Practice your Portuguese by listening to and translating songs from Portuguese to your native language. This song is called “A Saudade de Ti“, by Tony Carreira.
I’ve translated the song into English after the lyrics below. (the music video is not mine nor was it produced by me).
If you’re here from the 30-Day Free Portuguese Challenge for your daily goal, the task for today is to listen to the song a few times and try to follow along with the lyrics in Portuguese. At the end of the task, try to rate yourself and include the date. This is so you can later come back to this exercise and see how you have improved over time. Let’s jump in. (You don’t need to be a part of the challenge to do these suggested exercises 😉 )
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Tasks for the 30-Day Portuguese Challenge
- Beginners: Really actively listen to how the words are being pronounced. Before looking at the translation, underline the words you know and circle the ones you don’t. Write the words you don’t know into a list on your paper and save them for later. The main goal is to listen to the sounds of the language and be introduced to new vocabulary. If you’d like to take a step further, now look up words in the online dictionary and make notes if they are used in other contexts.
- Intermediates: After listening and looking at the lyrics – BUT NOT the translation yet – analyse the words more closely. Write down a summary of what you think the song is about. Then compare that to the translation. Then separate the words into different categories such as which ones are verbs (actions), which ones are nouns (names of things and people or animals) and which ones are adjectives (descriptions). You can go a step further and indicate what tense the verbs are in. The main goal is to see how your comprehension is progressing and what you need to work more on.
- Advanced: After listening and looking at the Portuguese lyrics, your task is to translate the lyrics without any help. If you come across a word you’ve never seen, try an educated guess before looking it up in the dictionary. It doesn’t always have to make perfect sense. As I’m sure you know, sometimes artists will use a word or pronounce it in an uncommon way so it fits with the rhyme. Then compare it to the translation and see how you did. If you have the opportunity to go a little further, write a composition stating your opinion on the song. And that can be anything you like: the lyrics, the melody, the voice, the feelings, how you would change it if you didn’t like it, you name it. Try to include compound tenses and the subjunctive mood in your composition.
A Saudade de Ti – Tony Carreira
Eu bem sei que nunca mais pensaste em mim
Como vou e como estou depois de te perder?
Também sei mesmo a viver morri p’ra ti
E o meu nome jamais voltaste a dizer
Eu bem sei que nunca mais falaste em nós
Do que fui e do que fiz um dia por nós dois
Também sei que sou silêncio em tua voz
E só Deus sabe, só Deus sabe como eu estou
A cor da solidão pintou o meu coração
De mágoa em sofrimento
E assim é o meu viver nesta dor sem esquecer
Quem se (esqueceu de mim)
Eu bem sei que nunca mais pensaste em mim
Se estou só ou como tu até tenho outro amor
Também sei que a minha vida já nada te diz
Só Deus sabe, só Deus sabe como eu vou
A saudade de ti tomou conta de mim
E me mata por dentro
Esta falta de amor nunca me abandonou
Desde que eu te perdi
A cor da solidão pintou o meu coração
De mágoa em sofrimento
E assim é o meu viver nesta dor sem esquecer
Quem se esqueceu de mim
Quero ver essas mãozinhas a balançar
Lindo!
Esta falta de amor nunca me abandonou
Desde que eu te perdi
A cor da solidão pintou o meu coração
De mágoa em sofrimento
E assim é o meu viver nesta dor sem esquecer
Quem se (esqueceu de mim)
A saudade de ti tomou conta de mim
E me mata por dentro
Esta falta de amor nunca me abandonou
Desde que eu te perdi
A cor da solidão pintou o meu coração
De mágoa em sofrimento
E assim é o meu viver nesta dor sem esquecer
Quem se esqueceu de mim
Translation
I know you never thought of me again
How am I and how am I after losing you?
I also know that even living I died for you
And you never said my name again
I know that you never spoke of us again
What I was and what I once did for both of us
I also know that I am silence in your voice
And only God knows, only God knows how I am
The colour of loneliness has painted my heart
Of sorrow in suffering
And so is my living in this pain without forgetting
Who forgot (me)
I well know that you never thought of me again
If I’m alone or like you I even have another love
I also know that my life no longer tells you anything
Only God knows, only God knows how I’m going
The longing for you has taken hold of me
And it kills me inside
This lack of love has never left me
Since I lost you
The colour of loneliness has painted my heart
Of sorrow in Suffering
And so is my living in this pain without forgetting
Who forgot me
I want to see those little hands waving
Beautiful!
This lack of love has never left me
Since I lost you
The colour of loneliness has painted my heart
From sorrow to suffering
And so is my living in this pain without forgetting
Who forgot (me)
The longing for you has taken hold of me
And it kills me inside
This lack of love has never left me
Since I lost you
The colour of loneliness has painted my heart
Of sorrow in Suffering
And so is my living in this pain without forgetting
Who forgot me
For more songs in Portuguese click here. To learn more about the 30-Day Portuguese Challenge click here or sign up below.