Portuguese lyrics translations

Como É Grande O Meu Amor Por Você - ROBERTO CARLOS

Eu tenho tanto pra lhe falar
Mas com palavras não sei dizer
Como é grande o meu amor por você
E não ha nada pra comparar
Para poder lhe explicar
Como é grande o meu amor por você


I have so much to tell you
But in words, I can not say
How great my love for you is.
And there is nothing else that I could compare to it
Or either with which I could explain
how great is my love for you


Me desespero a procurar
Alguma forma de lhe falar
Como é grande o meu amor por você


Not even the sky, neither all the stars
Neither the sea and the infinity
could be greater than my love
or even more beautiful
I fall in despair looking for
some way to tell you
How great is my love
For you...


Nunca se esqueça nem um segundo
Que eu tenho o amor maior do mundo
Como é grande o meu amor por você


Do never forget not even for a second
That I've got the greatest love in the world
How great is my love for you

Hallo, dear Brazilian friends!
Help me please to translate one song. I think that everyone here, who likes Brazilian music, will enjoy this song like me.
Called "ASSUM PRETO".
At first I've found this sort of lyrics: http://letras.terra.com.br/luiz-gonzaga/47082/

Tudo em vorta é só beleza
Sol de Abril e a mata em frô
Mas Assum Preto, cego dos óio
Num vendo a luz, ai, canta de dor (bis)
Tarvez por ignorança
Ou mardade das pió
Furaro os óio do Assum Preto
Pra ele assim, ai, cantá de mió (bis)
Assum Preto veve sorto
Mas num pode avuá
Mil vez a sina de uma gaiola
Desde que o céu, ai, pudesse oiá (bis)
Assum Preto, o meu cantar
É tão triste como o teu
Também roubaro o meu amor
Que era a luz, ai, dos óios meus
Também roubaro o meu amor
Que era a luz, ai, dos óios meus.

And the singer performs it exactly like this.
Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdtIwxlGPSs
Explain me please, is this some kind of dialect? (I've marked with blue STRANGE words...)

Than i found more translatable version http://letras.terra.com.br/elba-ramalho/250635/ and tried to make smth on my own (please correct it,if you don't mind):
Tudo em volta é só beleza
Everything around is so beautiful,
Céu de abril e a mata em flor
Sky of April and forest in flowers,
Mas assum preto, cego dos olhos
But assum preto blind (of his eyes-?)
Não vendo a luz, ai, canta de dor
Not beeng able to see the light, sings of (about) pain.

Talvez por ignorância
May be, because of ignorance
Ou maldade das pior
Or the worst cruelty-?
Furaram os olhos do assum preto
They put out (pricked out) the eyes of assum preto
Pra ele assim, ai, cantar melhor
So that he could sing better this way.

Assum preto vive solto
Assum preto lives free
Mas não pode avoar
But can't fly
Mil vezes a sina de uma gaiola
Thousand times the fate of one cage-???
Desde que o céu, ai, pudesse olhar
Since he could see the sky.

Assum preto o meu cantar
Assum preto, my song
É tão triste quanto o teu
Is, as yours, so sad.
Também roubaram o meu amor, ai
They also have stolen my love
Que era a luz, ai, dos olhos meus
Which was the light of my eyes.

But I still have a lot of questions:
1. What is assum preto? I couldn't find any translation...
2. This blinded bird in the song- metaphor or description of cruel keeping of singing birds somewhere?
3.maldade das pior, cego dos olhos- please explain this idioms ( And why DAS pior? )
4.Mil vezes a sina de uma gaiola
Desde que o céu, ai, pudesse olhar- i can't understand this at all...
Muito obrigado! Thank you very much!

;

Originally Posted by AndaribnMuzibek

Hallo, dear Brazilian friends!
Help me please to translate one song. I think that everyone here, who likes Brazilian music, will enjoy this song like me ...

This song is sung in a regional accent commom in Northeast of Brazil and also reminds some countryside regions in some brazilian districts as Minas Gerais, Goais, Mato Grosso, that is, the "caipira" style. This song is a classic and very sad. Note that the addicional ideas are in parenthesis. By your translation, I see that there's no problem for you to consider the pronoum "He" to identify the bird in the text (passaro/ele = пти́ца/она́;), and this use in English is mostly allowed in poetry

All around shines so beautifully
Sun of April, blossoming forest
But Assum Preto, blind in his eyes
Not seeing the light, sings for pain
Maybe for ignorance
Maybe for the worst kind of cruelty
Someone pricked the eyes of Assum Preto
So that he could sing better
Now he lives in freedom
But he can't fly
He'd rather thousand times the fate of the cage
as long as he could see the sky
Assum preto, my singing
is as sad as yours
Someone stole my love too,
which was the light of my eyes
Someone stole my love too,
which was the light of my eyes

1. What is assum preto?

Assum Preto is a bird commom in that region

2. This blinded bird in the song- metaphor or description of cruel keeping of singing birds somewhere?

Here in fact someone puctured the eyes of the bird. That's why Gonzaga is telling "They pricked out the eyes of assum preto, maybe because of ignorance or because of the worst kind of meanness/cruelty,". The phrases were reverted.

3.maldade das pior

This is a compact construction, I hope you don't find redundant my explanation: There are several kinds of cruelties, so maldade das piores is one cruelty that is considered to be among the worst kind of cruelties that can exist. Another example cerveja das boas = a beer that is a good one, that is among the best ones.

4. cego dos olhos

This is an adjective plus a complement and it means his eyes are blind. You can see the phrase ele está cego dos olhos as he is blind and dos olhos may sound redundant but is just to enphasize. In other contexts these (redundant) constructions are really necessary: Ele está doente do joelho=his knees are sick/he has a desease in the knees . Well, the complement do joelho clarifies because he's sick but what part of his body is affected?. By the way note the construction:

Mas assum preto, cego dos olhos, not beeng able to see the light, sings in/feeling pain

Here, sintaxicaly, SUBJECT +ADJECTIVE+ VERB and you are just facing a commom construction used mostly in literature, where adjectives are added to the phrase to give more information about the subject, discarding the necessity of building another phrase. It's really not commom in current english, where the form usually is SUBJECT+VERB
____________________
If you have addicional questions, please feel free to ask. I believe you must know the song Asa Branca from Gonzaga. It's another classic .

Algebra, muito obrigado! Great explanation! Você tem certeza, que você não é professor de línguas?
This "Asa Branca" is more optimistic song, as i can see... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZ0MX2GPq0
But some parts of it is very hard to understand...

Oh, alguém falando português. . Bem, eu não sou professor de linguas, mas amo muito essa lingua portuguesa, para mim é a mais bela das linguas. E a aprendizagem de uma lingua requer o reconhecimento de estruturas e funções das palavras. Eu aprendi a valorizar esses elementos aprendendo russo , onde essas distinções são realmente necessárias. Além disso, eu sou Algebrista - não é surpresa . E os algebristas são os mais chatos e detalhistas entre os Matemáticos, talvez isso se reflita em minhas (pseudo) traduções. De qualquer forma, nós podemos dar uma olhada em Asa Branca. Será um prazer. E quaisquer outras canções também. Adoro destrinçar os belos mistérios da minha lingua. Sinta-se à vontade. Aliás eu que agradeço pelo seu pedido, é uma musica muito bonita.

Algebra,hi! As I said before, it was not so easy to translate “Asa Branca” properly.Eu tenho mu-u-uitas perguntas. Hope, you'll be very kind to help me again.

Quando olhei a terra ardendo
When I looked to the land, burning
Qual fogueira de São João
Like “fire of Saint John”,
Eu perguntei a Deus do céu, ai
I asked the God of sky
Por que tamanha judiação
Why (are you sending such a) enormous maltreatment?

Que braseiro, que fornalha
What a brazier, what a furnace,
Nem um pé de plantação
No one (there isn't any) plant on plantation
Por falta d'água perdi meu gado
For lack of water I lost my cattle,
Morreu de sede meu alazão
My bay horse died because of thirst.

Até mesmo a asa branca
Even white wing
Bateu asas do sertão
Made off (ran away) from my backwoods.
Então eu disse adeus Rosinha
So I said: “Good bye Rosinha,
Guarda contigo meu coração
Keep my heart with you.”

Quando o verde dos teus olhos
Se espalhar na plantação
Eu te asseguro não chores não, viu
Que eu voltarei, viu
Meu coração

Hoje longe muitas léguas
Numa triste solidão
In one sad loneliness
Espero a chuva cair de novo
I'm waiting that rain will fall again,
Para eu voltar pro meu sertão
For I'll return to my backwoods

1.Asa Branca. Is this a name of a bird?
2.Quando olhei a terra ardendo
Qual fogueira de São João-
a. Why do they use Gerúndio? I would use Particípio...
“Quando olhei a terra [b]ardida...”.
b.“ ...a terra”: “to” land or “the” land? Or they've missed accent and it should be “à terra”- “to the land”?
c.“Qual”= “like”? Is it possible to use it instead of “como”?
3.Quando o verde dos teus olhos
Se espalhar na plantação
Eu te asseguro não chores não, viu
Que eu voltarei, viu
Meu coração
I can't translate this couplet at all... And what does it mean “viu”
here? (Generally “you saw”-I know this)
4.Please, don't laugh, but what about this situation with Rosinha? Our hero sends her to better place and fights with drought himself alone? Or she is from luckier family, which has their own water source, so he leaves and she stays? Or he goes to one place and she-to another and they'll meet again when good weather conditions return?
5.“Até mesmo”means “even”. Is this specific brazilian or very modern expression? I've found it's meaning only in ONE on-line dictionary...
6. Please tell smth about “sertão”.
7. And of course what is “fogueira de São João”?
8.Hoje longe muitas léguas
Numa triste solidão- This part is also beyond my understanding.
“Hoje longe”-what does it mean?
Muito obrigado.
P.S. Estou muito envergonhado pelo meu inglês.

Hello, I'll try to help you
remember this is a Brazilian kind of folk song. It takes place in the sertão, north Brasil. It's a very hard place to live because it has no water and it doesn't rain, the soil is dry, it is very difficult to survive and the people either go away or is poor.


1.Asa Branca. Is this a name of a bird?

I think so

2.Quando olhei a terra ardendo
Qual fogueira de São João-
a. Why do they use Gerúndio? I would use Particípio...
“Quando olhei a terra [b]ardida...”.

they use "ardendo" because when he looked at the land it was burning, in that precise moment

in Portugal we would say "quando vi a terra a arder"

b.“ ...a terra”: “to” land or “the” land? Or they've missed accent and it should be “à terra”- “to the land”?

you didn't miss any accent!

c.“Qual”= “like”? Is it possible to use it instead of “como”?

it's not quite "como"... a fogueira de são joão is supposed to be big, so he means the land was burning a lot, here "qual" is a way of emphasizing

3.Quando o verde dos teus olhos
Se espalhar na plantação
Eu te asseguro não chores não, viu
Que eu voltarei, viu
Meu coração
I can't translate this couplet at all... And what does it mean “viu”
here? (Generally “you saw”-I know this)

this is very hard It doesn't mean to see, ver, it's a way of reassuring, something like "I'll be back, do you see, I mean it"

4.Please, don't laugh, but what about this situation with Rosinha? Our hero sends her to better place and fights with drought himself alone? Or she is from luckier family, which has their own water source, so he leaves and she stays? Or he goes to one place and she-to another and they'll meet again when good weather conditions return?

She stays there and he leaves to make some money, but his heart is where Rosinha is.
it's a way of living, men would leave and try to make money to help his family

5.“Até mesmo”means “even”. Is this specific brazilian or very modern expression? I've found it's meaning only in ONE on-line dictionary...

that's right "even the bird flew away"

6. Please tell smth about “sertão”.

at the beginning

7. And of course what is “fogueira de São João”?

It's a fire to celebrate São João, it is set in a religious day, but it's part of a great fest

8.Hoje longe muitas léguas
Numa triste solidão- This part is also beyond my understanding.

It means he is, today, very far far away and he is sadly alone

“Hoje longe”-what does it mean?

ok, here it would probably make it easier if it had a comma: Hoje, longe (a) muitas léguas (de casa, da Rosinha)

Muito obrigado.
P.S. Estou muito envergonhado pelo meu inglês. [/QUOTE]

O teu inglês, assim como o português são optimos!
Espero ter ajudado, mas talvez haja alguém com mais conhecimentos que eu.

boa sorte!

Well lissber you have done it all Congratulations. I have really few things to add. First the translation complete using the ideas of the three of us:

Quando olhei a terra ardendo
When I saw the ground/champ burning
'Gual fogueira de São João ('Gual= Igual)
Like a bonfire of Saint John's feast
Eu perguntei a Deus do céu, ai
I asked to God, oh
Por que tamanha judiação
Why (are you sending such an) enormous maltreatment?/Why is there such an enormous maltreatment?

Que braseiro, que fornalha
What a brazier, what a furnace,
Nem um pé de plantação
No one (there isn't any) plant on plantation
Por falta d'água perdi meu gado
For lack of water I lost my cattle,
Morreu de sede meu alazão
My bay horse died because of thirst.

Até mesmo a asa branca
Even the asa branca
Bateu asas do sertão
Made off (ran away) from my Sertão
Então eu disse "Adeus Rosinha"
So I said: “Good bye, Rosinha",
Guarda contigo meu coração
Keep my heart with you.”

Quando o verde dos teus olhos
When the green of your eyes...
Se espalhar na plantação
... spread over the plantation
Eu te asseguro, não chores não, viu
I ensure you...,don't you cry,...
Que eu voltarei, viu
... that I will come back.
Meu coração
My heart...
Hoje longe muitas léguas
... (is) today at many leagues far away
Numa triste solidão
... (sunk) in a sadding loneliness

Espero a chuva cair de novo
I'm waiting the rain to fall again,...
Para eu voltar pro meu sertão
...for me to return back to my sertão
Or: so that I can return back to my sertão

Saint John's feast. These festivals are really commom in Brazil thoughout June and July mainly in Northeast and are called Festa Junina or Festa de São Joao or even Arraial. And a big bonfire is almost an obligation when it's night, where people usually dance quadrilha around it. That's why he's saying "like a bonfire of Saint John's feast " The ambient is the "caipira" atmosfere, that is, people dress like caipiras with straw hat, shirts. "Caipira" is related to the rick people/countryman . In the party, it's included the tradicional foods, ballons, songs, quadrilha. It's an amazing party. The best part is the encenation of a "caipira wedding". It's really funny. I danced quadrilha many times when I was in the school. But here is a bit far from religious meaning, but of course that's its real origin.

Quando o verde dos teus olhos se espalhar na plantação
Here's a beautiful piece of text. He's saying that Rosinha's eyes are green. Now, when the plantation flourishes, it becomes green, right?. Then he's just saying when the plantation become green as the green color that your eyes have that is When the green of your eyes spread over the plantation

And about viu I agree with Lissber and it's even possible that this could be an aglutination of the verb ouviu= did you hear? because they are the middle of a conversation. This is very very commom in colloquial portuguese and it works like an "ok": Vou embora, amanhã eu volto, viu?= I'm leaving, tomorrow I'll be back, ok?

Hey, AndaribnMuzibek do not worry, your portuguese is really impressive. I see that you can understand it and this is really nice! About English, I am not that good too . Perdon me, I gave you the idea to listen to this song but I forgot to post the translation. Once again I thank you for listening to songs in Portuguese and in case that you don't want to waste your time, leave here your request. We will feel so glad to help you anyway.i

For you AndaribnMuzibek

Luíz Gonzaga
Pagode Russo
Russian Dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BznLJayC3hw

Ontem eu sonhei que estava em Moscou
Yesterday I dreamt that I was in Moscow
Dançando pagode russo na boate Cossacou
Dancing a russian dance in the Cossacou club
Parecia até um frevo naquele cai e não cai
that jump-and-jump movement seemed as the frevo
Parecia até um frevo naquele vai e não vai
that to-and-fro movement seemed as the frevo
Vem cá cossaco, cossaco dança agora
Come on, cossack**, dance cossack* now
Na dança do cossaco, não fica cossaco fora
In the cossack dance, no cossack** is left out

Here, he's using the word cossack mean two different things: the cossack man (**) and the cossack dance (*), as like as English, where these words are not different too.

Frevo is an traditional dance in Northeast.

This song has a double meaning, one of them is really durty and funny; I'll tell it by Private Message .

Look at this beautiful song by Gonzaga Xote das Meninas. Tomorrow I will post it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g3GA...eature=related

lissber, algebra, thank you very much for your friendly help and kind words!
Visiting this forum, I never stop to surprise, what a pleasant and interesting people I meet here!
Xote das Meninas is really nice. I've already descovered this song, trying to find Asa Branca.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_HJ0xlGdg This cute Marisa Monte in my opinion is ve-e-ery brazilian ...and those dancing girls in back vocal... wow!
algebra, what do you think, could you make smth like " List of 20 best brazilian songs of all the times" or "10 the most romantic brazilian songs" or smth similar. You're big expert in brazilian music, and without orientation it's not easy to find something interesting...

Only 20? It will be a pleasure. I hope the others help too and you lissber could present us your Top 20 for portuguese songs?

hi AndaribnMuzibek, you are very welcome!

I'm no expert on brazilian music, but I love it. I really think it's very difficult to select 20 musics, but I'll make a few suggestions, one of my favorites Alegria, Alegria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF36v...eature=related (with the lyrics) by Caetano Veloso, it's a hard poem, you just have to let yourself go with the words.
I'm a big fan of him I love also Chico Buarque, I can't even chose 10 of his musics

Algebra I wish you good luck, I'm sure it's hard!

Originally Posted by algebra

Only 20? It will be a pleasure. I hope the others help too and you lissber could present us your Top 20 for portuguese songs?

hi, I can try !!!

but to tell you the truth I lived six years in Brazil and brazilian music has taken me! lol

Originally Posted by algebra

Only 20? It will be a pleasure. I hope the others help too and you lissber could present us your Top 20 for portuguese songs?
...And a big bonfire is almost an obligation when it's night, where people usually dance quadrilha around it...

OK, it will be better if you'll make several lists of different names EACH of 20 songs
And I'm joining to your request to lissber about top 20 for portuguese songs.
For example in Russia this is "terra incognita". One day I asked something of Mariza in music shop but they even didn't heard this name.
By the way, algebra, what is quadrilha?

Hi, Muzibek

Quadrilha means 2 things in Brazilian Portuguese. First is a tradicional dance brought by europeans exclusively danced in the "Saint John festivals" as I said before. It's not easy to remember all the steps of the proposed coreography if you are a kid. Here is one video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7sAZ...eature=related

The next meaning is "gang of criminals" and is highly used in newspapers and TV.

Well I have to explain the comparation made by Gonzaga about frevo and cossack dance. They are really comparable both because of the jumps that are performed:

Cossack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqWQ0...eature=related
[Frevo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ywLdDinxo

Mandacaru quando fulora na seca
É o siná que a chuva chega no sertão
Toda menina que enjôa da boneca
É siná que o amor já chegou no coração..

When mandacaru flourishes in the desert
it's a sign that the rain has come in sertão
when a girl get bored of dolls
it's a sign that love has come into her heart

Meia comprida
Não quer mais sapato baixo
Vestido bem cintado
Não quer mais vestir chitão..

Long sockings...
She doesn't want low shoes anymore
Tight dresses...
She doesn't want to wear chitão anymore

Ela só quer
Só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer
Só pensa em namorar

She only wants...
and thinks about falling in love
She only wants...
and thinks about falling in love

De manhã cedo já tá pintada
Só vive suspirando
Sonhando acordada
O pai leva ao dotô
A filha adoentada
Não come, nem estuda
Não dorme, não quer nada...

Early in the morning, she's already using make up
She's always sighing
and daydreaming
Her father takes the sick daughter to the doctor
She doesn't eat, she can't study
She doesn't sleep, she wants nothing

Ela só quer
Só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer
Só pensa em namorar

She only wants...
and thinks about falling in love
She only wants...
and thinks about falling in love

Mas o dotô nem examina
Chamando o pai do lado
Lhe diz logo em surdina
Que o mal é da idade
Que prá tal menina
Não tem um só remédio
Em toda medicina...

The doctor not even examines her
He calls the father in private
and whispers in his ear
"It's a sickness of her age"
"For such girl,
there is no remedy
in all medicine"

Ela só quer
Só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer
Só pensa em namorar

_____________________
Here's a beautiful poem about puberty. I love this song.

mandacaru is this plant common in Sertao:

Oi ,

Apenas uma correção :

Não quer mais vestir timão
She doesn't want to wear flyaway/wide dresses anymore

http://vagalume.uol.com.br/luiz-gonz...s-meninas.html

Originally Posted by gbasfora

Oi ,

Apenas uma correção :

Não quer mais vestir timão
She doesn't want to wear flyaway/wide dresses anymore

http://vagalume.uol.com.br/luiz-gonz...s-meninas.html

Yes you are completely right, these lyrics are wrong and I didn't perceive. I have to correct. In fact timão is somewhat like a nightdress/wide dress. Thank you very much. Anyway, the use of vestir de mão is allowed in that sense of "handmade" but really is not the case.

Beautiful song...

Não, não dê mais tantas voltas, não.
Se chicoteia assim por qualquer perdão.
Todo esse teatro não impressiona
Por maior que seja sua recompensa
Não se importe tanto assim
Com sua imagem decadente enfim.
Nada adianta depois se lamentar
Por maior que seja sua displicência.

Volta
Ou vai embora, meu amor.
Sem ameaças ensaiadas na frente do espelho.
O caminho mais fácil nem sempre é melhor que o da dor.

Dê uma chance pra vida te mostrar
Um jeito menos doloroso de se despedir.
Não seja assim tão dura com as palavras.
Lave bem as suas mãos antes de se decidir.
Tira essa lama das botas
Antes de me dar as costas.