Practice your Portuguese by listening to and translating songs from Portuguese to your native language. This song is called “Estranha forma de Vida“, by Amália.
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 😉 )
Useful tools
Disclaimer: I’m not connected or affiliated with these links. More info here.
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.
Estranha Forma de Vida (Strange way of life) by Amália
Foi por vontade de Deus
Que eu vivo nesta ansiedade
Que todos os ais são meus
Que é toda minha a saudade
Foi por vontade de Deus
Que estranha forma de vida
Tem este meu coração
Vives de forma perdida
Quem lhe daria o condão?
Que estranha forma de vida
Coração independente
Coração que não comando
Vives perdido entre a gente
Teimosamente sangrando
Coração independente
E eu não te acompanho mais
Para deixa de bater
Se não sabes onde vais
Porque teimas em correr
Eu não te acompanho mais
Se não sabes onde vais
Para deixa de bater
Eu não te acompanho mais
Translation
It was God’s will
That I live in this anxiety
That all the woes are mine
That longing is all mine
It was God’s will
What a strange way of life
Has this heart of mine
You live in a forlorn way
Who would give it the charm/power/magic?
What a strange way of life
An independent heart
A heart I don’t command
You live lost among the people
Stubbornly bleeding
Independent heart
And I don’t follow you anymore
To stop beating
If you don’t know where you’re going
Why do you keep (stubbornly) running
I won’t follow you anymore
If you don’t know where you’re going
To stop beating
I won’t accompany you anymore
For more songs in Portuguese click here. To learn more about the 30-Day Portuguese Challenge click here or sign up below.