Meu Amor de Longe – Bilingual Lyrics Portuguese/English

• By: Raquel Tavares

Lyrics & Translation

Immerse yourself in the soulful melodies of Portuguese Fado with Raquel Tavares' "Meu Amor de Longe." This song offers a beautiful exploration of love, hope, and the enduring spirit of connection across distances, making it a perfect introduction to the rich emotional landscape of Portuguese music.

[English]

Day has already broken in Largo da Graça

I hear a little bird, I'll steal its melody

My faraway love called

Blessed joy

Near the viewpoint, doves and foreigners

Go circling as they do all day long

My faraway love is coming

Sent a letter in the mail

Boats and seagulls of the Tagus

See what I see, it's the sun that will shine

My faraway love is

About to arrive

Made for me

I barely knew him, but that's how I found him

I could soon perceive the destiny I was going to have

For seeing all of fate in him

Enough of tragedies and misfortunes

Everything passes in time, there is nothing to lose

My faraway love returned

Just to see me

...

I made a list of plans to receive him

I went to paint my nails, put braids in my hair

My faraway love will come

Kiss me in the castle

Me looking for him, him coming boldly

"Prazeres" tram, number 28

My faraway love jumped off

Illuminated the night

Let's celebrate in Bairro Alto

Dawn, dance in Cais do Sodré

My faraway love feels good

Just how it is

Made for me

I barely knew him, but that's how I found him

I could soon perceive the destiny I was going to have

For seeing all of fate in him

Enough of tragedies and misfortunes

Everything passes in time, there is nothing to lose

My faraway love returned

Just to see me

Enough of tragedies and misfortunes

Everything passes in time, there is nothing to lose

My faraway love returned

Just to see me

...

[Portuguese]

No Largo da Graça já nasceu o dia

Ouço um passarinho, vou roubar-lhe a melodia

Meu amor de longe ligou

Abençoada alegria

Junto ao miradouro, pombos e estrangeiros

Vão a cirandar como fazem o dia inteiro

Meu amor de longe já vem

Pôs carta no correio

Barcos e gaivotas do Tejo

Vejam o que eu vejo, é o sol que vai brilhar

Meu amor de longe está

Prestes a chegar

Talhado para mim

Mal o conheci, eu achei-o desse modo

Logo pude perceber o fado que ia ter

Por ver nele o fado todo

Chega de tragédias e desgraças

Tudo a tempo passa, não há nada a perder

Meu amor de longe voltou

Só para me ver

Fiz um rol de planos para recebê-lo

Fui pintar as unhas, pôr tranças no cabelo

Meu amor de longe há-de vir

Beijar-me no castelo

Eu a procurá-lo, ele a vir afoito

Carro dos Prazeres, número 28

Meu amor de longe saltou

Iluminou a noite

Vamos celebrar ao Bairro Alto

Madrugada, baile no Cais do Sodré

Meu amor de longe sabe bem

Como é que é

Talhado para mim

Mal o conheci, eu achei-o desse modo

Logo pude perceber o fado que ia ter

Por ver nele o fado todo

Chega de tragédias e desgraças

Tudo a tempo passa, não há nada a perder

Meu amor de longe voltou

Só para me ver

Chega de tragédias e desgraças

Tudo a tempo passa, não há nada a perder

Meu amor de longe voltou

Só para me ver

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
amor /aˈmoʁ/ A1	noun - love
dia /ˈdi.ɐ/ A1	noun - day
sol /sɔl/ A1	noun - sun
coração /koɾaˈsɐ̃w/ A2	noun - heart
alegria /aleˈɡɾi.ɐ/ A2	noun - joy
ver /veʁ/ A1	verb - to see
chegar /ʃeˈɡaʁ/ A2	verb - to arrive
pintar /pĩˈtaʁ/ A2	verb - to paint
noite /ˈnɔitʃ/ A1	noun - night
tristeza /tɾiʃˈtezɐ/ B1	noun - sadness
celebrar /se.leˈbɾaʁ/ B1	verb - to celebrate
fado /ˈfa.du/ B2	noun - a genre of Portuguese music
barco /ˈbaʁ.ku/ A2	noun - boat
plano /ˈplɐ.nu/ B1	noun - plan
madrugada /madɾuˈɡadɐ/ B2	noun - early morning

Key Grammar Structures

• Ouço um passarinho, vou roubar-lhe a melodia

  ➔ Future Subjunctive (implied)

  ➔ While not explicitly stated, the "vou roubar" implies a potential future action, which often has a subjunctive feel. Here, it suggests a whimsical or hypothetical action. Although Portuguese uses the Future Subjunctive less frequently in modern usage, it adds a layer of possibility.

• Meu amor de longe já vem

  ➔ Adverb "já" with present tense.

  ➔ The adverb "já" indicates that the action is already happening or about to happen. Here, it emphasizes the imminence of the arrival.

• Vejam o que eu vejo, é o sol que vai brilhar

  ➔ Subjunctive mood (in "Vejam"), emphatic "que" construction

  ➔ "Vejam" is the imperative (command) form of "ver" (to see) in the 3rd person plural, often used to invite people to witness something. The "é o sol que vai brilhar" construction emphasizes that it *is* the sun that will shine, adding dramatic weight.

• Mal o conheci, eu achei-o desse modo

  ➔ Inversion with "Mal" + Preterite Perfect + pronoun object clitic

  ➔ The structure "Mal + clause" indicates "as soon as". The object pronoun "o" (him) is attached to the verb "achei" (found) as a clitic. The use of "Mal" at the beginning of the sentence results in the subject of the verb is being placed *after* the verb.

• Logo pude perceber o fado que ia ter

  ➔ Periphrastic Future ("ia ter")

  ➔ "ia ter" is a periphrastic future tense, formed by the verb "ir" (to go) in the imperfect tense + "ter" (to have). It indicates a future event that is very close or certain.

• Chega de tragédias e desgraças

  ➔ "Chega de" + Noun (expressing "Enough of" something)

  ➔ The expression "chega de" followed by a noun is a common idiom meaning "enough of" or "no more of". It expresses the desire to stop something.

• Tudo a tempo passa, não há nada a perder

  ➔ Impersonal "há" construction with infinitive verb.

  ➔ "Há nada a perder" uses the impersonal form of "haver" (to have, to exist) meaning "there is". It's followed by the infinitive "perder" (to lose). This emphasizes the lack of something.

• Fui pintar as unhas, pôr tranças no cabelo

  ➔ Infinitive used as a noun to describe the activity

  ➔ The infinitive form of the verbs "pintar" (to paint) and "pôr" (to put) are used to describe the action of the subject. This can be seen as noun-like use, describing the activities she is doing. "Fui pintar..." is similar to "I went painting..."