Happy Birthday, Vini Jr!

Source: Teca  Lamboglia from São Paulo, Brasil, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

In honor of all the abusive shit that Vinícius Júnior has gone through just because of the color of his skin (even if it has led to some hope of change), a translation of a song by Gal Costa to mark the soccer star’s 23rd birthday today. “Lágrimas Negras” (“Black Tears”) was on Gal’s 1974 album “Cantar” (“Sing”).

Listen to the song.

“Black Tears”
In front of the procession, my kiss
Strong like steel, my hug
Oil wells in the black light of your eyes
Black tears fall, leave
Hurt
Among flowers and stars
You use one of them as an earring
Dangling from your ear
You’re the astronaut of longing
With your bright red mouth
Black tears fall, leave
Hurt
They’re like stones from a mill
That grind, gnaw, grind
And you, baby, come and go
And you, baby, back and forth
Beauty is something lit from the inside
Sadness is beauty erased by suffering
Beauty is something lit from the inside
Sadness is beauty erased by suffering
Black tears fall, leave
Hurt