August Heat

It’s that time of the year.

The city takes a breather.

The mercury rises in the thermometer

Residents pour out to the Algarve.

Or to the nearby beaches of Cascais and Caparica.

Anywhere away from the hot dry city.

The traffic across the city moves freely

The toll booths on the 25th April Bridge are empty

You can almost feel the pavements relaxing.

Tourists trip along the cobbles of Alfama and Belem.

The cafe on the corner has shut down for the month.

Fishermen cast their lines in down at the riverside.

The national flag flutters atop the Vasco da Gama tower.

Lawnmowers hum.

Sprinklers spray fresh cool water

The smell of freshly mown grass.

The playpark is empty.

Children are bored

Parents push hats on their heads and keep them indoors

And the sun beats down

it’s August

Chuva

That’s the Portuguese word for rain. Its a nice gentle word, not like the insistent driving rain that takes all the joy out of a summer holiday in Portstewart. And not the life sucking smothering monsoon rain thats currently robbing so many in Pakistan of their lives and livelihoods.

It’s also the name of a song sung by one of Portugal’s greatest exponent of the musical genre called “Fado”. I’ve tried to translate it below, but to be honest it sounds much better in Portuguese.

We arrived back in Portugal last Saturday, and woke up on Sunday morning to the gentle sound of rain falling on tired and arid ground, (and with that distinctively unique smell). It was the first fall of rain of the summer - and so so refreshing. So I’m thinking of the meaning of rain this week, and how the same thing can bring horror and wreak so much havoc in one part of the world, and be a source of so much refreshment in another.

Water being the base of our very existence, brings life ... as long as it remains within the the bounds set by the seasons. Rain unbounded is a killer and a destroyer. Meteorologists this week talk of a “supercharged jet stream” creating a dangerous imbalance in the monsoon weather system, and creating conditions for the present disaster. Life and death, prosperity and disaster, held in such a delicate balance. Rain can depress, rain can uplift. Thank God that over all the weather systems, He remains in control. This world with its rain, its drought, its heat and its storms. The seasons. It all may seem in uproar, out of control. But God’s in charge

Chuva

The common things in life ................... As coisas vulgares que há na vida

Leave us with no longing or regret......... Não deixam saudades

Only the things which cause us pain........ Só as lembranças que doem

Or make us smile ............................. Ou fazem sorrir

There are days that mark the soul......... Há dias que marcam a alma

And the life of a people .....................e a vida da gente

And the day you left me..................... e aquele em que tu me deixaste

I can never forget ............................ não posso esquecer

The rain drenched my face ................. A chuva molhava-me o rosto

Cold and tired ................................Gelado e cansado

The streets of the city...................... As ruas que a cidade tinha

Each one I wandered ........................Já eu percorrera

The rain heard and kept silent ........... A chuva ouviu e calou

My secret from the city ................... meu segredo à cidade

Listen to how it beats on the glass ...... E eis que ela bate no vidro

Bringing that memory back ............... Trazendo a saudade

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzrUs08-SWs

Here’s another “rain” songs I happen to like.

John Lee Hooker’s drumming account of a great flood that hit the town of Tupelo in Mississippi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GOCAC8FCqE

Any others out there?