the roar so he’s just left there staring at heaven from whence God’s vengeance cometh while she’s still belting out the same note. No prisoners taken!
The song they’re singing at the start is “Porque”, from Dulce’s latest album, and it’s based on a poem by Sophia De Mello Breyner Andresen. It’s expressing admiration for another person’s bravery and independence of spirit (“because others wear a mask but you don’t, because others use their virtue to pay for what can’t be forgiven – because others are afraid and you aren’t”) After the beat drops at about the half way mark, they’re onto Moonspell’s “In Tremor Dei“* which is a doom laden song about the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake “Lisbon in flames – a lantern lit, when a city falls another empire arises…” On the face of it, the two songs don’t seem to go well together, but the segue works because of the lyrics: at the end of the second verse of the fado, they sing together “porque os outros se calam mas tu não” – “because others keep quiet but you don’t.” Cue drums, guitar, crowd chanting and first pumping. Epic.
There were some other crossovers at the same show, like one between Nenny and Ana Moura, or between Camané, Agir and the Ukrainian Orthodox Choir, all good in their own ways of course, but this one is by far the most epic.
I’ve got tickets to see a Dulce Pontes concert that was delayed from last November to this November and I’m hoping she brings these lads with her now.
*Don’t panic if you’re struggling to translate the title – it’s Latin, not Portuguese!
I have been listening to other Xutos and Pontapés songs after getting over my mental block with A Minha Casinha the other day, I like this one: Dia de S Receber. I’m not a catholic so the title is a little bit alien to me, but saints’ days seem to be more of a thing in Portugal than they are in britain, at least if my Twitter feed is anything to go by. the S in the title is short for Sao (“Saint”) so São Receber means “Saint Receive” and that means o Dia de Sao Receber is payday, right? I’m not wrong about that am I? I hope not or this translation is going to be a right old mess….
This is the best kind of video, by the way: It has the lyrics appearing as part of the video, not just as inaccurate subtitles, which is really helpful for us learners. If you want to find out more about them you shouldn’t find it hard: there’s loads of their stuff on Youtube, on Spotify and all the usual places. I’m sort of intrigued by a book I came across on bertrand’s website too: there’s a comic book about them with a free CD. It’s part of a series including eight well-known portuguese bands. I wouldn’t go out of my way to get it but I might bung it in the basket next time I’m shopping for books, I shouldn’t be doing any such thing of course, because I’m on a book-buying ban, but it’s nearly my birthday so I might just treat myself.
Dia de S receber
Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii a minha vida / Oh my life! Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii a minha vida / Oh my life! Embora falar da arte / Let’s talk about art Da arte de sobreviver / About the art of survival Daquela que se descobre / Of what we find out Quando não há que comer / When there’s nothing to eat Há os que roubam ao banco / There are those who rob banks Os que não pagam por prazer / Those who don’t pay for pleasure Os que pedem emprestado / Those who borrow money E os que fazem render / And those who earn money Este dia a dia é duro / This day-to-day is hard É duro de se levar / It’s hard to get up É de casa pró trabalho / It’s from house to work E do trabalho pró lar / And from work to home Leva assim uma vida / A life could get taken up that way Na boínha* sem pensar / Fair enough if you don’t think about it Mas há-de chegar o dia / But the day has to come Em que tens de me pagar / When you have to pay me Ai é o dia / Oh** it’s the day De S. Receber / The day of São Receber Dia de S. Receber / Day of São Receber Já não chega o que nos / It’s not enough what Tiram à hora de pagar / They take from us on payday É difícil comer solas / It’s difficult to eat Estufadas ao jantar / stewed shoe soles for dinner De histórias mal contadas / By badly-told stories Anda meio mundo a viver / Half the world is living Enquanto o outro meio / While the other half Fica à espera de receber / Are waiting to get paid Ai é o dia / Oh it’s the day De S. Receber / The day of São Receber Dia de S. Receber / Day of São Receber Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii a minha vida / Oh my life! Aaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii a minha vida / Oh my life!*** É assim esta diálise / That’s how it is, the dialysis**** Entre o deve e o haver / between owing and having Sei que para o patrão custa / I know it’s hard for my boss Enfrentar este dever / to face this duty O dinheiro para mim não conta / Money doesn’t count for me Eu trabalho por prazer / I work for pleasure Mas o dia que eu mais gosto / But the day I like the best É o dia de S. Receber / Is the day of São Receber
* You won’t find boínha in the dictionary. It’s just a diminutive though: Na boa + inha = na boínha. Ciberdúvidas says it shouldn’t have an accent but this is how I found it on the lyrics page so I’m leaving it in.
**Ai is an exclamation like “Oh!”, not to be confuised with “Aí” which means “There”. If you look at the video, it’s the same word he’s shouting at the beginning and in the middle as “AAAAAAAAIIIIII”
*** In the video, when he gets to the middle of the song at the second round of “AAAAAAAIIIIIII” etc, he adds a couple of extras in: first, a nursery rhyme called “Atirei o pau ao gato” (“I threw the stick at the cat”) which has been criticised for cruelty to animals (I wrote a blog post about this ages ago but it’s pretty much what you’d expect from people who have nothing better to do than to closely analyse nursery rhymes). Secondly, there’s a bit of swearing: “A puta da minha vida” – “My bitch of a life”, which seems to be quite a common expression. For a start, it’s used in the title of this very good collection of essays by Miguel Esteves Cardoso, which I read a few years ago when I was at B1 level and even then found very easy to read and very funny.
**** Weird word choice, this. According to Priberam it really does only have that medical meaning. I wondered if it was a misprint – maybe some other word meaning “dichotomy” or “dualism” or something but it’s right there in the video, so I asked Mrs L about it and she says yeah, it does just seem to be that idea some idea that there’s a medical procedure required to separate out the money owed and the money you have.
Here’s a corrected text from a couple of days ago with some additional notes. The theme is this weird new Mad-Libs policy about refugees that the British government came up with just before Easter and then were shocked… shocked! – when every vicar in the land used their easter sermons to say it wasn’t what Jesus would have done.
Pensei em escrever sobre a nova política do partido conservador face à imigração de refugiados mas é tão ridículo que, contado, ninguém acredita. A questão da imigração e dos refugiados (não são iguais mas são semelhantes até certo ponto) é complicado e cada país tem de pensar bem antes de fazer uma política que passa a prova de justiça e de compaixão, mas o nosso governo não se importa.
Amazingly this text didn’t need any corrections (it’s not often that happens!) but Dani told me more about the phrase “Contado Ninguém Acredita”. I only know it from the Deolinda song
… But it’s also the Portuguese translation of the name of the American movie “Stranger than Fiction”.
It’s usually said as part of a larger expression “Isto só visto porque contado ninguém acredita” which basically means “You have to see it to believe it. There used to be a TV series in the nineties called Isto Só Vídeo which was a sort of Portuguese equivalent of those cheap shows where people send in their home videos of terrible disasters – falling off bikes or getting whacked in the face by a swing or whatever – and you wonder how long they had to spend on A&E to bring the nation 30 seconds of amusement. I’m thinking of Jeremy Beadle because my cultural references are very out of date but I’m pretty sure they are still a thing now and of course YouTube is full of them. Anyway here’s what it looks like.
How’s that? I’ve gone from the refugee crisis to Jeremy Beadle in 5 paragraphs. Not bad eh?
Well, I mentioned it’s spring here in the northern hemisphere, so here’s my attempt at a translation of Primavera. I can’t find any videos of Amália singing it but I’ll drop a live recording of Mariza’s version here for those who don’t know it.
Ai funesta Primavera!
Todo o amor que nos prendera /All the love that had stuck to us Como se fora de cera /As if it were wax Se quebrava e desfazia /Broke apart and disintegrated Ai, funesta Primavera! /Oh terrible spring! Quem me dera, quem nos dera /If only I, if only we Ter morrido nesse dia /Had died on that day Ai, funesta Primavera /Oh terrible spring Quem me dera, quem nos dera /If only I, if only we Ter morrido nesse dia /Had died on that day
E condenaram-me a tanto /And they condemned me so much Viver comigo o meu pranto / To live with myself and with my mourning Viver, viver e sem ti / To live to live without you Vivendo sem no entanto / But living without Eu me esquecer desse encanto /forgetting that enchantment Que nesse dia perdi / That I lost in that day Vivendo sem no entanto / But living without Eu me esquecer desse encanto /forgetting that enchantment Que nesse dia perdi / That i lost on that day
Pão duro da solidão / The stale bread of loneliness É somente o que nos dão / Is all the give us O que nos dão a comer / What they give us to eat Que importa que o coração / What does it matter if the heart Diga que sim ou que não / Says yes or no Se continua a viver / If it keeps on living Que importa que o coração /What does it matter if the heart Diga que sim ou que não / Says yes or no Se continua a viver /If it keeps on living
Todo o amor que nos prendera /All the love that had stuck to us Se quebrara e desfizera / Broke apart and disintegrated Em pavor se convertia / It converted itself into dread Ninguém fale em Primavera /Nobody talk about spring Quem me dera, quem nos dera / If only I, if only we Ter morrido nesse dia / Had died on that day Ninguém fale em Primavera /nobody talk about spring Quem me dera, quem nos dera / If only I if only we Ter morrido nesse dia / Had died on that day
