Quando Você Voltar – Legião Urbana

I’ve recently been listening to quite a lot of Legião Urbana (Urban Legion), described by a Brazilian friend of mine as the Brazilian Smiths. It also sounds like late-80s, early-90s R.E.M. and the Cure which is no bad thing, in my opinion.

Anyway, there’s a little track toward the end of their “A Tempestade” album which is short but contains a nice little love story in the lyrics. You can hear the song in the video above (I’m sorry it’s one of those home-made jobs, but I couldn’t find a video of Legião Urbana actually performing the track).

Imperative Verbs again!

The song mixes imperatives and other forms of verb conjugation in Portuguese. (Read here for an introduction to imperatives). Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to listen to the song (which is sung helpfully slowly) and listen out for how the 14 verbs listed below are conjugated – only the infinitive is given below. Some of them are imperatives. I’ve attempted an English translation of the song below if you want to check what it means. Click answers above for the solution.

Vai, se você precisa (ir=to go).
Não quero mais (brigar=to fight) esta noite
Nossas acusações infantis
E palavras mordazes que (machucar=hurt/injur) tanto
Não vão (levar=to lift/to rise to a conclusion) a nada, como sempre
Vai, clareia um pouco a cabeça
Já que você não quer (conversar=to converse/ to talk).
Já (brigar=to fight) tanto
Mas não vale a pena
Vou (ficar=to stay) aqui, com um bom livro ou com a TV
(Saber=to know) que existe alguma coisa (incomodar=to bother/trouble) você
Meu amor, cuidado na estrada
E quando você (voltar= to return)
(Trancar=to lock) o portão
(Fechar=to close) as janelas
(Apagar=to turn on) a luz
e (saber=to know) que te amo…

Quando Você Voltar – Legião Urbana
English translation / Tradução Ingles.

You go, if you need to go
I don’t want to fight more tonight
Our infantile accusations
and biting words that hurt so much
they won’t conclude anything, as usual.
You go, clear your head a little
You already don’t want to talk
We already fought a lot
But it’s not worth it
I will stay here with a good book or with the TV
I know that something is troubling you
My love, careful on the road
And when you return
Lock the door,
Close the windows
Switch off the light
and know that I love you…

(ps. for me, this song has an uncanny resemblance to a lot of Ryan Adams songs, in particular Nobody Girl and the other stuff off his Gold record).