Practice your Portuguese by listening to and translating songs from Portuguese to your native language. This song is called “Deixa Passar” (Let it pass), by SYRO to English is after the lyrics down below.
If you’re here from the 30-day 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 the verbs (actions), which ones are the nouns (names of things and people or animals) and which ones are the 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.
The following video is not mine.
“Deixa Passar”
Eu não vi quem foste pra mim
E fico aqui
Sem ti sou menos e percebi
O que perdi
E sempre que a vida me chama
Diz que nem tudo é fama
E só agora é que vi
E agora é tudo tão claro
Vejo-te em todo lado
Pago por tudo o que fiz
Só quero que saibas
Que o mundo não para
Deixa passar
Quando a luz se apaga
Tu não digas nada
Deixa passar
E é a ferida que não sara (sara)
E quando a vida te encara (cara)
Só quero que saibas
Que o mundo não para
Deixa passar, deixa passar
Sei que hoje podia ser
Quem te faz crer
Em mim há tanto a resolver
Consigo ver
E sempre que a vida me chama
Diz que nem tudo é fama
E só agora é que vi
E agora é tudo tão claro
Vejo-te em todo lado
Pago por tudo o que fiz
Só quero que saibas
Que o mundo não para
Deixa passar
Quando a luz se apaga
Tu não digas nada
Deixa passar
E é a ferida que não sara (sara)
E quando a vida te encara (cara)
Só quero que saibas
Que o mundo não para
Deixa passar, deixa passar
Só quero que saibas
Que o mundo não para
Deixa passar, deixa passar
Só quero que saibas
Que o mundo não para
Deixa passar
Quando a luz se apaga
Tu não digas nada
Deixa passar
E é a ferida que não sara (sara)
E quando a vida te encara (cara)
Só quero que saibas
Que o mundo não para
Deixa passar, deixa passar.
Translation
I didn’t see who you were to me
And I’m left here
Without you I’m less and I realize
What I’ve lost
And whenever life calls me
It says that not everything is fame
And only now have I seen
And now everything is so clear
I see you everywhere
I pay for everything I’ve done
I just want you to know
That the world doesn’t stop
Let it pass/go
When the light goes out
Don’t you say nothing
Let it pass/go
And it’s the wound that won’t heal (heal)
And when life faces you (face)
I just want you to know
That the world doesn’t stop
Let it pass/go, let it pass/go
I know that today I could be
Who makes you believe
In me, there’s so much to solve
I can see
And whenever life calls me
It says that not everything is fame
And only now have I seen
And now everything is so clear
I see you everywhere
I pay for everything I’ve done
I just want you to know
That the world doesn’t stop
Let it pass/go
When the light goes out
Don’t you say nothing
Let it pass/go
And it’s the wound that won’t heal (heal)
And when life faces you (face)
I just want you to know
That the world doesn’t stop
Let it pass/go, let it pass/go
I want you to know
That the world doesn’t stop
Let it pass/go, let it pass/go
I just want you to know
That the world won’t stop
Let it pass/go
When the light goes out
You don’t say a word
Let it pass/go
And it’s the wound that won’t heal (heal)
And when life faces you (face)
I just want you to know
That the world doesn’t stop
Let it pass/go, let it pass/go
For more songs in Portuguese click here. To learn more about the 30-Day Portuguese Challenge click here or sign up below.