“Morro Dois Irmãos” (Chico Buarque, 1989)
Source: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons
Today’s bonus episode from my friends over at Brazuca Sounds refers to one of the many iconic landmarks in Rio de Janeiro: Morro Dois Irmãos. The Portuguese word “morro” is almost always translated as “hill” but look at the picture above—that’s no hill!—so even though there are plenty of references to “Two Brothers Hill” out there, I’ve opted for “Two Brothers Mountain” instead. Regardless of the title, this song is an amazing set of metaphors about time, permanence, nature, and more. Check out the Brazuca Sounds podcast for a beautiful interpretation of how Chico plays with, juxtaposes, and interweaves the fluidity of music and the immobility of mountains.
Personal note: Way back when I was in high school, during my junior year abroad that first got me hooked on Brazil, my grandparents came to visit and treated us to one of the nicest hotel stays of my life—in the hotel that is the tall building in the picture above.
“Morro Dois Irmãos”
Dois Irmãos, quando vai alta a madrugada
E a teus pés vão-se encostar os instrumentos
Aprendi a respeitar tua prumada
E desconfiar do teu silêncio
Penso ouvir a pulsação atravessada
Do que foi e o que será noutra existência
É assim como se a rocha dilatada
Fosse uma concentração de tempos
É assim como se o ritmo do nada
Fosse, sim, todos os ritmos por dentro
Ou, então, como uma música parada
Sobre uma montanha em movimento
“Two Brothers Mountain”
Two Brothers, when dawn breaks
And instruments will be laid at your feet
I’ve learned to respect your slope
And to distrust your silence
I think I hear an offbeat pulsing
Of what has been and what will be in another existence
It’s as if the swollen stone
Were a concentration of times
It’s as if the rhythm of nothing
Were instead all the rhythms inside
Or else like a stopped song
About a mountain in motion