“Rapaz de bem” (Johnny Alf, 1961)
This is another translation in collaboration with the fantastic Brazuca Sounds podcast. Listen to Leandro’s episode for the full scoop on the influence of this song and its composer on bossa nova as well as the differences between the 1955 and 1961 versions of this song. (Leandro also points to an article in the New York Times entitled “A Black Pianist Helped Birth Bossa Nova” that is worth checking out.) It’s pretty clear why Johnny Alf is considered the father of bossa nova. Linguistically, this is a pretty straightforward song; there’s lots of slang-y expressions, but everything has some sort of easy parallel in English. So, in the spirit of the song, why work harder than I have to?
“Rapaz de bem”
Você bem sabe eu sou rapaz de bem
A minha onda é a do vai e vem
Pois com as pessoas que eu bem tratar
Eu qualquer dia posso me arrumar
Vê se mora!
No meu preparo intelectual
É o trabalho a pior moral
Não sendo a minha apresentação
O meu dinheiro só de arrumação
Eu tenho casa
Tenho comida
Não passo fome, graças a Deus
E no esporte eu sou de morte
Tendo isto tudo eu não preciso de mais nada, é claro!
Se a luz do sol vem me trazer calor
E a luz da lua vem trazer amor
Tudo de graça a natureza dá
Pra que que eu quero trabalhar??
“Good boy”
You know full well I’m a good kid
My jam is to go with the flow
Cuz with the people I treat well
I can set myself up any day
Tell me I’m wrong!
In my intellectual training
Work is the worst ethic
That’s not how I present myself
My money’s just for tidying up
I have a house
I have food
I’m not going hungry, thank god
And in sport I’m a killer
Having all that, I don’t need anything else, of course!
If the sunlight makes me hot
And the moonlight brings me love
Nature provides everything for free
Why would I want to work??