Volta – Bilingual Lyrics Portuguese/English

• By: Diogo Piçarra

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the heartfelt Portuguese ballad "Volta" by Diogo Piçarra. This song offers a powerful expression of love, loss, and yearning, allowing listeners to connect with universal emotions. Through its poignant lyrics and melody, "Volta" provides a beautiful opportunity to explore themes of grief and memory, and to perhaps even learn a little Portuguese along the way.

[English]

Come back

Stay just one more second

A deep hug awaits you

In it, we travel the world

In love, we dive deep

I just want you for one more moment

To paint your gray sky

To mark your face on my chest

To recreate a perfect day

Come back for the sake of my fears

I need you in my fingers

To always wake you up with secrets

With a smile, you would stop time

Come back because I can't take it

Without you, everything turned gray

I'd rather have you with all your flaws

Than not have you in my chest

Because without you, I can't

Come back to give me meaning

I'm just a lost body

So I just ask you to come back

Come back!

Come back!

Come back!

Come back!

Come back!

But you don't come back

You left for another world

You left me here, deep down

I only ask for one more second

Come back, just for a second

...

[Portuguese]

Volta

Fica só mais um segundo

Espera-te um abraço profundo

Nele damos voltas ao mundo

No amor mergulhamos a fundo

Quero-te só mais um momento

Para pintar o teu céu cinzento

Marcar o teu rosto no meu peito

Recriarmos um dia perfeito

Volta para bem dos meus medos

Preciso de ti nos meus dedos

De acordar-te sempre com segredos

Com um sorriso paravas o tempo

Volta porque não aguento

Sem ti tudo ficou cinzento

Prefiro ter-te com todos os defeitos

Do que não te ter no meu peito

Porque sem ti não consigo

Volta para me dar sentido

Sou apenas um corpo perdido

Por isso só te peço que voltes

Volta!

Volta!

Volta!

Volta!

Volta!

Mas tu não voltas

Partiste para outro mundo

Deixaste-me aqui bem no fundo

Só peço por mais um segundo

Volta só por um segundo

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
volta /ˈvɔltɐ/ A2	verb - to return, to come back
abraço /aˈbɾa.su/ B1	noun - hug
mundo /ˈmũ.du/ A2	noun - world
amor /aˈmoɾ/ A2	noun - love
mergulhamos /mɛɾ.ɡuˈʎɐ.mus/ B1	verb - we dive
fundo /ˈfũ.du/ B1	noun - bottom, depths
teu /tɛw/ A2	adjective/pronoun - your
céu /sɐj̯/ A2	noun - sky
rosto /ˈʁɔʃ.tu/ B1	noun - face
cinzento /sĩˈzẽ.tu/ B2	adjective - gray
roxo /ˈʁɔʃu/ B2	adjective - purple
sentido /sẽˈtʃi.du/ B2	noun - meaning, sense

Key Grammar Structures

• Fica só mais um segundo

  ➔ Imperative mood

  ➔ Uses the imperative "Fica" (stay) to express a direct command or plea. "Só mais um segundo" means "just one more second."

• Espera-te um abraço profundo

  ➔ Object Pronoun Placement (clitic pronoun)

  ➔ The pronoun "te" (you) is attached to the verb "Espera" (waits). This is called enclisis, where the pronoun comes after the verb. A more standard sentence structure would be "Um abraço profundo espera-te".

• Para pintar o teu céu cinzento

  ➔ Infinitive as a Purpose Clause

  ➔ "Para pintar" (to paint) expresses the purpose or reason for the previous action (implied in the context). The phrase means "in order to paint your gray sky."

• Volta para bem dos meus medos

  ➔ "Para" + noun to express purpose/benefit

  ➔ The phrase "para bem dos meus medos" means "for the sake of my fears" or "for the good of my fears". It uses "para" + noun to indicate purpose or benefit.

• Prefiro ter-te com todos os defeitos

  ➔ Compound verb tense + Object Pronoun (ênclise)

  ➔ "Prefiro ter-te" combines the verb "Preferir" (to prefer) and "ter" (to have), with the pronoun "te" (you) attached to the infinitive. This creates a compound verb structure with enclisis.

• Do que não te ter no meu peito

  ➔ Comparative structure using "do que" + negative + infinitive

  ➔ "Do que não te ter" introduces the less preferred option in a comparison. It translates to "than not having you". The "não te ter" part includes negation and an infinitive with an object pronoun.

• Partiste para outro mundo

  ➔ Preterite tense (Perfect tense in some contexts) indicating a completed action

  ➔ "Partiste" is the preterite form (or perfect form depending on dialect) of the verb "partir" (to leave), indicating a completed action in the past. It means "You left."

• Deixaste-me aqui bem no fundo

  ➔ Object Pronoun (ênclise)

  ➔ The pronoun "me" is attached to the verb "Deixaste." This is called enclisis, where the pronoun comes after the verb in Portuguese.