Posted in English, Portuguese

Vida Vivida – Argentina Santos

I saw this one in a compilation video and I’d never heard of the fadista but I thought it would make a good transation. And holy shit it’s heavy! Not the music, obviously, but the sentiment is raw and real. I don’t think it would even make sense sung by anyone younger than she is. It’s emo music for the older generation.

PortugueseEnglish
Volta atrás vida vivida
Para eu tornar a ver
Aquela vida perdida
Que nunca soube viver
Come back, life lived
So I’ll see again
That lost life
I never knew how to live
Voltar de novo quem dera
A tal tempo, que saudade
Volta sempre a primavera
Só não volta a mocidade
If only I could go back again,
to such a time, what sadness
Spring always returns
Just not youth
A vida começa cedo
Mas assim que ela começa
Começamos por ter medo
Que ela se acabe depressa
Life starts early
But as soon as it starts
We start fearing
That it will end soon
O tempo vai-se passando
E a gente vai-se iludindo
Ora rindo ora chorando
Ora chorando ora rindo
Time keeps passing
People keep deceiving themselves
Either laughing or crying
Either crying or laughing
Meu deus, como o tempo passa
Dizemos de quando em quando
Afinal, o tempo fica
A gente é que vai passando
My god, how time passes
We say, from time to time
But really, time stays
It’s the people who pass by

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