Tag: Video

Posted in English, Portuguese

José Pinhal (e João Sábita)

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Ouvi uma canção recentemente chamada “Tu Não Prendas o Cabelo”. É muito portuguesa. Fiz uma pesquisa para saber mais sobre a origem e por acaso a história é cativante! A canção foi escrita por um compositor chamado José Pinhal. Pinhal não teve grande sucesso na sua vida. Tinha perdido uma perna na guerra colonial. A guerra acabou quando o cantor tinha 22 anos. Que desperdício da vida é a guerra. Durante a sua vida, o Pinhal encontrou pouco sucesso. Editou 3 álbuns em cassete e cantou em espetáculos, romarias e festas regionais. Quando faleceu num acidente rodoviária com 41 anos o mundo esqueceu-se dele.

Mas a história não acabou com a sua morte, porque duas décadas depois, uma fã do cantor carregou as suas músicas na internet e a sua fama espalhou-se boca-a-boca. Em 2016 nasceu um grupo de tributo chamado “José Pinhal Post-Mortem Experience”. A história deste cantor até chegou à imprensa estrangeira (mas confesso que eu não sabia nada disso!) e tem sido assunto de documentários na internet e na RTP.

While I was looking for a video of that (there isn’t one!) I found a version from Canta-me uma história so I decided to translate that instead. This is a cover from João Sábita and he’s changed the bulk of the lyrics to match his personality (which I’ll talk more about tomorrow).

This should be fun. The subtitles are written in dialect and I’m not sure I’m going to be able to transcribe it all. Cover me, I’m going in!

EnglishPortuguese
Tu não prendas o cabelo
Eu gosto de solto vê-lo,
pois te fica bem,
quando nele dá no vento		Don’t tie up your hair
I like to see it loose
Because it suits you
When the wind catches it
Que lindo é o teu cabelo
Que chega até a cintura
És a minha estranha loucura
És lenha da minha fogueira
Tens um sorriso à maneira*		Your hair is so lovely
It goes down to your waist
You’re my strange madness
You’re the wood for my bonfire
You have a smile that’s just right
Tu és o meu arroz de tamboril
Tu és a isca do meu anzol
Tu és os remos do meu candil
Os teus olhos alumiam como o farol		You are my Arroz de Tamboril**
You are the bait on my fishing hook
You are the oars on my fishing boat***
Your eyes lit up like the lighthouse
Tu és o meu bicho de estimação
Tu és o meu gazol**** de gerador
Tu és o cordel do meu estendal
Tu és o meu amor da carnaval		You are my pet
You are the fuel for my generator
You are the cord of my washing line
You are my carnival love

*à maneira is a set phrase

**Just the name of a dish

***Tricky one, this. A candil is a kind of lamp so why the hell would it have oars? Well, the clue is that João Cabita was performing the song at a Carnival in Nazaré and he must have added this in to give it extra colour because a Barco de candil is a very pretty, colourful, traditional boat which… well, information is a bit sparse about it on the internet, but maybe typical to Nazaré specifically(?) According to this guy’s web page, it is maybe called that because they have a lamp attached so you can go fishing by lamplight (“Pesca do candil”).

****Whether he’s referring to Gazol the brand of liquid petroleum gas or it’s just short for gasolina I’m not sure.

Well that was fun. I feel a bit guilty that I haven’t done the original song, but I wanted the challenge of trying to unravel their accents

Posted in English, Portuguese

Estou Além

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Two translations in a row? Yeah, fight me!

This is another António Variações cover by Humanos and it’s a banger.

The lyrics are pretty paradoxical: “I only want to be where I’m not, I only want to go where I’m not going”. Even the title is a bit hard to render into english: “Estou Além” means “I am beyond” but that isn’t any good. How about “I’ve gone beyond”. Nah, that sounds like he’s died. Well, he has, but I am pretty sure that didn’t happen till after he wrote it. Maybe something like “I’m far out” or “I’m out there!” Too trippy? “I’m miles away”? Nah, it sounds like he’s just daydreaming. I think I like “I’m elsewhere” best but I’m not sure I could defend that in a court of law. If anyone has any better ideas, let me know in the comments.

EnglishPortuguese
Não consigo dominar
Este estado de ansiedade
A pressa de chegar
P’ra não chegar tarde

Não sei do que é que eu fujo
Será desta solidão
Mas porque é que eu recuso
Quem quer dar-me a mão		I can’t control
This state of excitement
The rush to arrive
To not arrive late

I don’t know what I’m running from
Maybe this loneliness
But why do I refuse
Anyone who gives me their hand
Vou continuar a procurar
A quem eu me quero dar
Porque até aqui eu só

Quero quem quem eu nunca vi
Porque eu só quero quem
Quem não conheci		I’ll keep on searching
For someone I want to give myself to
Because up to now, I only

Want who, who I’ve never seen
Because I only want
The one I’ve never met
Porque eu só quero quem
Quem eu nunca vi
Porque eu só quero quem
Quem não conheci

Porque eu só quero quem
Quem eu nunca vi		Because I only want
who I’ve never seen
Because I only want
The one I’ve never met

Because I only want
who I’ve never seen
Esta insatisfação
Não consigo compreender
Sempre esta sensação
Que estou a perder

Tenho pressa de sair
Quero sentir ao chegar
Vontade de partir
P’ra outro lugar		This insatisfaction
I can’t understand
Always this sensation
That I am missing out

I’m in a hurry to leave
I want to feel at the departure
An urge to leave
For somewhere else
Vou continuar a procurar
O meu mundo
O meu lugar
Porque até aqui eu só

Estou bem aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou		I’ll keep on looking
My world
My place
Because up to now I only

I am on my way to where I am not
Because I only want to go
To where I am not going
Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou

Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde não estou		Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not
Because I only want to go
Where I’m not going

Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not
Esta insatisfação
Não consigo compreender
Sempre esta sensação
Que estou a perder

Tenho pressa de sair
Quero sentir ao chegar
Vontade de partir
P’ra outro lugar		This insatisfaction
I can’t understand
Always this sensation
That I am missing out

I’m in a hurry to leave
I want to feel at the departure
An urge to leave
For somewhere else
Vou continuar a procurar
A minha forma
O meu lugar
Porque até aqui eu só

Estou bem aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou		I’ll keep on looking
My form
My place
Because up to now I only

I am on my way to where I am not
Because I only want to go
To where I am not going
Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou

Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde não estou

Estou bem aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou		Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not
Because I only want to go
Where I’m not going

Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not

I am on my way to where I am not
Because I only want to go
To where I am not going
Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou

Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou		Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not
Because I only want to go
Where I’m not going
Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not
Because I only want to go
Where I’m not going
Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou

Porque eu só estou bem
Aonde eu não estou
Porque eu só quero ir
Aonde eu não vou		Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not
Because I only want to go
Where I’m not going

Because I’m only OK
When I’m where I’m not
Because I only want to go
Where I’m not going
Posted in Portuguese

A Semana Política – Geography Fail

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Espero que estejas a gostar da semana política. Acabo de ver este génio que nem sequer sabe o nome da ponte principal de Lisboa. Sabes por que é que ele fez este erro básico? A resposta está sob o vídeo.

Propriamente dito, não é um erro mas sim uma escolha. Para quem não saiba, a Ponte 25 de Abril foi construída antes da revolução dos cravos e naquela altura foi nomeada Ponte Salazar. Insistir em usar aquele nome é um bom indicador de que o orador sente uma nostalgia para a época da ditadura. O seu nome é José Pinto Coelho e é o presidente do partido Ergue-te. Já adivinhaste onde este partido se situa no espectro político? Dou-te uma pista: não é social democrata moderado.

(Thanks again to Cristina for pointing out the errors in the first version. This was post number 1666 on this blog so in honour of the Great Fire of London I should have burned it to the ground, really, but hi ho)

Posted in English, Portuguese

Efe(c)tivamente

Posted on by Colin Lusk

O blogue de hoje é mais uma tradução. O título não segue o acordo ortográfico mas não me importa. A palavra “efe(c)tivamente” é cognata com a palavra inglesa “effectively” mas tem um valor ligeiramente diferente porque é usada muitas vezes em situações nas quais usamos “really”. Lê a segunda definição nesta página para mais informações.

PortugueseEnglish
Adoro o campo as árvores e as flores
Jarros e perpétuos amores
Que fiquem perto da esplanada de um bar
Pássaros estúpidos a esvoaçar
Adoro as pulgas dos cães
Todos os bichos do mato
O riso das crianças dos outros
Cágados de pernas para o ar		I love the field, the trees, the flowers
Jugs and everlasting loves
That are close to the tables of a bar
Stupid birds, fluttering
I love the dogs’ fleas
All the woodland creatures
The laugh of children and others
Terrapins with their legs in the air
Efectivamente escuto as conversas
Importantes ou ambíguas
Aparentemente sem moralizar		Effectively, I listen to important and ambiguous conversations
Apparently without moralising.
Adoro as pegas e os pederastas que passam
Finjo nem reparar
Na atitude tão clara e tão óbvia
De quem anda a enganar
Adoro esses ratos de esgoto
Que disfarçam ao pilar
Como se fossem mafiosos convictos
Habituados a controlar		I love the whores* and the pederasts who pass by
I pretend not to notice
In the clear, obvious attitude
Of one who is being deceptive
I love those sewer rats
Who hide behind the pillar
As if they were convicted mafiosos
Used to being iin control
Efectivamente gosto de aparência
Imponente ou inequívoca
Aparentemente sem moralizar		Effectively I like imposing or unequivocal appearance
Apparently without moralising
Efectivamente gosto de aparência
Aparentemente sem moralizar
Aparentemente escuto as conversas		Effectively I like appearance apparently without moralising
Apparently I listen to conversation
Efectivamente sem moralizar
Efectivamente, sem moralizar
Aparentemente, sem moralizar
Efectivamente		Effectively without moralising
Effectively, wothout moralising
Apparently, without moralising
Effectively

*This could be translated a few different ways but I guess this is the one he means, unless the paedos were chasing a magpie!

Posted in English

B👄cas

Posted on by Colin Lusk

I’m still watching videos from the occasionally excellent improv music show, Canta-me Uma História.

One of the things they often say during the live shows is “Não Mandem Bocas”. It’s used in the theme song and in the host’s t-shirt. So what does it mean? Don’t send mouths? Eh?

A boca, in this context, is a criticism. Specifically, a low-effort, smartarse remark. It’s the eleventh definition on Priberam – “comentário provocatório ou crítico”. So basically, a heckle. The audience has access to a big screen at the back of the stage and they can use it for requests and messages, so it seems they have a rule not to spoil the vibe by shit-talking the performers while they’re half way through some parody number they’ve written.

Posted in English, Portuguese

Casei Com Uma Velha

Posted on by Colin Lusk

This song is actually by Maximiano de Sousa (aka “Max”) but I don’t think there’s a video of him performing it so I went with this cover by Raul Solnado instead. Max is from Funchal, and he says his wife is from Ponta do Sol, a few miles up the south coast. Another nearby town – Camacha – is mentioned too.

As you can see – or maybe you can’t – Solnado is wearing a hat that I recognise as a Maderian style, and I think the clothes are specific to the island too. The set shows a traditional house and I’m pretty sure the musical instruments the guys at the back are using are Brinquinhos*. Solnado is a mainlander from Lisbon so this is definitely cultural appropriation and he would be cancelled if he did this today. Quite right too. Throw him in jail!

I am publishing this on the 3rd of February to commemorate the birthday of another island girl – my wife. Since my birthday is on the 6th of May, she is numerically an older woman for the next 3 months. Feliz Aniversário, velha linda!

PortugueseEnglish
Casei c’uma velha
Da ponta do sol
Deitei-a na cama e o raio da velha rasgou-me o lençol
Tornei-a a deitar
Tornou a rasgar
Perdi a cabeça e atirei co’a velha de perna p’ró ar		I married an old lady
From Ponta do Sol
I laid her in bed but that blasted old lady
Tore my sheet**
I laid her down again
She ripped the sheets again
I lost my head and threw the old lady and she landed upside down
A tua mãe foi às lapas
O teu pai aos caranguejos
Ficaste sozinha em casa, fui*** dar-te abraços e beijos
Ó menina da Camacha
Diz de mim o que quiseres
Menos que não tenho jeito p’ra agasalhar as mulheres		Your mother went to the limpets
Your dad to the crabs
You stayed at home alone, I went to give you hugs and kisses
Oh girl of Camacha
Tell me what you want from me
Unless I’m just don’t have the knack of taking care of women

*More about traditional Madeiran instruments here if you’re interested.

**I had a little trouble following the action here: When he says “rasgou-me o lençol” did she actually make a hole in the sheets or just tear them away from him? I checked on r/portuguese just to be sure and it’s the former. And then how am I supposed to understand “atirei (com a) velha“? Is he throwing himself on her? No, apparently not. “Atirar com” isn’t in my handy guide to verbs with prepositions, but “atirar-se a” is, and that means to throw yourself at someone in an attack. No, my informant told me atirei com means that he just threw, shoved or otherwise propelled the old lady away. The “com” emphasises the force and “brusquidão” of the “sova” or “arremesso” he gave her (3 new items in the word hoard!), so she ended up “de pernas para o ar” – upside down. Probably not literally, but it wasn’t a graceful landing. Hmm… I think it’s one of those songs that’s really fun to listen to but just try not too hard to think about what it is he’s actually describing.

UPDATE – Well, i was joking about the violence and really imagining it as a kind of slapstick scene, but I am told I should consider it might be much more suggestive. That the legs in the air and the ripping of sheets and the warming up of the women could all be interpreted as taking about his sexual prowess, broadcast in an age when you couldn’t really say this sort of things directly. OK, well, that gives a whole new spin on things!

***Online lyrics say “foi” but I think that’s a typo because it doesn’t make any sense. Oh wait, it says fui in the subtitles doesn’t it! Oh well, glad to know I was right about that!

Posted in English, Portuguese

Sonhos de Menino

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Translation Time! I got interested in this song because of the audiobook I’m listening to. It’s a non-fiction book about a road-trip through Portugal. The writer pulls up in a town where there’s a big party in full swing and Tony Carreira is playing. He mentions this song being “The seventh encore” and says it is a huge favourite of emigrantes. OK, well, my curiosity is piqued.

(Edit) OK, I just finished the translation and I am sold. OK, I know it’s a bit sentimental, but I don’t care. It’s got heart, it’s got singalongability. What’s not to like?

PortugueseEnglish
Lembro-me de uma aldeia perdida na beira
A terra que me viu nascer
Lembro-me de um menino que andava sozinho
Sonhava vir um dia a ser		I remember a lost village on the margin
The land that saw my birth
I remember a little boy who walked alone
He dreamed one day he’d become
Sonhava ser cantor de cantigas de amor
Com a força de Deus venceu
Nessa pequena aldeia
O menino era eu		He dreamed of being a singer of love songs
With God’s strength, he won through
In that little village
I was that little boy
E hoje a cantar em cada canção
Trago esse lugar no meu coração
Criança que fui e homem que sou
E nada mudou		And today singing each song
I carry that place in my heart
Child that I was, and man that I am
And nothing has changed.
E hoje a cantar não posso esquecer
Aquele lugar que me viu nascer
Tão bom recordar aquele cantinho
E os sonhos de menino		And today, singing, I can’t forget
That place that saw my birth
Its so good to remember that little place
And the dreams of the little boy
Tenho a vida que eu quis
Nem sempre feliz, mas é a vida que eu escolhi
Infeliz no amor, mas, no fundo, cantor
A vida deu-me o que eu pedi		I have the life that I wanted
Not always happy but it’s the life I chose
Unlucky in love but at heart a singer
Life gave me what I asked for
Se eu pudesse voltar de novo a sonhar
Faria o mesmo, podem crer
E aquele menino
Eu voltaria a ser		If I could go back to the dream again
I’d do the same, believe me
And that little boy
I would be again
E hoje a cantar em cada canção
Trago esse lugar no meu coração
Criança que fui e homem que sou
E nada mudou		And today singing each song
I carry that place in my heart
Child that I was, and man that I am
And nothing has changed.
E hoje a cantar não posso esquecer
Aquele lugar que me viu nascer
Tão bom recordar aquele cantinho
E os sonhos de menino		And today, singing, I can’t forget
That place that saw my birth
Its so good to remember that little place
And the little boy dreams
E hoje a cantar em cada canção
Trago esse lugar no meu coração
Criança que fui e homem que sou
E nada mudou		And today singing each song
I carry that place in my heart
Child that I was, and man that I am
And nothing has changed.
E hoje a cantar não posso esquecer
Aquele lugar que me viu nascer
Tão bom recordar aquele cantinho
E os sonhos de menino		And today, singing, I can’t forget
That place that saw my birth
Its so good to remember that little place
And the little boy dreams
E hoje a cantar em cada canção
Trago esse lugar no meu coração
Criança que fui e homem que sou
E nada mudou		And today singing each song
I carry that place in my heart
Child that I was, and man that I am
And nothing has changed.
E hoje a cantar não posso esquecer
Aquele lugar que me viu nascer
Tão bom recordar aquele cantinho
E os sonhos de menino		And today, singing, I can’t forget
That place that saw my birth
Its so good to remember that little place
And the little boy dreams
E os sonhos de menino
Meus sonhos de menino		And the little boy dreams
My little boy dreams

In the first version of this I somehow confused my Carreiras and said David Carreira sang this. There is actually a singer with that name, but it’s a different guy!

Posted in English, Portuguese

Smells Like Tuga Spirit

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Another translation – this one from Amália. It’s not one of my favourites but I’ve always been intrigued by the title: Cheira a Lisboa: It smells like Lisbon. OK, well let’s see what that smells like then. Cigarettes and roasted chestnuts mostly, I think, well, OK, there are worse smells.

It’s probably worth remembering the differerence between “cheirar a” and “cheirar de” which is discussed in this blog post from a couple of years back. I’ll translate “cheirar a” as “smells like” not “smells of”. And “Cheira bem” I will translate as “smells good” but it would be more literal to say “it smells well” because bem is an adverb, but that would sound stupid in english.

PortugueseEnglish
Lisboa já tem Sol mas cheira a Lua
Quando nasce a madrugada sorrateira
E o primeiro elétrico da rua
Faz coro com as chinelas da Ribeira		Lisbon has sun but smells like the moon
When the surreptitious dawn breaks
And the first tram in the street
Makes a chorus with the slippers of Ribeira
Se chove cheira a terra prometida
Procissões têm o cheiro a rosmaninho
Nas tascas da viela mais escondidas
Cheira a iscas com elas e a vinho		If it rains it smells like the promised land
Processions have a smell like rosemary
In the most hidden backstreet bars
It smells of Iscas com Elas and of wine
Um cravo numa água furtada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa
Uma rosa a florir na tapada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa		A carnation hidden in the window
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A rose flourishing in the park
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A fragata que se ergue na proa
A varina que teima em passar
Cheiram bem porque são de Lisboa
Lisboa tem cheiros de flores e de mar		The frigate that rises up on the prow
The fish seller who insists on passing by
They smell good because they are from Lisbon
Lisbon smells like flowers and the sea
Lisboa cheira aos cafés do Rossio
E o fado cheira sempre a solidão
Cheira a castanha assada se está frio
Cheira a fruta madura quando é verão		Lisboa smells like Rossio cafés
And fado always smells like solitude
It smells like roasted chestnuts* when it’s cold
It smells of ripe fruit when it’s summer
Nos lábios tem um cheiro de um sorriso
Manjerico tem cheiro de cantigas
E os rapazes perdem o juízo
Quando lhes dá o cheiro a raparigas		On its lips it has the hint** of a smile
Basil smells like songs
And the boys lose their judgement
When the smell of girls reaches*** them
Um cravo numa água furtada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa
Uma rosa a florir na tapada
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa		A carnation hidden in the window
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A rose flourishing in the park
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A fragata que se ergue na proa
A varina que teima em passar
Cheiram bem porque são de Lisboa
Lisboa tem cheiros de flores e de mar		The frigate that rises up on the prow
The fish seller who insists on passing by
They smell good because they are from Lisbon
Lisbon smells like flowers and the sea
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa
Cheira bem, cheira a Lisboa		It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
It smells good, it smells like Lisbon
A fragata que se ergue na proa
A varina que teima em passar
Cheiram bem porque são de Lisboa
Lisboa tem cheiros de flores e de mar		The frigate that rises up on the prow
The fish seller who insists on passing by
They smell good because they are from Lisbon
Lisbon smells like flowers and the sea

*Ha! I told you so! She’s got half of it, anyway! The best half!

** I assume “um cheiro” can be “a hint” in this sense.

***I think “lhes dar” is equivalent to “dar a” (eles) which can have the sense of reaching or arriving at something