“Romaria” (“Pilgrimage”)
Today (October 12th) is the day of Nossa Senhora Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil, marking the date in 1717 when her image was seen by three fishermen. The Aparecida basilica is the destination of one of the biggest pilgrimages in the world, which inspired Renato Teixeira to write this song, the most famous version of which is sung by Elis Regina. There is some debate about some of the words, which different singers seem to have interpreted differently. Sometimes the discussion is about which word is actually used, as in the line before the bumpkin line which some say ends “a sol” (“in the sun” although grammatically suspect) or “a só” (“alone”). I’ve chosen the latter since it seems to me to fit the sentiment of the song better. Other times the words are clear, but their meaning is less so, as in what I have translated here as “satchel and bitterness” which in the source is “gibeira” (or “algibeira,” a pouch or satchel) and “jiló” (a bitter fruit that really seems to be used metaphorically here). This metaphor is why I’ve also chosen to translate “laço” as “ribbon” even though it could be (probably is) “lasso.” It feels to me like the song is comparing real things from caipira/bumpkin life with more ephemeral things: “dream and dust” and “ribbon and knots” and “satchel and bitterness.” (For an extended discussion (in Portuguese) about the beautiful polysemy of these lyrics, see https://portuguese.stackexchange.com/questions/5558/o-que-%C3%A9-a-gibeira-e-o-jil%C3%B3-do-caipira-na-romaria-do-renato-teixeira.) Another (radical?) choice I’ve made here is to translate “trem” as “stuff” (per the slang from central Brazil) rather than “train” which is the more common translation.
Listen to the song (Renato Teixeira)
Listen to the song (Elis Regina)
“Pilgrimage”
It’s made of dream and dust
The destiny of just one
Like me lost in thought
On my horse
It’s made of ribbon and knots
Of satchel and bitterness
Of this life lived alone
I’m a Pirapora bumpkin
Our Lady of Aparecida
Illuminates the dark mine
And manifests the stuff of my life
My father was a peon
My mother, solitude
My brothers got lost in life
At the cost of adventures
I divorced, played
Invested, gave up
If there’s luck I don’t know, never seen it
I’m a Pirapora bumpkin
Our Lady of Aparecida
Illuminates the dark mine
And manifests the stuff of my life
But they told me
To come here
To ask in pilgrimage and prayer
For peace in misadventures
Since I don’t know how to pray
I just wanted to show
My vision, my vision, my vision
I’m a Pirapora bumpkin
Our Lady of Aparecida
Illuminates the dark mine
And manifests the stuff of my life