Tag: Video

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

Posted in Portuguese

Missa do Parto

Posted on by Colin Lusk

Além de vermos filmes parvos* em casa hoje, vimos uns vídeos portugueses, incluindo este, gravado perto do Funchal onde existe uma tradição chamada “Missa do Parto”. Este é um ritual religioso e comunitária que comemora os nove dias antes do natal. Os cidadãos vão a pé para a igreja às… Sei lá… Talvez cinco de manhã, cantando e tocando instrumentos. Celebram uma missa, e depois ficam perto da igreja, cantando, comendo e bebendo enquanto o sol nasce e depois arrancam para o trabalho.

*Honestly, so bad. We really embraced the horrible, made for Netflix holiday romance this year.

Posted in English

Tão gostoso!

Posted on by Colin Lusk

My wife is making me watch this Madeiran cooking channel. I was unsure at first because the accent and the regionalismos were hard to get past, but it’s great. She’s hamming it up a bit, apparently: she’s playing a character of an old-time islander. I guess in English terms it’d be like someone doing a strong Welsh accent.

The food looks flippin’ great though: traditional and full of delicious calories. The camera work is fantastic and I would give my right arm for her massive clay mixing bowl. And although I hardly understand her dialogue I’m enjoying trying.

Also sort of hoping Mrs L will cook some of these things…