One of my favorite songs about Brazil is Jorge Ben Jor’s “País Tropical,” an ode to Brazil and in particular, to Rio de Janeiro. The lyrics are very simple and quite easy to understand, so it’s a good song for beginners. Just a note: he refers to two very specific things: Flamengo, a popular Rio football team, and a Fusca, which we’d call a Bug in English (the classic VW car).
Listen to the song and follow along!
PORTUGUESE
ENGLISH
Moro num país tropical
I live in a tropical country
Abençoado por Deus
Blessed by God
E bonito por natureza
And naturally beautiful
Mas que beleza
How wonderful
Em fevereiro, em fevereiro
In February, in February
Tem carnaval
There’s Carnival
Tem carnaval
There’s Carnival
Eu tenho um fusca e um violão
I have a car (VW Bug) and a guitar
Sou Flamengo e tenho uma nêga chamada Tereza
I’m for Flamengo (football team) and I have a girl named Theresa
“Sambaby Sambaby” posso não ser um Band Leader, pois é…
Sambaby Sambaby, I may not be a band leader, that’s right
Mas assim mesmo la em casa todos meus amigos, meus camaradinhas me respeitam, pois é …
But even so, at home all my friends and family members respect me, that’s right …
Essa é a razão da simpatia, do poder do algo mais e da alegria…
This is the reason for kindness, the power of something more and of happiness
Moro num país tropical
I live in a tropical country
Abençoado por Deus
Blessed by God
E bonito por natureza
And naturally beautiful
Mas que beleza
How wonderful
Em fevereiro, em fevereiro
In February, in February
Tem carnaval
There’s carnival
Tem carnaval
There’s carnival
Eu tenho um fusca e um violão
I have a car (VW Bug) and a singing guitar
Sou Flamengo e tenho uma nêga chamada Tereza
I’m for Flamengo (football team) and I have a girl named Theresa
“Sambaby Sambaby” sou um menino de mentalidade mediana, pois é…
Sambaby Sambaby, I’m a boy of average intelligence, that’s right …
Mas assim mesmo feliz da vida, contente, não devo nada a ninguém
But even so I am very happy, content, I don’t owe anything to anybody
No comments:
Post a Comment