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  • Gabriel o Pensador

    Gabriel o Pensador

    Linhas Tortas → English translation

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Crooked Lines

Click to see the original lyrics (Portuguese)
Sometimes some people make me lose sleep, but they can't make me lose my dreams
That's why I love and recite, that's why I sing and compose (songs)
I don't own the world, but I'm the owner's son
Son of the true Owner, the true Owner.
 
- What's up, Gabriel, have you given up on your money?
- I canceled this job to not get bothered even more.
- Please make it clearer, what have you done exactly?
- Fine, I'll explain it to you:
 
Everything began at Portuguese class
I was five, maybe six
I started to write, I learnt orthography
And then essays, to general merriment
 
The teacher told us that our redaction was free-theme, it took me time
to choose a theme, but right after I started to dream/travel1...
And, in these dreams/travels, the characters appeared
They thought, felt, cried and smiled.
 
Then my great-aunt, mind you,
gave me a typewriter as a birthday gift.
I felt like I was such a good journalist,
just like my Mom, who worked with TV.
 
Afterwards, when I was 15 and shy,
I got very embarrassed about what my teacher did.
He picked up one of my texts and read it aloud for the whole class to hear
I confess I was a bit happy, but actually wanting to flee.
 
And just then, I found out I was already born with this "problem"
I like to write, I like to write, believe and see.
See, believe, I like to write and I can write poems as well.
 
My father, I confess, I make prose and verse
I sell books at the fair, I sell tickets at the show.
I sell disks at the shop, I've already sold more than 1 million of them.
 
If that is a crime, then I want to go to prison?
 
- Hmm, thinker, that seems serious, huh!2
Yeah, my grandmother used to say I already wrote very well.
I tried to control myself, occupy my time with sports,
such as surf, football, but they weren't my thing.
.
One day I made some raps and found they sounded quite good
I was baptized 'The Thinker' and I felt like making music.
Becoming rich and famous was never my goal,
My mother was already that, so I just wanted to be a poet.
 
My father - a serious man, a Gaúcho from POA and3
graduated in medicine - couldn't believe
When he saw his boy (son) Gabriel,
with headphones in his ears, dreaming while holding a pen on the paper.
 
- What the heck you doing? Go get some sleep, kid!
- Argh Dad, I'm just making some rap music!
No one could say for sure what that was, but I was addicted to it.
And I made others get addicted too!
 
My father, I confess, I make prose and verse
I sell books at the fair, I sell tickets at the show.
I sell disks at the shop, I've already sold more than 1 million of them.
If that is a crime, then I want to go to prison?
 
I'm not selling crack or powder.4
I'm not selling smoke or glue.5
But a lot of people told me that what I was making was addictive.
And the students got addicted when I entered the school too.
 
Even the teacher got contaminated sometimes
They copied my lyrics and texts and spread them.
I no longer know if the seeds that I make are good or evil.
But I know well that a lot of students are starting to do the same.
 
Writing poems, writing redactions
Making some raps and some shows
I remember my kids, I do miss them
Loneliness follows me from hotel to hotel
 
My marriage is over, I lost it on the road
The only love that was left is my love for words
It is speaking and singing, awakening consciences
I dedicated my entire love to it, and the biggest reward
 
Is to serve as a reference to those who think alike
To the one who tries to express himself and is never heard
It is looking at what is in front of me and seeing a sea of people
And dive deep into their hearts and minds
 
This is my diving, it is not Scrooge McDuck's
This is what I'm proud of, writting my own lines
I write in crooked lines, inspired by someone
Who gave me a mission that I have to fulfill successfully
 
I listen to hearts, like a cardiologist
I translate what they say, like any artist
Who gets their money, which is the result of their work
Grasshoppers and ants, I don't know how much I'm worth
 
But I know that, when I receive (my money), I share and multiply it
And the more I share it, the more rich I become
Rich of the true richness, which is free
Like a smile, which lightens the entire square
 
A thrilled smile of a experienced Sir,
standing under the scorching sun for two hours,
listening to my poems, in full tune.
I am him tomorrow, and today I'm all poetry.
 
  • 1. Dream, in this case, is just like traveling in the imagination. Imaginating things, characters and whathever else.
  • 2. 'The Thinker One' is the translation for 'O pensador', he is known by 'Gabriel, O pensador' = 'Gabriel, The thinker one'.
  • 3. Gaúcho is the one who lives in the South of Brazil.
  • 4. Crack is a type of drug, I think it does exist in English.
  • 5. Some people smells glue, and say it is addicting. Oh well, I've never done it of course, so go figure!
Original lyrics

Linhas Tortas

Click to see the original lyrics (Portuguese)

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Gabriel o Pensador: Top 3
1.O cachimbo da paz
2.2345meia78
3.Até Quando
Comments
Vimto12Vimto12    Mon, 08/04/2013 - 13:41

Wow I didn't think this would get translated so fast! Thanks :bigsmile:

Some suggestions:

verse 2, line 2: to not get...
line 3: what have you done exactly

verse 3, line 3: I learnt
line 4: 'redaction' is more like 'editing'...I think perhaps 'essay' would be better

verse 4, line 1/2: demorava -> I took my time/hesitated in choosing a theme/topic
line 3: characters appeared

verse 6, line 2: embarrassed
line 3: and read it aloud for the whole class to hear
line 4: wanting to flee

verse 7, line 1: I was already born

verse 8, line 1: prose and verse/poetry
line 4: if that is a crime, then I want to go to prison?

verse 9, line 1: for 'pensador' you can just say 'thinker'
line 2: I already wrote very well

verse 10, line 1: one day
line 2: I was baptised 'The Thinker'
line 3: 'rich and famous' sounds better in English
line 4: My mother was already that (I think this refers to the 'rich and famous' bit)

verse 11, line 4: with headphones in his ears

verse 12, line 3: two 'thats' don't sound nice, maybe change one to an 'it'...
line 4: I made others become/get addicted too

verse 14, line 3: addictive

verse 15, line 2: spread them
line 4: 'are starting...' would sound better if that's a possible way of translating it

verse 16, line 1: typo

verse 17, line 1: on the road?

verse 18, line 1: as a reference
line 2: to the one who tries to express himself...
line 4: dive deep into their hearts and minds?

verse 19, line 3: inspired
line 4: successfully

verse 20, line 3: the result of their work

last verse, line 4: poetry

dowlenon1dowlenon1
   Mon, 08/04/2013 - 15:00

W-O-W! So many good suggestions, I couldn't expect something different from this ;)
Thank you very much!!!

__________
'To not' and 'Not to' always end up throwing me off, because I never know which one should I use. I've read a lot on the internet that most of people say 'not to' (not to do that, not to say that, etc), that's why I stuck to it. Although I myself always think that, at least in that context, 'to not' would sound better, oh well I was sure then...

I also thought 'essay' would be better, but 'redaction' (for being so similar to 'redação') was so tempting that I ended up translating this way. :D

Baptised: I've read that British people usually write words with 's', whereas American people write words with 'z'. It's not a typo at all, but if you prefer I can edit it to 'baptised' :)

My mother was already that = the point that you raised is a food for thought, because I thought exactly the opposite. Now you've raised this question, I am re-thinking and I think it may mean what you are saying. Anyway, I've edited it :)

addictive / Addicting: could you please tell me the difference between them? I didn't know that there was an actual difference.

On the road / in the road: again, could you please tell me the difference? =D

To whom: is that wrong? Or did you correct it to sound more coloquial?
______________________________

I think that's all, thank you :)

Vimto12Vimto12    Mon, 08/04/2013 - 19:31
dowlenon1 schrieb:

'To not' and 'Not to' always end up throwing me off, because I never know which one should I use. I've read a lot on the internet that most of people say 'not to' (not to do that, not to say that, etc), that's why I stuck to it. Although I myself always think that, at least in that context, 'to not' would sound better, oh well I was sure then...

I think in this case 'to not' implies 'in order not to'...

dowlenon1 schrieb:

Baptised: I've read that British people usually write words with 's', whereas American people write words with 'z'. It's not a typo at all, but if you prefer I can edit it to 'baptised' :)

haha I know, I wasn't referring to baptised/baptized but whatever it was I was referring to is fixed :)

dowlenon1 schrieb:

addictive / Addicting: could you please tell me the difference between them? I didn't know that there was an actual difference.

I don't think there is much difference...I think perhaps 'addictive' is a bit more common though...
here's a link I found which you might find useful: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/addictive-versus-addicting.aspx

dowlenon1 schrieb:

On the road / in the road: again, could you please tell me the difference? =D

Not entirely sure myself :/ nevertheless I think it would be 'on the road' in this case as it has the meaning of 'on the way' i.e. he's lost his marriage while all those other things were going on...

I found this: http://www.grammarly.com/answers/questions/1048-do-we-say-in-on-or-at-th...

dowlenon1 schrieb:

To whom: is that wrong? Or did you correct it to sound more coloquial?

I think because it's followed by a verb 'tries', 'who' would be better...'whom' doesn't seem to sound right

:)

dowlenon1dowlenon1
   Mon, 08/04/2013 - 21:21

Great, thank for those explanations and for linking me to those websites, sure they solved a lot of my doubts. :)

dowlenon1dowlenon1
   Mon, 08/04/2013 - 15:04

Thank you!!! Although I don't think I was worth these 5 stars, five stars means flawless.

Don JuanDon Juan
   Mon, 08/04/2013 - 13:48

Ótima tradução!!

Só um comentário:
"É esse o meu mergulho, não é o do Tio Patinhas" -> "This is my diving, it is not Tio Patinhas' ". Tio Patinhas em Inglês é Scrooge McDuck ;)

Vimto12Vimto12    Mon, 08/04/2013 - 13:52

ahh I see...I was wondering what that was :)

dowlenon1dowlenon1
   Mon, 08/04/2013 - 14:48

Obrigado :)

__________
Eu confesso que não sabia que Tio Patinhas tinha tradução para inglês, mas eu devia saber já que é um personagem americano, se não estou enganado? Obrigado eu corrigi essa parte! ;)

Don JuanDon Juan
   Mon, 08/04/2013 - 19:59

Não há de quê. :)

GabriHylianGabriHylian    Thu, 14/05/2015 - 07:19

Translating Rap and the likes can be harsh, and damn, that's a long song! I've not read it all, but I thanked you for your struggle and dedication to this, must've taken some time! Hehe abraço!

dowlenon1dowlenon1
   Sat, 16/05/2015 - 00:04

It was challenging, but I made it! Thanks!

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