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?
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