Meu Amor de Longe – Bilingual Lyrics Portuguese/English

• By: Raquel Tavares

Lyrics & Translation

[Portuguese]

[English]

No Largo da Graça já nasceu o dia

Day has already broken in Largo da Graça

Ouço um passarinho, vou roubar-lhe a melodia

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

Meu amor de longe ligou

My faraway love called

Abençoada alegria

Blessed joy

Junto ao miradouro, pombos e estrangeiros

Near the viewpoint, doves and foreigners

Vão a cirandar como fazem o dia inteiro

Go circling as they do all day long

Meu amor de longe já vem

My faraway love is coming

Pôs carta no correio

Sent a letter in the mail

Barcos e gaivotas do Tejo

Boats and seagulls of the Tagus

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

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

Meu amor de longe está

My faraway love is

Prestes a chegar

About to arrive

Talhado para mim

Made for me

Mal o conheci, eu achei-o desse modo

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

Logo pude perceber o fado que ia ter

I could soon perceive the destiny I was going to have

Por ver nele o fado todo

For seeing all of fate in him

Chega de tragédias e desgraças

Enough of tragedies and misfortunes

Tudo a tempo passa, não há nada a perder

Everything passes in time, there is nothing to lose

Meu amor de longe voltou

My faraway love returned

Só para me ver

Just to see me

...

...

Fiz um rol de planos para recebê-lo

I made a list of plans to receive him

Fui pintar as unhas, pôr tranças no cabelo

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

Meu amor de longe há-de vir

My faraway love will come

Beijar-me no castelo

Kiss me in the castle

Eu a procurá-lo, ele a vir afoito

Me looking for him, him coming boldly

Carro dos Prazeres, número 28

"Prazeres" tram, number 28

Meu amor de longe saltou

My faraway love jumped off

Iluminou a noite

Illuminated the night

Vamos celebrar ao Bairro Alto

Let's celebrate in Bairro Alto

Madrugada, baile no Cais do Sodré

Dawn, dance in Cais do Sodré

Meu amor de longe sabe bem

My faraway love feels good

Como é que é

Just how it is

Talhado para mim

Made for me

Mal o conheci, eu achei-o desse modo

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

Logo pude perceber o fado que ia ter

I could soon perceive the destiny I was going to have

Por ver nele o fado todo

For seeing all of fate in him

Chega de tragédias e desgraças

Enough of tragedies and misfortunes

Tudo a tempo passa, não há nada a perder

Everything passes in time, there is nothing to lose

Meu amor de longe voltou

My faraway love returned

Só para me ver

Just to see me

Chega de tragédias e desgraças

Enough of tragedies and misfortunes

Tudo a tempo passa, não há nada a perder

Everything passes in time, there is nothing to lose

Meu amor de longe voltou

My faraway love returned

Só para me ver

Just to see me

...

...

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..."