“Mistérios” (Boca Livre, 1979)
To mark the 74th birthday of Boca Livre co-founder and bassist Mauricio Mestre, below is my translation of a song he wrote for Teatro Oficina as an instrumental with his then wife Joyce Moreno. Years later, then divorced, Joyce provided words for this song that went on Boca Livre’s self-titled first album in 1979. (In a small world coincidence, Teatro Oficina was an important part of my dissertation and still a bright light of São Paulo theater.)
“Mysteries”
A fire burned within me
That there’s no more way
To put out
Not even with all the water in the sea
I need to learn
The mysteries of fire
To ignite you
A river passed within me
That I had no way
To cross
I need a ship
To take me
I need to learn
The mysteries of the river
To navigate you
Brief life
Nature
Who sent you, heart
A wind blew within me
That I had no way
To hold
Life passed by to take me
I need to learn
The mysteries of the world
To teach you