Pretinha – Bilingual Lyrics Portuguese/English

• By: Cesar Mc
• Album: Dai a Cesar o que é de Cesar

Lyrics & Translation

[Portuguese]

[English]

Quando eu te escutei, você me fascinou

When I heard you, you fascinated me

(Quando eu te escutei, você me fascinou)

(When I heard you, you fascinated me)

Até pergunto a Deus por quê que demorou

I even ask God why it took so long

(Até pergunto a Deus por quê que demorou)

(I even ask God why it took so long)

Eu me procurei, aí você chegou

I searched for myself, then you arrived

(Eu me procurei, aí você chegou)

(I searched for myself, then you arrived)

Quando eu te escutei, você me fascinou

When I heard you, you fascinated me

(Quando eu te escutei, você me fascinou)

(When I heard you, you fascinated me)

Tava ali despedaçada, tão mal interpretada

I was there shattered, so misunderstood

Gritantemente diferente de como falavam

Screamingly different from how they spoke

O olhar denunciava o quanto você discordava

Your gaze revealed how much you disagreed

Te fizeram de muleta pro que mais abominava

They made you a crutch for what they most abhorred

É, o que fizeram de você?

Yeah, what did they do to you?

Pretinha, o que fizeram de você?

Little black girl, what did they do to you?

(O que fizeram de você?)

(What did they do to you?)

Yeah, yeah-yeah

Yeah, yeah-yeah

Quando eu escutei minha pretinha

When I heard my little black girl

Alguma coisa ali me fez feliz

Something there made me happy

Hoje eu vejo que a culpa é toda minha

Today I see that the blame is all mine

De não ter escutado o que a pretinha diz

For not having listened to what the little black girl says

Ela é papo reto e palavras de vida

She speaks straight and words of life

A sua fala é minha leitura preferida

Her speech is my favorite reading

Virou do avesso o que eu achava que sabia

It turned upside down what I thought I knew

Pois o seu lugar de fala me ensinou a ver a vida

For her place of speech taught me to see life

Eu acordo cedo só pra ver você

I wake up early just to see you

Pretinha, Deus tava inspirado quando fez você

Little black girl, God was inspired when He made you

(Deus tava inspirado quando fez você)

(God was inspired when He made you)

Me olhava de um jeito profundo

You looked at me in a deep way

Que até parecia uma espada que tinha dois gumes

That even seemed like a sword with two edges

E ali me cortava bem dentro da alma

And there it cut deep into my soul

Divide do espírito, juntas, medula e até minhas intenções

Dividing spirit, joints, marrow, and even my intentions

Então eu disse: oi

So I said: hi

Todo aquele que julgou jamais te conheceu

Everyone who judged you never really knew you

O mundo inteiro folheou, sorte de quem te leu

The whole world flipped through, lucky are those who read you

Sempre que a gente conversa, eu revejo alguma peça

Whenever we talk, I revisit some piece

E remonto uma versão de mim que é bem melhor que essa

And I piece together a version of myself that's much better than this

É que eu tenho tanta pressa, andar pela sua promessa

It's just that I'm in such a hurry, to walk through your promise

De partir pra um lugar melhor que aqui

To leave for a better place than here

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fascinou /fɐ.siˈno/ B2	verb - fascinated
perguntou /peɾˈɡũ.to(w)/ A2	verb - asked
chegou /ʃeˈɡo(w)/ A1	verb - arrived
despedaçada /des.pe.daˈsa.da/ B2	adjective - shattered, broken
interpretada /ĩ.teɾ.pɾeˈta.da/ B2	adjective - interpreted
olhar /oˈʎaɾ/ A2	noun - look, gaze
culpa /ˈkuɫ.pɐ/ B1	noun - fault, blame
feliz /feˈlis/ A1	adjective - happy
palavras /paˈlavɾɐs/ A1	noun - words
vida /ˈvi.dɐ/ A1	noun - life
fala /ˈfa.lɐ/ A2	noun - speech, way of speaking
ensinou /ĩ.siˈno(w)/ A2	verb - taught
acordo /ɐˈkoɾ.du/ A1	verb - I wake up
profundo /pɾoˈfũ.du/ B1	adjective - deep
alma /ˈaw.mɐ/ B1	noun - soul
mundo /ˈmũ.du/ A1	noun - world
melhor /meˈʎoɾ/ A1	adjective - better

Key Grammar Structures

• Quando eu te escutei, você me fascinou

  ➔ Past Tense, Use of Pronouns

  ➔ Use of the past perfect tense (escutei, fascinou) to describe a completed action in the past. Pronouns 'te' (you) and 'me' (me) are used as direct object pronouns.

• Até pergunto a Deus por quê que demorou

  ➔ Use of 'Por que' vs. 'Porque', Indirect Question

  ➔ 'Por quê' (separated) is used at the end of a sentence or before a pause. 'Porque' would be used for 'because'. This sentence implies an indirect question about the reason for the delay. Note the doubling of the 'que' (por quê que), common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese, especially in songs.

• Tava ali despedaçada, tão mal interpretada

  ➔ Past Continuous (informal), Adverbs of Degree, Passive Voice Implied

  ➔ 'Tava' is a colloquial shortening of 'estava' (was). 'Tão' (so) is an adverb of degree. The adjective 'despedaçada' (broken) implies she was being broken by someone/something, an implied passive voice. 'mal interpretada' (badly interpreted) similarly suggests a passive construction.

• É, o que fizeram de você?

  ➔ Interrogative Sentence, Impersonal 'Fizeram'

  ➔ 'Fizeram' (they did) is used impersonally, not specifying who did something to her. The interrogative structure emphasizes the question about the harm done to her.

• Hoje eu vejo que a culpa é toda minha

  ➔ Present Tense, Use of 'Toda' as an Intensifier

  ➔ 'Toda' (all) is used to intensify 'minha' (mine), meaning 'entirely my fault'. The sentence is in the present tense indicating a current realization.

• Ela é papo reto e palavras de vida

  ➔ Present Tense, Metaphorical Language

  ➔ The sentence uses the present tense to describe a constant characteristic. 'Papo reto' (straight talk) and 'palavras de vida' (words of life) are metaphors representing her directness and meaningful communication.

• Pois o seu lugar de fala me ensinou a ver a vida

  ➔ Use of 'Pois', Infinitive Phrase as Object

  ➔ 'Pois' (well, because) introduces a reason. The infinitive phrase 'a ver a vida' (to see life) acts as the object of the verb 'ensinou' (taught).

• De partir pra um lugar melhor que aqui

  ➔ Prepositional Phrase, Comparative

  ➔ 'Pra' is a colloquial contraction of 'para' (to). The phrase 'melhor que aqui' (better than here) is a comparative construction.