Translation of Pra Rua me Levar

Translation of Pra Rua me Levar, by Ana Carolina and Seu Jorge

In this post, we’ll see the translation of Pra Rua me Levar, a beautiful song, performed by Ana Carolina and Seu Jorge. Below the lyrics and the translation, I’ve added an analysis of some interesting vocabulary used in the lyrics, with some more examples of how to use them in colloquial conversation in Brazilian Portuguese.

Não vou viver

Como alguém que só espera um novo amor

Há outras coisas no caminho onde eu vou

Às vezes ando só

Trocando passos com a solidão

Momentos que são meus e que não abro mão

Já sei olhar o rio

Por onde a vida passa

Sem me precipitar e nem perder a hora

Escuto no silêncio

Que há em mim e basta

Outro tempo começou pra mim agora

Vou deixar a rua me levar

Ver a cidade se acender

A lua vai banhar esse lugar

E eu vou lembrar você

É, mas tenho ainda

Muita coisa pra arrumar

Promessas que me fiz

E que ainda não cumpri

Palavras me aguardam

O tempo exato pra falar

Coisas minhas

Talvez você nem queira ouvir…

Já sei olhar o rio…

I won’t live

as someone who’s just waiting for a new love

There are other things along the way where I go

Sometimes I walk alone,

side by side with solitude

These moments are mine, and I won’t give them up

I already know how to look at the river

where life flows through

With no rush, and not losing track of time

I hear in the silence

what’s inside me, and that’s enough

A new life has begun for me now

I’ll let the street guide me

I’ll watch the city light up

The moon will illuminate this place

And I’ll remember you

Yes, but I still have

a lot to put in order

Promises I made to myself

and that I haven’t yet fulfilled

Words wait for me

for the exact time to be spoken

My own things,

maybe you wouldn’t even want to hear them

I already know how to look at the river…

Now that we’ve seen the translation of Pra Rua me Levar let’s analyse some important vocabulary:

levar

to take (to take something/someone away from where the speaker is) – it’s often confused with trazer, which means ‘to bring’.

Ex.

– O que você quer que eu leve pra festa? (what do you want me to take to the party?) – In this situation, English speakers would probably use the verb ‘to bring’, which makes it confusing, since the verb used here in Portuguese means ‘to take’).

– Você pode trazer uma garrafa de vinho? (Could you bring a bottle of wine?)

solidão

loneliness/solitude (there are no separate translations for loneliness and solitude in Portuguese, the word solidão can express both concepts, the context defines which one it is.

arrumar

to arrange, dispose of, set in order, settle, tidy up. Ex. Eu tenho que arrumar o meu quarto – ele está muito bagunçado. / I have to tidy up my bedroom – it’s very messy.

The song uses the future tense in Portuguese formed with conjugation of the verb ir (to go) a lot

So this is the most common formula to express the future:

Subject pronoun + verb ir conjugated in the present + verb (what you are going to do) in the infinitive

Eu vou trabalhar

Examples from the song – (the subject pronoun eu is in brackets because she doesn’t actually say it in the song, but I thought it would highlight it as per the formula above. The subject pronoun is often omitted when it’s clear by the conjugation of the verb which pronoun it refers to: vou can only be the the conjugation of the verb ir for eu, therefore it’s not necessary to mention eu.

(Eu) nao vou viver – I won’t live

(Eu) Vou deixar a rua me levar – I will let the street take me

(Eu) Vou ver a cidade ascender – I’ll watch the city light up

E (eu) vou lembrar você – And I’ll remember you