Well, who fancies a translation? I know I do. First translation of the new year. This one is a bit more poppy and upbeat than some of the ones I’ve done lately.
By the way, can anyone work out what the marioneta is saying at the start? Tell me in the comments because I’d love to know. But even the CAPLE exam setters aren’t sadistic enough to make you listen to a guy talking through a swozzle in their aural comprehension. The creator is currently working with a company called Mãozorra at the moment so if you want to know more, have a look at their site.
Português
English
Modera a ansiedade de te veres a eito faz-te calmo e bom proveito Quando amanhã te levantares E achares que é natural Não pensares nessa mulher, então Tudo vai mal
Don’t focus on yourself so much* Calm down and enjoy yourself When you get up tomorrow And think it’s natural Not to think of that woman, then Everything goes wrong
Quando te ouvires a falar Mete a cabeça para dentro Quando te ouvires a falar Encolhe os ombros num lamento Nem penses nisso, então Tudo vai mal Tudo vai mal Vai de mal a pior E essa coragem, se és capaz Faz-te um homem, rapaz Já viste o que um dia faz?
When you hear yourself talking Put your head inside When you hear yourself talking Shrug your shoulders in sorrow So dont even think about it Everything goes wrong Everything goes wrong It goes from bad to worse And that courage, if you can Man up, lad Have you seen what one day can do?
E se esta noite passar Há-de te irritar o dia E se esta noite evitar O que a estupidez faria Pára com isso, então Tudo vai mal Tudo vai mal Vai de mal a pior E essa coragem, se és capaz Vá lá, faz-te um homem, rapaz modera a ansiedade de te veres a eito faz-te calmo e bom proveito Faz-te um homem, rapaz Já viste o que um dia faz?
And if this night passes It’s going to irritate you all day And if this night avoids What stupidity will do So stop that Everything goes wrong Everything goes wrong It goes from bad to worse Adn that courage, if you can Go on, man up lad Don’t focus on yourself so much* Calm down and enjoy yourself Man up, lad Have you seen what one day can do?
*Really paraphrasing here – “Moderate your anxiety of seeing yourself constantly”
I’ve had a couple of videos (here and here) that have made reference to a song called “A Casa da Mariquinhas”. It keeps appearing in the most unexpected of places, and I am planning to do a longer blog post about the history around it, but for today, here’s another “sequel” to the song. The title “Vou dar de Beber à Alegria” is not accidental – it’s a callback to an earlier title, “Vou dar de Beber à Dor”. The reason I’m interested in this video is that I don’t understand all the dialogue in between the verses, where she’s just having bantz with the audience. I can get quite a bit of it; my favourite bit is when she fancies singing a bit more she tells her guitarist “Anda Armando!” – oh yeah, she’s in charge. But I’m definitely missing huge chunks. I found a transcript online and it’s full of footnotes, so it seemed worth writing it out and decoding all the dialogue, with a view to sharpening my listening skills
OK (Rolls up sleeves) LET’S DO THIS!
Some aspects of this don’t really make much sense and I don’t know if it’s just me or what. Like what’s the mongoose stuff all about? There’s another version by Mafalda Arnauth which is really polished and leaves out the crazy backstory and there are a couple of other tweaks too – like she says “Umas Pinguinhas” instead of “Uma Macieirazinha”, maybe because that drink isn’t well-known now and people might wonder what she was talking about.
Portuguese
English
[Também podia ser Yé-Yé, olha, Lembras-te, quando a gente fazia estas paródias? Ah, ah. Ela fazia um marinheiro americano depois voltámos: Eu fiz muitos marinheiros americanos, ela fez “um marinheiro americano” e eu fiz “um marujo português”, um dueto. É um sucesso!] Anda Armando!
It could be Yé-Yé* too, look. Remember when we used to do these parodies? She (Amália Rodrigues) was making an american sailor** and then we came back: I made lots of american sailors, she mas “An american sailor” and I made “a Portuguese Sailor”, a duet. It’s a hit!
Go for it, Armando!
Passei ontem pela rua, onde morava, A cantada e recantada Mariquinhas, E qual não é meu espanto, Olho e, vejo por encanto, Outra vez, lá na janela, as tabuinhas. Corri e bati à porta E até fiquei quase morta, Quando ela se abriu p’las alminhas, Pois, quem veio a porta abrir e a sorrir, Era mesmo a Mariquinhas!
Yesterday I went down the road where lived The much-sung-about Mariquinhas And which isn’t my amazement I look and I see by magic Once again, in the window, the shutters. I ran and knocked at the door And I almost died When it opened by a mircacle Because who came to the door and opened it smiling It was Mariquinhas herself!
[Ai, a Mariquinhas ‘tá uma beleza, ‘tá tão linda a Mariquinhas! Ai que linda, ai que linda, ai que beleza! ‘Tá mais gordinha, pesa quatrocentos e cinquenta quilos, Não é brincadeira nenhuma, que é mais que o dobro! Mas como gordura é formosura, Ela não se importa nada com isso. ‘Tava a comer jaquinzinhos de escabeche, quando eu apareci. Ela assim que me viu: – Olha a Hermínia, eh pá! Ela sabe que eu gosto de carapaus fritos, coitadinha até fez ternura: Tinha lá o arranjinho dela, jaquinzinhos a 320 paus o quilo. Ela tinha lá cinco gramas, era para ela e para o «charmant», pró «Schatz»; depois apareceu esta intrusa; olha, foi à conta! O que vale é que os jaquinzinhos, é cabecinha, rabinho e tudo, vai tudo na enchurrada!]
Anda Armando!
Oh, Mariquinhas is a beauty, she’s so lovely, Mariquinhas! Oh how lovely, how lovely, what beauty! She’s a little fatter, she weighs 450 kilos, It’s no joke, it’s more than double! But with fatness there’s gorgeousness, She doesn’t care about that at all She was eating Jaquinzinhos with escabeche*** when I appeared And as soon as she saw me: “Hello, Hermínia, woah, man!” She knows I like Fried mackerel, poor thing, she was even kind to me She had her little arrangement, jaquinzinhos at 320 paus (escudos) a kilo She had five grams, it was for her and for the “charmant”, for the “Schatz”****; then there was this intrusion; look, it was the bill! What matters is that the Jaquizinhos, heads, tails, everything, all go in together
Go for it, Armando!
Eu entrei e abracei a Mariquinhas, Que me contou que um senhor de falas finas Lhe deu a casa que é sua, Pôs o prego na rua E correu com o tal senhor, que era lingrinhas. Mandou caiar as paredes, Pôr cortinas de chita Nas janelas tão bonitas, às bolinhas. E, por fora, p’ra chatear as vizinhas, Janelas com tabuinhas.
I went in and hugged Mariquinhas, Who told me that a sweet-talking man Had given her the house that is hers Put the nail in the road And ran with that man, who was skinny. She ordered the walls to be whitewashed Put up chintz curtains with polka-dots on the beatiful windows And outside, to annoy the neighbours Windows with shutters
[Bem-feita! Lá na rua, as amiguinhas ficaram todas danadas. E um peso de quatrocentos quilos em cada ponta das tabuinhas, que era para elas não poderem deitar para lá os mirones. Aquilo é um rés-do-chão. Antigamente aquilo era só lá chegar, e aquilo era canja, agora quem é que pode? Aguente-se oitocentos quilos, o que ela se havia de “alimbrar*****” hein! Mas é uma belíssima rapariga!
Anda Armando!
Well done! There on the street, the little friends were all upset And a weight of 400kg on each corner of the shutter so the nosey-parkers couldn’t move them aside. That was on the ground floor Back in the day all you had to do was walk up and it was a piece of cake, now who could do it? 800kg is sturdy enough, which she must have remembered, eh? But she was a very beautiful girl!
Go for it, Armando!
Ai, já tiraram os caixilhos às voltinhas E as janelas já estão todas catitinhas. E p’ra afastar os temores E o inguiço****** dos penhores, Defumou a casa toda com ervinhas. Pôs incenso das igrejas E, p’ra acabar com as invejas, Pôs um chifre atrás da porta, às voltinhas. E na cama, sobre a colcha feita à mão, Ai, debruada com borlinhas.
Oh they’ve already taken away the boxes And the windows are all looking good And to drive away fears And the bad luck of the debts She fumigated the whole house with herbs Put out church incense And to put an end to the envy Put a horn behind the door around about******* And on the bed, on the handmade quilt, oh, decorated with tassels
[Ela é muito prendada. ‘Tava a fazer colcha toda em caroché Diz que era para oferecer a mim Para eu estrear na noite de Natal: E tens qu’a pôr, e tens qu’a pôr, e tens qu’a pôr Tens qu’a pôr o quê, mulher? Tens que pôr a colcha na noite… ‘Tá bem, pronto, acabou-se! Faltavam très dias p’rò o Natal e a colcha ainda ‘tava em meio. E ela, coitadinha, ali, à fossanga, à fossanga… Ò mulher, pára lá com a costura! Quando entram as visitas de cerimónia assim como eu, pára-se logo com tudo! Nós éramos aprendizas de alfaiate, quando éramos miúdas, é claro que eu não percebia nada daquilo, nem queria, eu andava a apanhar alfenetes [alfinetes], agora ela não; ela já sabia “górnecer” [guarnecer], como ela dizia. Hoje é uma boa costureira de alfaiate e eu sou vedeta! De maneira que ela faz assim um bocadinho de cerimónia comigo, então respondeu: Ó filha, eu por acaso até nem percebo desses “protocóis” [protocolos]. Você não percebe destes proto quê? Então aprenda, eu é que sei! “Coltura” [Cultura] é comigo, sou eu e o Pedro Homem de Melo, só, mais nada! Uma bandida daquelas, da minha criação, a dizer «protocóis». Mas em que rimance [romance], em que rimance, é que ela aprendeu os protocóis, não foi na crónica feminina, concerteza. Eu, ali, cheia de punhos de renda, nhó, nhó, nhó, nhé, nhé, nhé, e ela, pimba, «protocóis»!
Anda Armando!
A colcha é linda! É toda aos “kódrados” [quadrados] de metro e meio Assim com rosinhas, todas em relevo; assim com cachos de uvas ferrais, pindurados assim à volta, uma fundura toda em «bois de rose» é uma beleza! Pesa cinquenta quilos. Aquilo não é sonho, é pesadelo! Agora eu, pela escada abaixo, com cinquenta manguços às costas… Eu disse escada abaixo? Ó Irene, eu disse escada abaixo, disse? Não é, é um rés-do-cháo!
She was very gifted. She was making the whole quilt with crochet She said it was to give to me For me to use for the first time at Christmas: And you have to put, have to put, have to put Have to put, what, woman? You have to put on the quilt at night That’s fine, right, it’s finished! It was three days before christmas and the quilt was still only half finished. And her, poor thing, there, working hard, working hard… O woman, stop your sewing! When they enter on cerimonial visits like me, everything stops! We were apprentices of needlework when we were kids, it’s clear that I didn’t understand any of that and didn’t want to. I was picking up pins, but not her. She knew how to decorate, as she would say. Today, she is a good seamstress and I’m a star! In that way she made a little ceremony with me, then replied: Oh, daughter, I as it happens don’t know of these “protocols”. You don’t understand these proto-what? Then learn, I’m the one who knows! Culture, that’s nmy department, me and Pedro Homem de Melo and nobody else! One of those bandits of my creation saying “protocols”, but in what novel, in what novel did she learn “protocols”? It wasn’t in the Crónica Feminina, that’s for sure! Here I am, walking on eggshells, nhó nhó nhó nhé nhé nhé********* and her – boom! “Protocóis!”
Go for it, Armando!
the quilt is lovely! It’s made up of squares, and a metre and a half in size Like that, with roses, all in relief and with bunches of iron grapes, hanging, like this around it, a background all in “rosewood” It’s a beauty! It weights 50 kilos That’s not a dream, it’s a nightmare! Now me, down the stairs with fifty mongooses********** on my back… Did I say down the stairs? Oh Irender, I said downstairs, didn’t I? No, it’s the ground floor!
Lá está tudo, tudo, tudo, até o xaile E a guitarra, enfeitada com fitinhas. E sobre a cama, reparo, Um peniquinho de barro, Bem bonito e pintadinho com florinhas. E eu fiquei tão contente! E ficámos, calmamente, A beber até de manhã, ai, ai.. uma macieirazinha, Pois dar de beber à dor é o melhor, Já dizia a Mariquinhas! Pois dar de beber à dor é o melhor, Já dizia a Mariquinhas!
There it is, everything, everything, even the shawl And the guitar, decorated with patches And on the bed, I notice, A clay chamber-pot All pretty, painted with flowers. I was so happy And we stayed, calmly Drinking until morning, oh oh… A little Macieira Because drinking the pain away is the best Said Mariquinhas Because drinking the pain away is the best Said Mariquinhas
*Yé-Yé was a style of pop music in europe in the sixties, The name derives from Yeah-Yeah used by bands like the Beatles
**I definitely feel like I’m in double-entendre territory here, but for what it’s worth in the sixties, Hermínia Silva did in fact make a record called “Marinheiro American” and another called “Marujo de Lisboa, and Amália seems to have made one called “My Love is a Sailor” but whether that’s all she’s talking about, I couldn’t speculate!
***Jaquinzinhos are baby Carapaus (horse mackerel), eaten whole, and escabeche is some sort of vinaigrette style sauce. Basically, this is tasca food, although it’s difficult to see how she got that fat off eating fish, but OK.
****French and German words equivalent to Prince Charming
*****lembrar
****** I think this must be “enguiço” – and “penhores” on the same line means objects used as collateral, but debt seems to work better in the line so I have fudged it…
*******No idea what’s going on here – but they’ve already talked about burning incense to drive out bad luck so maybe some other kind of superstitious ritual???
******** Best I can do as a translation for “punhos de renda” which means taking extreme care to avoid giving offence
********* I think this is just the sound of someone jabbering like blah blah blah…?
********** Mongooses? Is mongoose a slang word for kilogram? This is baffling!
Então, ainda não falei da rainha, Cesária Évora? Tive a sorte de assistir a* um espetáculo dela em… hum… 2001, se não me engano. Naquela altura, não falava nem uma palavra de português mas mesmo se falasse não me teria ajudado porque a maior parte da obra dela está em Crioulo Cabo-Verdiano. Fomos com a tia da minha esposa. A minha esposa nasceu no Cabo Verde e viviu lá durante os seus primeiros anos, antes da família dela ter voltado para a Madeira. A cantora tinha uma maneira muito relaxada de se apresentar na sala de concertos. Não parecia ser muito animada. Só cantou de pés descalços**. Havia uma mesa no centro do palco e, durante o seu intervalo, a banda continuou a tocar enquanto ela sentou-se numa poltrona, acendeu um cigarro, deitou um pouco de vinho num copo*** e ficou tranquila, nem sequer olhando o público durante 3 ou 4 minutos até à abertura da próxima música.
Queria fazer uma tradução da sua canção “Angola”, que é empolgante, mas claro que preciso da ajuda de um português que entenda o crioulo. Roubei as letras deste site, mas acho que o homem que fez esta tradução parafraseou um pouco. Por exemplo, aquela primeira linha tem uma conjugação do verbo “viver”, sem dúvida. Acho que ela diz “Essa vida boa que os senhores estão a viver”. Existem vários sites online onde se explicam estas línguas parecidas com o português padrão – por exemplo, aqui está a descrição de “nhôs” no Infopedia . E tenho as minhas dúvidas sobre a interpretação de “Ami nhos ca ta matá-me” porque parece-me tão descabido no contexto… mas tenho de confiar no tradutor porque ele afirma que é fluente!
A música é linda. Eu não sei nada de teoria da música e se calhar, estou completamente errado, mas parece-me influenciado pela música do Brasil, com um ritmo sincopado que me lembra o**** Samba, mas é mais do que só uma cópia: muito mais. Tem um som único, e a voz dela é… Ouso dizer “ouro sobre azul”? O efeito da voz e da música é esmagador!
*I need to smack myself in the head with a frying pan a few times till I remember to put the “a” after “assistir”
**I’m only talking about the concert but I could easily have said the same about her career.
***I really screwed this sentence up – I tried to use the verb “derramar”, which isn’t even the right verb (it means spill) but then I managed to get it even wronger and wrote “derrubar”. I think deitar is the right verb even though it sounds weird – I usually associate it with laying something down or chucking it away. I also wanted to express the idea that she poured out a few sips worth, but that didn’t go any better. Hopefully this works. the easy way would be to say “encheu um copo” because why wouldn’t you want to fill it all the way up? But I was trying to be more specific than that. Sigh. This seems like a very basic thing to be confused about when I’m meant to be at C1 level.
****Not “do Samba”: “it reminds me of” doesn’t have de, whereas “i remember” does – so the preposition use is pretty much the opposite of english, really!
Crioula
Português
Inglês
Ess vida sabe qu’nhôs ta vivê Parodia dia e note manché Sem maca ma cu sabura Angola angola Oi qu’povo sabe Ami nhos ca ta matá-me ‘M bem cu hora pa’me ba nha caminho Ess convivência dess nhôs vivência Paciência dum consequência Resistência dum estravagância
Essa vida boa que vocês têm Paródia dia e noite até de manhã Sem mágoas, com alegria Angola, Angola Oh que povo alegre A mim não me matam Venho com hora para partir A convivência na vossa vivência Paciência duma consequência Resistência duma extravagância
That good life you’re living Parodies, day and night, until morning Without pain, but with happiness Angola, Angola Oh what a happy people They don’t kill me I come when it’s time to be on the way The way living together is a way of life Patience of consequence Resistance of extravagance
Thanks to Cristina of Say it in Portuguese for correcting the text description above the video.
I was bowled over by Jéssica Cipriano’s version of Madredeus’s O Pastor when I watched it the other day, shortly after hearing her version of Olá Solidão. It’s so, so good. When she really cuts loose at around 4.20, my eyes were filling up and my soul left my body. I think the pianist, David Antunes, was right there with me too. Holy shit! How is this woman not a million times more famous? How do I not even see an album of hers on Spotify? How is she not smashing Eurovision? It’s some sort of conspiracy to hide her from the ears of foreigners, I reckon.
Here’s the original from the 1990 album, Existir. You can see it’s got a richer musical arrangement, and the singer’s voice is beautiful in an ethereal way. but it’s too ethereal for me, and the band has never really grabbed me for that reason, even though they were the first portuguese band I ever listened to. They remind me of bands like Clannad, the Cocteau Twins and Enya. I feel like the voice is being used as a musical instrument; there’s not much emotion there and the words don’t really matter so much so it’s hard to get into.
Português
Inglês
Ai que ninguém volta Ao que já deixou Ninguém larga a grande roda Ninguém sabe onde é que andou
Oh, nobody goes back To what they left Nobody lets go of the big wheel Nobody knows where they’ve been
Ai que ninguém lembra Nem o que sonhou Aquele menino canta A cantiga do pastor
Oh nobody remembers Not even what they dreamed That child sings The song of the shepherd
Ao largo Ainda arde A barca Da fantasia O meu sonho acaba tarde Deixa a alma de vigia Ao largo Ainda arde A barca Da fantasia O meu sonho acaba tarde Acordar é que eu não queria
In the distance It’s still burning The boat Of fantasy My dream ends late Leave your soul on guard In the distance It’s still burning The boat Of fantasy My dream ends late Waking up is what I didn’t want
Today’s translation is from Os Quatro e Meio. Why are they called that? You’d think, wouldn’t you, that maybe there were 5 of them but one was a dog so they only count him as half because he can’t play the mandolin. But no, there are six of them. So… what, are three of them dogs? How many mandolins do they need in one band? I’ve googled it but I’ve no idea how to account for the numerical disparity* Anyway, they hail from Coimbra and they are alumni of the student music scene down there but they branched out and found themselves a following in the country as a whole. They seem very earnest young men and you can see how they’d appeal to people who like easnest young men, preferably with eyebrows and suits, and it’s a good pop song: simple, catchy and with plenty of scope to let loose on the vocals In fact, here’s Jéssica Cipriano absolutely singing the hell out of it with a very minimal musical accompaniment and it’s even better than the original. I’d never heard of her before but she has an absolutely phenomenal voice.
The translation is mostly pretty easy, although I struggled a bit with “Fiz bandeira de um velho ditado / Melhor só que mal acompanhado”. Nothing hard about it, but when I translate it the two lines didn’t seem to fit together which made me think I’d missed something and I tried experimenting with alternative meanings of “acompanhar”. For example, it’s the verb Google Mail uses when it asks if you want to follow up an email that you’ve sent and not had a reply. So I was thinking maybe “it’s only better than barely following things up….” Desparate stuff. Anyway, the punctuation makes the difference because of course “Melhor só que mal acompanhado” is the ditado mentioned in the first line. He decided to live by the idea that it’s better to go alone than in bad company
Português
Inglês
Eu já fui assim Tão focado em mim Sem querer conselhos De ninguém Fiz das nuvens lar Saltei sem olhar Crendo que no fim sairia tudo bem
I used to be like that** So focused on myself Without wanting advice From anyone I made a home in the clouds I jumped without looking Believing in the end it would be fine
Fiz bandeira de um velho ditado: “Melhor só que mal acompanhado” Nem pensava em apoiar os pés no chão Olá, solidão Olá, solidão
I made a flag of an old saying: “Better alone than in bad company” I never thought of keeping my feet on the ground Hello solitude Hello solitude
Eu tinha um lugar Com vista pra o mar Que ninguém chegou a conhecer Voei rente ao céu Tudo era só meu E o que ainda não era Iria ser
I had a place With a sea view That nobody ever got to know I flew close to the sky Everything was all mine And whatever wasn’t yet Was going to be
Olho em volta, agora estou sozinho Não liguei às placas do caminho Nem parei pra perguntar a direção Olá, solidão Olá, solidão
I look around, now I’m alone I didn’t pay attention to the road signs I didn’t stop to ask directions Hello Solitude Hello Solitude
Fiz bandeira de um velho ditado: “Melhor só que mal acompanhado” Nem pensava em apoiar os pés no chão
I made a flag of an old saying: “Better alone than in bad company” I never thought of keeping my feet on
Olho em volta, agora estou sozinho Não liguei às placas do caminho Nem parei pra perguntar a direção Olá, solidão Olá, solidão
I look around, now I’m alone I didn’t pay attention to the road signs I didn’t stop to ask directions Hello Solitude Hello Solitude
Eu já fui assim Tão focado em mim Sem querer conselhos De ninguém
I was always like this So focused on myself Without wanting advice From anyone
* EDIT: A helpful reader has suggested this web page as the source of the name: “Começámos por ser só cinco. Salvo seja, já que o Rui [Marques, contrabaixista] não tem dimensão para isso. Não é que o valor dele ano seja igual ao dos outros mas a estatura dele deixa um pouco a desejar” – I assume that “ano” is a typo for “não” or possibly “anão” heh heh
** Thanks to Liliana for suggesting I tweak the tense here (see comments below 👇)
I was sorry to hear Sara Tavares (who I’ve written about on here before) had passed away yesterday. She had been diagnosed with a brain tumour a decade ago, but, as I understand it, had recovered. It seems to have come back recently, which I wasn’t aware of and I was shocked to hear she was dead.
Forty five is no age, and it’s a great loss to music. I hadn’t realised previously that she was also a former eurovision entrant, as well as all those awards and collaborative projects. She really achieved a lot.
I saw this in the same compilation as yesterday’s. The style is a bit lighter. The singers are Fernando Maurício (left) and Francisco Martinho (right). For me, the best thing is the staring match between the guy on the portuguese guitar and the guy on the vanilla guitar. Neither of those lads is backing down.
The song seems to date from the thirties or forties, when a song with a similar name – A Casa da Mariquinhas – was written by João Silva Tavares and sung by Alfredo Marceneiro. It tells the story of a house with shutters on the windows, which we are meant to understand is a brothel, and it was so popular it inspired a whole lot of similar songs about whorehouses. This is one, and it talks about the auction held after the closure of the house. Oh no! So I’ve listened to the sequel without hearing the original!
There’s a lot more background on this page if you want to know more.
Portuguese
English
Ninguém sabe dizer nada Da formosa Mariquinhas* A casa foi leiloada Venderam-lhe as tabuinhas
Nobody knew how to say anything About the beautiful Mariquinhas The house was auctioned They even sold the shutters
Ainda fresca e com gajé Encontrei na Mouraria A antiga Rosa Maria E o Chico do Cachené Fui-lhes falar, já se vê E perguntei-lhes de entrada Pela Mariquinhas, coitada
Still cool and with swagger I met in the Mouraria Old lady Rosa Maria And Chico do Cachené I went to speak to them, as you see And asked them right away About poor Mariquinhas
Respondeu-me o Chico: E vê-la? Tenho querido saber dela Ninguém sabe dizer nada As outras suas amigas A Clotilde, a Júlia, a Alda A Inês, a Berta, a Mafalda E as outras mais raparigas Aprendiam-lhe as cantigas As mais ternas, coitadinhas Formosas como andorinhas Olhos e peitos em brasa Que pena tenho da casa Da formosa Mariquinhas!
And Chico replied: And to see her? I was wanting to know about her Nobody knew how to say anything Her other friends Clotilde, Júlia, Alda Inês, Berta, Mafalda And some other girls They learned her songs The most tender ones, poor things Beautiful as swallows Eyes like black coals I feel such pity for the house Of beautiful Mariquinhas
Então o Chico apertado Com perguntas, explicou-se A vizinhança zangou-se Fez um abaixo-assinado Diziam que havia fado Ali, até madrugada E a pobre foi intimada A sair; foi posta fora E por mor duma penhora A casa foi leiloada
Then Chico, eager To ask questions, explained The neighbourhood got angry And started a petition They said there was fado There until the small hours And the poor woman was summoned To leave; she was put out And for the sake of a foreclosure The house was auctioned
O Chico fora ao leilão Arrematou a guitarra O espelho, a colcha com barra O cofre-forte e o fogão
Chico, outside the auction Bid for the guitar The mirror, the striped duvet The safe and the stove
Como não houve cambão Porque eram coisas mesquinhas Trouxe um par de chinelinhas O alvará e as bambinelas E até das próprias janelas Venderam-lhe as tabuinhas
Since there was no change because they’re trivial things He took a pair of slippers The license and the awning And from the windows themselves They sold him the shutters
Mariquinhas seems to be a woman’s name here, but generally speaking mariquinhas is a diminutive of maricas, meaning sissy or effeminate, so probably to be used with care.
I’m in a translation mood again, and this one is a more traditional number: Lisboa, Menina e Moca by legendary fadista Carlos do Carmo. It’s pretty well known, and I hear it very often, so this is one of those songs to be aware of. The title is literally “Lisbon, Girl and Young Woman”, and he’s basically talking to the city as if it it was a girl and he was trying to – as the young folk say – rizz it up. It strikes me as a tiny bit cringe, but maybe that’s my cultural perspective. Let’s dive into the lyrics and see what it’s like. The version I’ve chosen is from an appearance on The Voice Portugal, and it’s notable because he breaks off part-way through to tell the young people in teh audience to stop clapping because it’s fado, not rock, which is a classic old dude move. That’s enough of your malarkey, Jack!
Portuguese
English
No Castelo ponho um cotovelo Em Alfama descanso o olhar E assim desfaço o novelo de azul e mar Á Ribeira encosto a cabeça Almofada da cama do Tejo Com lençóis bordados à pressa na cambraia dum** beijo
I put one of my elbows on the castle I rest my gaze on the Alfama And like that, I undo the knot* of blue and sea I lean my head on the Ribeira The pillow on the bed of the Tejo With hastily-embroidered sheets, in the cambric of a kiss
Lisboa, menina e moça***, menina Da luz que os meus olhos vêem, tão pura Teus seios são as colinas, varina**** Pregão que me traz à porta, ternura Cidade a ponto-luz, bordada Toalha á beira-mar, estendida Lisboa, menina e moça, amada Cidade mulher da minha vida
Lisboa, girl and woman, girl By the light my eyes see, so pure Your breasts are he hills, sea lady The call that brings me to the door, tenderness CIty with points of light, emroidered Towel by the seashore, stretched out Lisbon, girl and woman, loved City, woman of my life
No Terreiro eu passo por ti Mas na Graça eu vejo-te nua Quando um pombo te olha, sorri, és mulher da rua E no bairro mais alto***** do sonho Ponho um fado que soube inventar Aguardente de vida e medronho******, que me faz cantar
On the Terreiro, i pass by you But in Graça, I see you naked When a pigeon sees you, it smiles, you are a woman of the road And in the highest suburb of the dream I give you a fado that I knew how to invent Brandy made of life and fruit that makes me sing
Lisboa no meu amor, deitada Cidade por minhas mãos, despida Lisboa, menina e moça, amada Cidade mulher da minha vida
Lisboa on my love, laid City by my hands, undressed Lisbon, girl and woman, loved City, woman of my life
*Novelo usually means a ball of thread or a cotton reel, but can mean a complicated thing, so I’m thinking he’s talking about a knot that he’s undoing, rather than a cotton reel – it just seems to make more sense in the context but I could be wrong.
**I couldn’t make any sense of this and thought he was saying “dei um beijo”, but that ain’t it chief! He’s just comparing the lightness of a kiss to the lightness of the material. There’s an explanation of all this needlework metaphhor here if you want to know more.
***I’m, translating moça as woman, not young woman, because I think it sounds better. FIght me! By the way, Menina e Moca is also the name of an early portuguese novel by Bernadim Ribeiro. Maybe there’s a link?
****Eesh! How to translate this? I think he’s saying she’s a woman who lives by the side of the sea – the second meaning given on Priberam – and that woudl make a certain amount of sense.
*****Referring to the Bairro Alto neighbourhood, of course, a wretched hive of wine and fadory if ever there was one
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
Luso 