“Juventude transviada” (Luiz Melodia, 1976)
Source: 26° Prêmio da Música Brasileira, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
This song, off Melodia’s second album “Maravilhas contemporâneas” (“Contemporary wonders”) will be the focus of the Brazuca Sounds bonus podcast later this week. The title is the Brazilian Portuguese title given to the James Dean film “Rebel without a Cause.” Literally translated, it’s something like “Drifting youth” or “Misguided youth” or “Deviant youth” (like “deviant,” the word literally connotes leaving the path) but personally I feel that “driftless” better reflects the idea (in both the James Dean movie and here) of aimlessness and purposelessness. This was the number one song of 1976, not least because it was on the soundtrack of the very popular novela “Pecado Capital.” The message about the exhausting life of women, particularly those in the working class—visible through some rather obscure lyrics—remains as strong today as when the song came out.
“Juventude transviada”
Lava roupa todo dia, que agonia
Na quebrada da soleira, que chovia
Até sonhar de madrugada
Uma moça sem mancada
Uma mulher não deve vacilar
Eu entendo a juventude transviada
E o auxílio luxuoso de um pandeiro
Até sonhar de madrugada
Uma moça sem mancada
Uma mulher não deve vacilar
Cada cara representa uma mentira
Nascimento, vida e morte, quem diria
Até sonhar de madrugada
Uma moça sem mancada
Uma mulher não deve vacilar
Hoje pode transformar
E o que diria a juventude
Um dia você vai chorar
Vejo clara as fantasias
Lava roupa todo dia, que agonia
Na quebrada da soleira, que chovia
Até sonhar de madrugada
Uma moça sem mancada
Uma mulher não deve vacilar
“Driftless Youth”
She washes clothes every day, what agony
In the worn out entryway, where it rained
Even dreaming in the middle of the night
A girl with no flaws
A woman must not falter
I understand the driftless youth
And the luxurious assistance of a tambourine
Even dreaming in the wee hours
A girl with no flaws
A woman must not falter
Every face represents a lie
Birth, life, and death, who knew
Even dreaming in the wee hours
A girl with no flaws
A woman must not falter
Today she may transform
And what would the youth say
One day you’ll cry
I clearly see the illusions
She washes clothes every day, what agony
In the worn out entryway, where it rained
Even dreaming in the middle of the night
A girl with no flaws
A woman must not falter