Um Gosto de Sol

A Taste of Sunshine
by Milton Nascimento & Ronaldo Bastos
from Clube da Esquina, Vol. I (1972)



Okay, last one from this album, for now. I will spare you my comments, but this one I'm picking more for the lyrics than the music.

LYRICS

Alguém que vi de passagem
Numa cidade estrangeira
Lembrou os sonhos que eu tinha
E esqueci sobre a mesa
Como uma pera se esquece
Dormindo numa fruteira
Como adormece o rio
Sonhando na carne da pera
O sol na sombra se esquece
Dormindo numa cadeira

Someone I saw pass by
In a strange city
Made me remember the dreams I'd had
That I'd forgotten on the table
Like a pear gets left
Sleeping in a fruit bowl
Like the river falls asleep
Dreaming in the flesh of the pear
The sun in the shade is forgotten
Sleeping in a chair

Alguém sorriu de passagem
Numa cidade estrangeira
Lembrou o riso que eu tinha
E esqueci entre os dentes
Como uma pera se esquece
Sonhando numa fruteira

Someone smiled in passing
In a strange city
It reminded me of the laugh I used to have
And had forgotten between my teeth
Like one forgets a pear
Dreaming in a fruit bowl

Trem de Doido

Crazy Man's Train
by Lô Borges & Márcio Borges
on Clube da Esquina Vol. I (1972)



Continuing on the theme of trippy lyric-ed songs with train images... From the same album as the previous. I'm guessing Márcio Borges is Lô's brother, but I've never heard his name before right now. I feel like this song is about leaving home, perhaps Lô leaving behind Márcio? Leaving home is a big theme in Brazilian music generally, in particular for those artists from smaller cities or the interior. In fact, the next song on this album is titled "Nothing Will Be The Same" and starts, "I already have one foot in the road. Someday we'll see each other again." And now that I think about it there are a few others on this album that deal with the theme as well, so there you go.

LYRICS

Noite azul, pedra e chão
amigos num hotel
muito além do céu
nada a temer, nada a conquistar
depois que este trem começa andar, andar
deixando pelo chão os ratos mortos na praça
do mercado

Blue night, stone and ground
friends in a hotel
so far from heaven
nothing to fear, nothing to conquer
once this train starts going, going
leaving the dead rats on the ground
in the market square

Quero estar onde estão
os sonhos desse hotel
muito além do céu
nada a temer, nada a combinar
na hora de ahcar o meu lugar no trem
e não sentir pavor dos ratos soltos na praça
minha casa

I want to be where they are
the dreams of that hotel
so far from heaven
nothing to fear, nothing to figure out
when it's time to find my seat on the train
and stop dreading the rats loose in the square
my house

Não precisa ir muito além dessa estrada
os ratos não sabem morrer na calçada
é hora de você achar o trem
e não sentir pavor dos ratos soltos na casa
sua casa

You don't need to go real far from that road
the rats don't know how to die on the sidewalk
it's time for you to catch the train
and stop dreading the rats loose in the house
your house.

O Trem Azul

The Blue Train
by Lô Borges & Ronaldo Bastos
from Clube da Esquina Vol. I (1972)



This is one of my all-time favorite albums, and I think this song was the first one on the album that really caught my attention. I listened to the album almost daily my junior year of college. I remember talking about it with my Portuguese professor and her saying she and her brother were hooked on it when they were in middle school or high school and would listen to it over and over on their record player, but I'm not sure how popular it was overall in Brazil at the time it was released.

I couldn't tell you what the connection is supposed to be between the verse and chorus, or what the blue train is supposed to mean, but hey, it was the 70s, things were just trippy like that. I enjoy Lô's voice a lot on this track. It sounds kind of off-key at times, but that's part of what keeps the song from feeling too cheesy to me. It just popped into my head that a lot of songs on this album seem to reference the wind. I wonder if that has to do with the part of Brazil they are from...something to look into. I have a few other translations from this album pretty much ready to go, so I'm going to post at least one more before moving on to other things.

LYRICS

Coisas que a gente se esquece de dizer
Frases que o vento vem às vezes me lembrar
Coisas que ficaram muito tempo por dizer
Na canção do vento não se cansam de voar

Things that we forget to say
Phrases that the wind sometimes brings to mind
Things that took a long time to say
In the wind's song, they never tire of flying

Você pega o trem azul
O sol na cabeça
O sol pega o trem azul
Você na cabeça
O sol na cabeça

You catch the blue train
The sun in the front
The sun catches the blue train
You in the front
The sun in the front