“Como nossos pais” (Elis Regina, 1976)

Today Elis Regina would have turned 80 years old and in honor of that milestone below I’ve translated a Belchior song that Elis made famous. The already poignant and complex song about generational divides is made even more pointed by the fact that Elis died at the age of 36. From a personal perspective, I can’t quite get my head around the fact that she would now be about the age of my parents - and her kids are just a little bit younger than me. She missed out on so much generational life herself.

This song is not just about generational divides; it’s also clearly about living under a dictatorship. The “they” who have won and are set against the “young” may be either the military regime that was in power when the song was written, or perhaps the entire older generation. Belchior has described his own song as “amarga” (“bitter”) and he believed that the word that best described what it was about was “incômodo” (“discomfort”/ disturbance”). He has indicated that the song is a critique against the inertia of youth, which became complacent and stopped questioning things. The song’s message, which is not at all out of place today, is a plea for young people to continue their role of contesting things and seeking renewal.

Linguistically, there’s a brilliant double meaning in Portuguese that gets lost in English in the line that I’ve translated as “But I also know that any song” because “canto” in Portuguese could mean either “song” or “corner” (as in the corner of a room). So Belchior could have meant that either any music or any space is smaller than life. Another brilliant aspect of the Portuguese is the alliteration “vejo vir vindo no vento” (“I see it coming, coming on the wind”), which I’ve tried to mimic with some sibilants.

Listen to the song

“Como nossos pais”
Não quero lhe falar meu grande amor
Das coisas que aprendi nos discos
Quero lhe contar como eu vivi
E tudo o que aconteceu comigo
Viver é melhor que sonhar
Eu sei que o amor é uma coisa boa
Mas também sei que qualquer canto
É menor do que a vida de qualquer pessoa
Por isso cuidado meu bem
Há perigo na esquina
Eles venceram
E o sinal está fechado prá nós
Que somos jovens
Para abraçar seu irmão
E beijar sua menina na rua
É que se fez o seu braço
O seu lábio e a sua voz
Você me pergunta pela minha paixão
Digo que estou encantada
Como uma nova invenção
Eu vou ficar nesta cidade
Não vou voltar pro sertão
Pois vejo vir vindo no vento
Cheiro de nova estação
Eu sinto tudo na ferida viva
Do meu coração
Já faz tempo eu vi você na rua
Cabelo ao vento
Gente jovem reunida
Na parede da memória
Essa lembrança
É o quadro que dói mais
Minha dor é perceber
Que apesar de termos
Feito tudo o que fizemos
Ainda somos os mesmos
E vivemos
Ainda somos os mesmos
E vivemos como os nossos pais
Nossos ídolos ainda são os mesmos
E as aparências não me enganam não
Você diz que depois deles
Não apareceu mais ninguém
Você pode até dizer
Que eu 'tô por fora
Ou então que eu 'tô inventando
Mas é você que ama o passado
E que não vê
É você que ama o passado
E que não vê
Que o novo sempre vem
Hoje eu sei que quem me deu a ideia
De uma nova consciência e juventude
'Tá em casa
Guardado por deus
Contando vil metal
Minha dor é perceber
Que apesar de termos feito tudo, tudo
Tudo o que fizemos
Nós ainda somos os mesmos
E vivemos
Ainda somos os mesmos
E vivemos
Ainda somos os mesmos
E vivemos como os nossos pais

“Like our parents”
I don’t want to tell you my great love
About the things I learned from records
I want to tell you how I lived
And everything that happened with me
Living is better than dreaming
I know that love is a good thing
But I also know that any song
Is smaller than any person’s life
So take care my love
There’s danger on the corner
They won
And the light is red for us
Who are young
To hug your brother
And kiss your girl on the street
Is why you were given your arms
Your lips and your voice
You ask me about my passion
I tell you that I’m enchanted
By a new invention
I’m gonna stay in this city
I’m not going back to the sertão
Because I see something surging on the breeze
The scent of a new season
I feel everything in the open wound
Of my heart
A long time ago I saw you on the street
Hair in the wind
Young people gathered
At the memory wall
That memory
Is the picture that hurts the most
My pain is understanding
That although we have
Done everything we’ve done
We’re still the same
And we live
We’re still the same
And we live like our parents
Our idols are still the same
And appearances don’t deceive me no
You say that after them
Nobody else appeared
You can even say
That I’m out of the loop
Or else that I’m making things up
But you’re the one who loves the past
And who doesn’t see
It’s you who loves the past
And who doesn’t see
That the new always comes
Today I know that the one who gave me the idea
Of a new consciousness and youth
Is at home
Protected by god
Counting vile metal
My pain is understanding
That despite our having done everything, everything
Everything that we did
We are still the same
And we live
We are still the same
And we live
We are still the same
And we live like our parents