Practice your Portuguese by listening to and translating songs from Portuguese to your native language. This song is an Angolan Kizomba song called “Como Antes“, by Matias Damásio.
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.
Como Antes – Matias Damásio
Diálogo:
Homem: Tenho a certeza que foi o universo que te escolheu para mim..
Mulher: És tudo o que eu sempre sonhei..
Homem: Já disse que para mim chega! Acabou!
Mulher: E sabes que mais? Eu..já não te amo!
Homem: Sabes o que é que eu acho? Acho que nunca me amaste…
Canção:
Pega nas tuas coisas e vem morar na minha vida
Tu tens cara de tudo o que eu sonhei
Quero ser feliz contigo, quero ser teu ombro amigo
Tu tens tudo que eu procurei
Mas olha nós, às vezes tropeçamos
E há dias que quase caímos
Olha nós, somos humanos
Sorrimos mas também choramos
(Refrão) Quero que tudo, seja como antes
Nossas mãos no mesmo volante
Em direcção à Lua
Em direcção à Lua
Olha nós, às vezes tropeçamos
E há dias quase caímos
Olha nós, somos humanos
Sorrimos mas também choramos
(Refrão 2x) Quero que tudo, seja como antes
Nossas mãos no mesmo volante
Em direcção à Lua
Em direcção à Lua
E viva ao nosso amor
E viva ao nosso amor
E viva ao nosso amor
E viva ao nosso amor
(Refrão)
Quero que tudo, seja como antes
Nossas mãos no mesmo volante
Em direcção à Lua
Em direcção à Lua
Em direcção à Lua
Em direcção à Lua
Translation
Dialogue:
Man: I’m sure it was the universe that chose you for me.
Woman: You are everything I’ve ever dreamed of…
Man: I said I’ve had enough! I’m done!
Woman: And you know what? I…don’t love you anymore!
Man: You know what I think? I think you never loved me…
Song:
Take your things and come live in my life
You look like everything I’ve ever dreamed of
I want to be happy with you, I want to be your shoulder friend
You have everything I’ve been searching for
But look at us, sometimes we stumble
And some days we almost fall
Look at us, we’re human
We smile but we also cry
(Chorus) I want everything, to be like before
Our hands on the same wheel
Towards the moon
Towards the moon
Look at us, sometimes we stumble
And some days we almost fall
Look at us, we’re human
We smile but we also cry
(Chorus 2x) I want everything, to be as before
Our hands on the same wheel
Towards the moon
Towards the moon
And long live our love
And long live our love
And long live our love
And long live our love
(Chorus)
I want everything, to be just like before
Our hands on the same wheel
Towards the moon
Towards the moon
Heading towards the moon
Towards the moon
For more songs in Portuguese click here or here. To learn more about the 30-Day Portuguese Challenge click here or sign up below.