| The premise: As Eric Idle put it “The world today seems absolutely crackers”. (But when has it not?) What can I do about it? Share songs that are uplifting, funny, or simply cute. And Portuguese, of course. The method: Provide context, explain idioms and translate lyrics. I’m a great believer in the power of music as a unique means to exploring and understanding Portuguese culture. Disclaimer: I am not a translator. The idea of providing a translation for the lyrics is to make it easy for readers to grasp the general meaning of the songs. When in doubt, I prefer to opt for a literal translation if that’s what’s best to convey the correct meaning of a word or phrase. Remember the saying traduttore, traditore: literally, “translator, traitor”, meaning there are always things lost in translation because, well, that’s how languages work. |
After giving you the Portuguese-food-inspired Valentine’s downloadable postcards in 2019 and the Tinder profiles for Portuguese historical personalities in 2020 (also with downloadable postcards) I thought I’d try a different approach.
I remembered all the people who are not really that fond of other humans but love their pets. And then that quote by Mark Twain came to mind: “The more I learn about people, the more I love my dog.”
What better time to post about the loving bond between humans and their dogs than right after Valentine’s? Genius, I know.
So I chose this song, which is all about… a dog. Or rather, about the love and companionship between a dog and its human. The video is super cutesy and sweet, too.
If you’re not Portuguese, it’s likely the name Luísa Sobral won’t ring any bells. But maybe you remember her brother, Salvador Sobral, who won the 2017 Eurovision Contest in Kyiv. The winning song, Amar Pelos Dois, was written by Luísa, his sister.
Luísa is a singer-songwriter who has written songs for other artists and has played in many venues across the world. She also hosted a podcast where she interviewed many big names in the world of Portuguese songwriting.
(translation and notes after the video)
Ele não ralha comigo
E quer sempre brincar
É o meu melhor amigo
Com ele posso contar
Se de manhã não acordo
À hora que tem de ser
Ele arrasta os meus lençóis e
Procura um pé p’ra lamber
O meu cão
Gosta de jogar à bola
De me ver jogar consola
O meu cão
É o mais bonito de todos
Esperto como nenhum outro
Mesmo se a vida der p’ro torto*
Eu sei que ele vai ser sempre o meu cão
He doesn’t scold me
And he always wants to play
He is my best friend
I can count on him
If I don’t wake up in the morning
At the time that I should
He drags my sheets and
Looks for a foot to lick
My dog
Likes to play ball
To see me play console
My dog
He’s the cutest of them all
Smart like no other
Even if life goes wrong
I know he will always be my dog
*Se a vida der para o torto means, if life takes a wrong turn. Torto means crooked or bent, as opposed to straight or in a straight line. The phrase dar para o torto is used when something goes wrong or not according to plan.
Dou-lhe metade do lanche**
Sem a minha mãe ver
Deito a cabeça na barriga dele
Quando quero adormecer
O meu cão
Gosta de jogar à bola
De me ver jogar consola
O meu cão
É o mais bonito de todos
Esperto como nenhum outro
Mesmo se a vida der p’ro torto
Eu sei que ele vai ser sempre o meu cão
I’ll give him half of the snack
Without my mother seeing
I lay my head on his belly
When I want to fall asleep
My dog
Likes to play ball
To see me play console
My dog
He’s the cutest of them all
Smart like no other
Even if life goes wrong
I know he will always be my dog
**Lanche is a light meal between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner, although it’s more commonly used in the second case. Children usually have an afternoon lanche (lanche da tarde), around 4 or 5 p.m., as they will have dinner usually between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. (9 p.m. at the latest).
Many songs written by Luísa Sobral have this sweetness to them, which does not make them “basic” in any way. She also wrote several songs in English. I suggest this one, to start with.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog post and that it brought a smile to your face and some warmth to your heart. Let me know what you thought of it!
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Luísa sounds like Dido on Not there yet (and that ain’t a bad thing).