“De volta pro aconchego” (Dominguinhos, 1985)
Source:Prefeitura de Olinda, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Today would have been the 83rd birthday of José Domingos de Morais, better known as Dominguinhos. “De volta pro aconchego” is one of his most famous songs, recorded by the great Elba Ramalho and used in the megahit telenovela “Roque Santeiro.” The word “aconchego” can be “shelter” as I translated it here, but it also means “coziness” or “warmth.”
“De volta pro aconchego”
Estou de volta pro meu aconchego
Trazendo na mala bastante saudade
Querendo um sorriso sincero, um abraço
Para aliviar meu cansaço
E toda essa minha vontade
Que bom poder tá contigo de novo
Roçando teu corpo e beijando você
Pra mim tu és a estrela mais linda
Teus olhos me prendem, fascinam
A paz que eu gosto de ter
É duro ficar sem você vez em quando
Parece que falta um pedaço de mim
Me alegro na hora de regressar
Parece que vou mergulhar
Na felicidade sem fim
“Back to my shelter”
I’m back to my shelter
Bringing so much saudade with me
Wanting a sincere smile,
A hug to alleviate my fatigue
And all these desires of mine
How great to be able to be with you again
Rubbing against your body and kissing you
To me you are the most beautiful star
Your eyes capture me, fascinate me
The peace that I love to have
It’s hard being without you sometimes
It feels like part of me is missing
I’m happy when it’s time to return
It seems like I’m going to plunge
Into endless happiness