Happy Birthday, Clara Nunes!
In honor of what would have been the Queen of Samba’s 80th (!) birthday, I offer my translation of “Meu Sapato Já Furou” (“My Shoe Has a Hole”) from her 7th album, “Alvorecer” (“Daybreak”), released in 1974.
“My shoe has a hole”
My shoe has a hole
My clothes are torn
I don’t have anywhere to live, to live
My money ran out
I don’t know where to go
What will become of me? What will I become?
I don’t even know how to smile anymore
My love abandoned me
For no reason and no motive
And to improve my situation
I made a promise to Saint Luiz Durão
My shoe has a hole
Anyone who sees me like this
Must think I’ve come to the end
But when my life gets better
I’ll make fun of anyone who laughed at me
My shoe has a hole