“Meu mundo é hoje (Eu sou assim)” (Paulinho da Viola, 1972)
Tomorrow our friends at Brazuca Sounds will be dropping an episode about this song from Paulinho da Viola’s 1972 album “A dança da solidão” (“The dance of solitude”). Linguistically this is a pretty straightforward song, but the simple phrase at the beginning—“eu sou assim”—is surprisingly difficult to translate. The word “assim” means “like this” or “like that” but also “thus” and “accordingly.” So those three little words could be “I’m like that” or “That’s the way I am” or “This is how I am” (or even “Thus I am” but that’s a stretch because of the word order). Luckily for me, since the phrase is repeated several times in the song, I have room to play with different translations, but my favorite choice becomes clear in the end. That’s just how I am.
Eu sou assim, quem quiser gostar de mim, eu sou assim
Eu sou assim, quem quiser gostar de mim, eu sou assim
Meu mundo é hoje, não existe amanhã pra mim
Eu sou assim, assim morrerei um dia
Não levarei arrependimentos nem o peso da hipocrisia
Tenho pena daqueles que se agacham até o chão
Enganando a si mesmo por dinheiro ou posição
Nunca tomei parte nesse enorme batalhão
Pois sei que além de flores, nada mais vai no caixão
Eu sou assim, quem quiser gostar de mim, eu sou assim
Eu sou assim, quem quiser gostar de mim, eu sou assim
This is how I am, anyone who wants to like me, I’m like this
This is the way I am, whoever wants to like me, this is how I am
My world is today, there is no tomorrow for me
This is how I am, one day I’ll die like this
I won’t carry regrets or the weight of hypocrisy
I feel sorry for those who crouch down to the ground
Fooling themselves for money or power
I’ve never taken part in that huge battle
Cuz I know that besides flowers, nothing else goes on your coffin
This is how I am, anyone who wants to like me, this is how I am
This is how I am, anyone who wants to like me, this is how I am