I'm back

sorry for the disappearing act, but I promise i'll post some new lyrics next week.... if I have time, it'll be the hole second album, "o Passo do Lui" (something like "the Lui's dance step")...

Os Paralamas had made 2 concerts here in São Paulo... i's been a long time since their last concerts here, to be more precise, the last open concert here was in june of last year... weird for a band that does a lot of concerts and considering that my city is the biggest of the country... but ok... They did a concert with tables and chairs, I really don't know why.... again, okkkk....

but, anyhow, the show was amazing, they are playing an acoustic set now and it's really different, cool... I don't know why the had chosen some really fast and dancing songs to play unplugged, but I liked it...
I had to work, so I've lost part of the show of second day, anyway, I love they both....

so... i'll keep my promise, next week new lyrics.

xoxo
Taz

End of first album

I've just finished the first album, "Cinema mudo"... I ask you all to realize it's a disc made by some really young boys, in 80's... so, some songs are just for fun... and the subjects of the songs are really teen problems...

and the translation doesn't help, 'cause almost all the lyrics of this album are writen in a peculiar way and I really don't speak english so well to find a similar way to say the lyric so you can understand this details.

Two songs are writen by Renato Russo (one with João Barone e Herbert Vianna e other alone). For those who doesn't know who he is, (if you don't know, I can bet that you never lived in Brasil) he's one of the most famous rock star of the country... his band (Legião Urbana) was totally unknown that time and, actually, this 2 songs in this album and the help of PdS were of main importance to the success his band achived latter...
He said sometimes that PdS were his band godfathers, 'cause they've opened so many doors for them.

O que eu não disse

João Barone / Herbert Vianna / Renato Russo

Não importa o castigo
Preço dessa confissão
se você não me esquecer

Eu me rendo ao perigo
De tua doce invasão
E o que mais acontecer

Nem mistério, nem destino
É somente amor
Ser feliz é estar contigo

Eu não aprendi nos livros
Nem nos filmes de paixão
O que eu faço pro você

Ser feliz é estar contigo
Mesmo que esta sensação
Não se deixe perceber

What I didn't Said

It does not matter what punishment
price of this confession
if you don't forget me

I surrender to the danger
of your sweet invasion
and waht else happens

not mistery, neither destiny
It's just love
to be happy is to be with you

I didn't learned in the books
neither in the passion movies
what I do for you

to be happy is to be with you
even if this feeling
doesn't shows itself

Química

Renato Russo

Estou trancado em casa e não posso sair
Papai já disse que eu tenho que estudar
Nem música eu posso mais ouvir
E assim não posso nem me concentrar

Não saco nada de física
Literatura ou gramática
Só gosto de educação sexual
E odeio química
Química
Química

Não posso nem tentar me divertir
O tempo inteiro eu tenho que estudar
Assim não sei se eu vou conseguir
Passar nesse tal de vestibular

Não saco nada de física
Literatura ou gramática
Só gosto de educação sexual
E odeio química
Química
Química

Chegou a nova leva de aprendizes
Chegou a vez do nosso ritual
E se você quiser entrar pra tribo
Aqui no nosso belsin tropical
Ter carro do ano, TV a cores
Pagar imposto, ter pistolão
Ter filho na escola, férias na Europa
Ter conta bancária, comprar feijão
Ser responsável, cristão convicto
cidadão modelo, burguês padrão
Você tem que passar no vestibular...

Chemistry

I'm locked in my house and can't get out
dad already said I have to study
I can't even listen to the music
I can't even focus this way

I don't know anything about physics
literature or grammar
I only like sexual education
and I hate chemistry
chemistry
chemistry

I can't even try to have fun
All the time I have to study
this way I don't even know if I'll make it
To pass in the "vestibular" (it's the test you take to join Brazilian colleges)

I don't know anything about physics
literature or grammar
I only like sexual education
and I hate chemistry
chemistry
chemistry

The new wave of learner arrives
It's time for our rite
and if you want to join the tribe
Here in our tropical belsin
Have new car, color TV
pay taxes, have a big gun
have a kid in school, europe vacations
have a bank account, buy beans
be responsible, convict cristian
Model citizen, standard bourgeois
You have to pass in the "vestibular"...

Volúpia

Herbert Vianna

Volúpia, Volúpia, você é sensual
Volúpia, ah! ah! ah!
Volúpia, Volúpia, você é sensual
Volúpia, ah! ah! ah!

Eu vejo um avião no céu
Que vai pra onde você mora
Eu sinto a toda hora
Essa coceira, este calor
Eu acho que sentei
No formigueiro do amor

voluptuousness
(no, it's not a common word in portuguese, i can't even say i have picked the wright word to translate it, but that's all I could get - it's really kind of a joke lyric, ok)

voluptuousness, voluptuousness, you're sensual
voluptuousness, ah! ah! ah!
voluptuousness, voluptuousness, you're sensual
voluptuousness, ah! ah! ah!

I see a plane in the air
that's going to your home
i fell all the timeEu sinto a toda hora
this itch and this heat
I think i've sat
In the love anthill

Encruzilhada

This song old name was "encruzilhada agrícola-industial", something like "agricultural industrial crossroad"
Herbert Vianna

Tava deitado e o telefone tocou
Me levantei, liguei meu abajur

Quem me chamava era o meu amor
Que sussurrava numa voz febril
Ficara presa no elevador

Havíamos saído com uma turma legal
Comemos feijoada, couve e pernil
Já na saída ela passava mal,
O elevador de serviço em manutenção
Ela subiu pelo social

No telefone o meu amor chorou
Nem me contou como o porteiro abriu

Agora veja que situação
Não sei se falo mal da safra do feijão
Ou da imperfeição da industria do Brasil

Crossroad

I was lying down and the phone rang
I got up, turned my lamp on

it was my love who called me
that wispered in a febrile voice
She was stuck in an elevator

We went out with a cool group
We ate some "feijoada", cabbage and ham (feijoada is a strong tipical brazilian dish with pork and beans)
When we went out she was sick already
The service elevator in maintenance
she used the social one

My love cried in the phone
she didn't even said how the doorman opened

and now you see what a situation
I don't know if i complain about the hasvest of the beans
or the imperfect Brazilian Industry

Vovó Ondina é gente fina

Song and lyrics by Herbert Vianna

Silêncio meninos! Toquem mais baixo
Que o velhinho aqui de baixo está doente de dar dó
E o rock rolava na casa da vovó

Chamaram a policia - mas que barra!
Desliga essa guitarra que a coisa
Está indo de mal a pior
São trinta soldados contra uma vovó

É gente fina - vovó Ondina
É gente fina - vovó Ondina
São trinta soldados contra uma vovó

Estamos na rua desalojados
Pra ganhar alguns trocados
Temos que tocar forró
Vovó Ondina é gente fina
Valeu vovó!!!


Grandma Ondina is cool
(i didn't find a best word to "gente fina" but it's like "a really nice person" but in a very informal way

Quiet boys! Play lower
'cause the old man downstairs is really sick
And the rock n roll was still going on in grandma's house

they've called the police - What a stress
turn of this guitar 'cause the situation
is getting even worse
It's 30 soldiers against one grandma

she is cool - grandma Ondina
she is cool - grandma Ondina
It's 30 soldiers against one grandma

We're on the street, homeless
To get some pennys
we have to play "forró" (it's a kind of brazilian music)
Grandma Ondina is cool
Thaks Grandma!!!

Patrulha noturna

Song and Lyrics By: Herbert Vianna

Desce daí garoto
Senão eu atiro em você
Porque 'cê não mostra que é homem
Porque 'cê não tenta correr

Qual é seu guarda
Que papo careta
Só to tirando chinfra
Com a minha lambreta

Tá bem seu guarda, eu me rendo
Eu reconheço que sou marginal
Eu colo nas provas da escola
Eu gosto de ver nu frontal

Qual é seu guarda
Que papo careta
Só to tirando chinfra
Com a minha lambreta

Policia é fogo, meu chapa
Combate o crime de verdade
Prende os garotos de moto
Pra moralizar a cidade


Night Patrol

get off there kid
Otherwise I'll shoot you
why i don't show you're a man
Why you don't try to run

What's up mister officer
what a back number chat
I'm just "tirando chinfra" (I have not the slightest idea of what it means even in portuguese.... it's some kids' slang of some moves in bike... so I can't translate it, sorry)
With my Lambretta

Ok mister officer, I surrender
I recognize I'm a marginal
I cheat in school tests
I like to see frontal nudity

What's up mister officer
what a back number chat
I'm just "tirando chinfra"
With my Lambretta

Police is hard, dude
Fights against real crime
Arrest the kids in motorcycles
To moralize the town

Cinema Mudo

Song and Lyrics: Herbert Vianna
Amor sem palavras
Cinema mudo
Não falo nada
Você sabe tudo

A noite chega
Me dá um toque
Melancolia não dá ibope

Eu tenho que aprender a dizer
Tudo que eu sinto por você
Eu tenho que aprender num desses
Seriados de TV

Silent Film

wordless love
Silent film
I don't say anything
You know it all

The night comes
Give's me a hint
gloom don't gives "ibope" (it is the statistic of the number of viwers of a TV program in Brasil)

I have to lear how to tell
Everything I feel about you
I have to learn in one of these
TV series

Herbert Vianna's B-day

I'll post the same thing i've posted in my portuguese blog... maybe the liric I've chosed to post will make more sense here with english speaking readers....

What can you say in a day like today? today is Herbert's 49th b-day... it's hard to say something that is not the same old...

wwll, Happy B-day Herbert, have fun, enjoy and celebrate the life each day and even more today...

I can only thank that in may 04 of 1961 you were born, a human being who would translate so well all my anguish, hapiness, sadness, well, my soul, in lyrics and melody...
I also thank that you're still here, and are still doing ir, I toast to that, to your birth and your re-births...

I'll post a song that's not Herbert's, but it always remember me of him. Keep singing my life with your words:

Killing Me Softly
(Norman Gimbel; Charles Fox)

Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
killing me softly,
With his song telling my whole life
With his words,
Killing me softly,
With his song

I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style,
And so I came to see him and listen for a while.
And there he was this young boy, stranger to my eyes,

Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with this song,
With his song, telling my whole life,
With his words,
Killing me softly with his song.

I felt all flushed with fever,
Embarrassed by the crowd,
I felt he found my letters then read each one out loud.
I prayed that he would finish,
But he just kept right on

Strumming my pain with his fingers,
Singing my life with his words,
Killing me softly with his song,
Killing me softly
With his song,
Tellin' my whole life
With his words,
Killing me softly, with his song

The Band

I was thinking about what to say here, and I think it's important to say some words about the band members...
I'll write here what I think is important about them, some things I read and some things are my way to see them:

Herbert Vianna
Herbert Lemos de Souza Vianna is the guitar player, singer and the composer of most of the songs. heá born in 4/5/1961 in João Pessoa/PB and lived in Brasília, where he met Bi. His Father was a plane pilot of Brasilian Air force. Herbert wanted to be a pilot like his father, but his sight problems got in his way. He played and love guitars since he was a kid, and leaned to play it really fast. He's 2 brothers, Hermano(older) e Helder(younger).

He moved to Rio in 1978 and was really lonelly there, then Bi moved there either and they started to play together. the've met Vital, the band's former drummer, in school (preparatory to the brazilian college tests). He went to architecture college in Rio (UFRJ) but stopped it when the band started to make some money.

he has 3 kids, Luca Benedict, Hope Isabel and Phoebe Rita, and he is a widower, he lost his british wife, Lucy, in 2001, in the same plane crash that almost killed him. He slowly got back to the stages and nowadays he makes concerts as always using his weelchair.

He's a devoted father and very kind man, he likes to make jokes and songs making fun of all his friends and some situations they've been thru.

In 2009 was released a movie about Herbert's life, "Herbert de perto", it shows his history since he's a kid, and also shows some of the band's history. You can find it in DVD.

Bi Ribeiro
Felipe de Nóbrega Ribeiro is the band's bass player. He's brought some of the jamaican sounds to the band, he's his unmistakable sound that makes it impossible for those who like PdS to thik that basists are just basists... he's one of the souls of this band...

Bi have 4 siblings, Andréa, Pedro, Fernando e Rafael. He's born in 30/03/1961, in Rio, have lived in Brasilia and moved to Rio in 1979 to study to go to college. He went to Zootechnique college in Seropédica (UFRRJ) and, because of the constant strikes of the teachers, he travelled a lot to Brasilia that time, getting to know all the Capital Bands that were emerging that time, some of then become the greatests bands of the contry, along with PdS. When the band launched he left the college.

He's two Kids, Teresa and Tito, he's the last one to have kids, had his first in 2001. He is know for his warm way to treat everyone and his great hugs. He's a really easy to handle guy and in some interviews they say that he mediate any fight in the band.

In 2001 he founded "Reggae B", a reggae band with some musicians of PdS and some friends from other bands (Negril, Affroreggae, Black Alien, Nando Reis etc.)... the band formation varies sometimes 'cause its the "b" band of all members and all of them have their other stuffs.

He's a simple kind of guy, likes to wear the same stile of clothes, have a ranch in Rio de Janeiros contryside, a Land Rover and a pub in Brasília with some friends. He doesn't really like tecnology, like internet and computers.

João Barone
João Alberto Barone Reis e Silva is the band's drummer. He was the last one to join the group, in seropédica, he had always lived there and studied Biology in UFRRJ by the time. he also left college when the band launched. When he joined the band everything changed, the sound and the possibilities of the group. He was a good player already in that time, had studied music and used to play in a Beatles' cover band.

He's born in 05/08/1962 in Rio. João have 3 siblings: João Henrique, João Guilherme e Maria Elisa all of them older than him, and 3 kids and one stepkid: Clara and Laura from his first marriage, Vicente from his second Marriage and Branca, the daughter of his second wife.

Barone is a Beattles and Police fan(all of them are Police fan) and is an enthusiast of Second World War, specially the vehicles used in that war. He had a lot of them and now have a restaured jeep calleg Gisella (the war cars were named after girls in that time). He made and video documentary and a book about the Second World War and the celebration of the 60 years of D day, that he went with his Jeep. he's also the one who likes new technologies, uses internet and portable pcs.

Foi o Mordomo

Song and Lyrics By: Herbert Vianna

Estou trancado no meu quarto
Esperando que algum fato
Emocionante venha a ocorrer
Assisto muito sério um destes filmes
De mistério que não fazem mal
Em qualquer canal que eu
Ligue o mordomo é o culpado

E a tarde cinza vai passando e eu
Espero o tempo pela hora
De estar com você
Eu digo o seu nome
E olho para o telefone
Que não dá sinal
Mudez total
Você não liga
E o mordomo é o culpado

Eu tenho andado sério, preocupado
Você não liga e o mordomo
É o culpado


It was the Butler

I'm locked up in my room
Waiting that some exciting fact happens
I Watch deeply serious one of these mistery movies that aren't any harm
in any channel that I turn on the butler is the culprit

And the gray evening is going on and I wait all the time for the time to be with you
I say your name
And look to the fone
That gives no sign
total silence
you don't call
And the butler is the culprit

I've been serius, worried
you don't call
And the butler is the culprit

Vital e sua Moto

Song and Lyrics By: Herbert Vianna

Vital andava a pé e achava que assim estava mal
De um ônibus pro outro aquilo para ele era o fim
Conselho de seu pai "motocicleta é perigoso Vital
É duro de negar filho, mas isto dói bem mais em mim"

Mas Vital comprou a moto e passou a se sentir total
(sentir total)
Vital e sua moto mas que união feliz
Corria e viajava era sensacional
A vida em duas rodas era tudo que ele sempre quis

Vital Passou a se sentir total
Com seu sonho de metal
Vital passou a se sentir total
Com seu sonho de metal

Os Paralamas do Sucesso iam tentar tocar na capital
(na capital)
E a caravana do amor então prá lá também se encaminhou
Ele foi com sua moto ir de carro era baixo astral
Minha prima já está lá e é por isso então que eu também vou

Os Paralamas do Sucesso vão tocar na capital
Vital e sua moto mas que união feliz


Vital and his Motorcicle

Vital went by foot and thoght that this was bad
From a bus to another, that was the end to him
His father advised "mototcicle is dangerous Vital
It's hard to deny son, but it hurts me more"

But Vital bought the motorcicle and begin to feel utter
(feel utter)
Vital and his motorcicle, what a happy matchup
Runed and traveled it was sensational
The life on two wheels was everithing he ever wanted

Vital begin to feel utter
with his metal dream
Vital begin to feel utter
with his metal dream

Os Paralamas do Sucesso was going to try to play in the Capital
(in the capital)
and then the love caravan went there too
he went by his bike 'cause going by car was gloom
My cousin is already there and there's why I'm going too

Os Paralamas do Sucesso will play in the capital
Vital and his motorcicle, what a happy matchup

Cinema Mudo

This is the bands first album, it was released in 1983. Some songs were hits by that time, the most sucessfull song of the album is: "Vital e sua moto", about the band's ex drummer Vital Dias and the motorcicle he bought.

List of songs:
Vital e sua Moto
Foi o Mordomo
Cinema Mudo
Patrulha Noturna
Shopstake (instrumental - no lirics)
Vovó Ondina é Gente Fina
O que eu não disse
Química
Encruzilhada
Volúpia

Albuns

in this post you can reach the post of every album of the band and then every music.... but, I'm still translating and postings the songs, so, the links will be avaliable as soon as I post it....

if you don't know wich album holds the song you're looking for, use the search engine above the posts

Os Paralamas do Sucesso's albuns:
Cinema Mudo (1983)
O passo do Lui (1984)
Selvagem? (1986)
D (1987)
Bora Bora (1988)
Big Bang (1989)
Arquivo (1990)
Os Grãos (1991)
Severino (1994)
Vamo Batê Lata (1995)
9 Luas (1996)
Hey Na Na (1998)
Acústico MTV (1999)
Arquivo II (2000)
Longo Caminho (2002)
Uns dias Ao Vivo (2004)
Hoje (2005)
Brasil Afora (2009)

Herbert Vianna's Solos
Ê Batumaré (1993)
Santorini Blues (1997)
O som do Sim (2000)

Some infos before we start

Hi, I'm Ceres.
I'm the writer of this blog and a fan of the band since I was 13, it's been more than 13 years from their first concert i've seen.
I'm a journalist major, but I've never worked as a journalist, now I'm studing to be an physical education teacher. but I do love to write (specialy about music) and take pictures...

I habe a blog about the band in portuguese, where I tell people about the concerts and news about them... I also have a blog about music in general, but this one is really out of date, you can find the two of them in the links. You can also find the link to the oficial Os Paralamas do Sucesso website and the blog of a friend of mine, o Lua (it's his nickname, lua=moon)... All of them ar in portuguese, sorry...

oh, yeah, to beggin with, the band is brazilian, so, the speak portuguese, no spanish.... but, they are quite famous in the whole latin america, so, they've taped some of their songs in spanish also....

the name of the band: the name is "Os Paralamas do Sucesso", yes, the "os" is part of the name... is hard to translate the name, but, only for you to have an idea of how nonsense it is, it's something like "The splashboards (or mudguards) of success"... it's a really weird name, but once you get used to it you almost forget what it means.. I usually call them only (Os)Paralamas (mudguards) or "Os PdS"... this second way is really easier, so get used to it....

The band was formed in Rio de Janeiro, to be more precise, in a little city near Rio (about an hour by car) called Seropédica, that holds the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), College that two of the members studied. The three members of the band are:
- Herbert Vianna (Guitar and Vocal)
- Bi Ribeiro (Bass)
- João Barone (Drums)
The first two have met in Brasília, that's why some people think the band is from Brasil's capital, but they started to play together in Rio, when they've met their first drummer, Vital Dias. But in a concert, in UFRRJ they've met Barone when Vital didn't show p to the concert, and that's how they started.
In that time, Bi was studing zootechnie in UFRRJ, Barone was studing Biology in the same place. Herbert was studing in Rio, architecture in the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
The concert that get them together was in 1981, but the band only assumed the new drummer in 1982. They've taped a demo to the famous radio program "ronca ronca", this was the beggining of their way to success.

In 1983 they taped their first album, Cinema Mudo (silent film)... they got a contract with the Music company EMI, the same that released all their albuns until now...
teh songs I'll translate in the next posts are from this album. if you get the taped song you have to have in your mind that they were in their twenties and they knew nothing about that world, so, there's some stuff that they were induced to change in the songs... it's really nice to hear them playing the same songs today, so, if you happen to find some bootlegs of this songs, try it and see how it changed....

I was thinking about what sequence to use to translate the songs, my favorite, easiests?? I've decided to take a hard choice, I'll try to translate the in order, so, the songs of the first albun, from take one to the last.... then I'll start the Herbert's solos and then the songs they never taped (rare songs, songs other people taped etc.) I hope it works, if you wanna help sending your translation, be my guest, I'll see if it's ok and post it with credits, but if I'm in the first album and you send me the latest song they've taped i'll only post it when I get there....
I think this way you'll all understand the history and the phases the band've been through...
if you wanna correct some of my mistakes, please, do it... I don't write in english that well and I'll love to improve this skill...

All the songs will have the original and translated version, so you can try to figure out portuguese stuff and it may help you to understand better the songs.

that's it.... it's late, so, the first song will be posted tomorrow.

good night sleep Tight
Ceres

Why Os Paralamas do Sucesso In english?

Os Paralamas do Sucesso are one of the most important brazilian bands. In the recent past i've found some articles about them in english in the internet, they are not very common and some of them are not really good, there're many common mistakes.... I also realized that there's no lyrics traductions.

Os Paralamas recorded some songs in english and I think they'd be a huge hit if they reach the whole world... so I decided to make this blog to try to translate all the songs and write some articles about the band, it'll be more an information blog than a news blog, cause most of the news are important to those who are in Brasil and can go to the concerts... but the general information about the band, and some concerts articles would help those who don't live here to understand who are they and hopefully will make some new fans of the band...

I realize that my english skills are not that great and that thraslating lyrics are a risky job, but I'll try my best to make it usefull to those who doesn't speak my mother leanguage....

Why english, you would ask, I have some answeres
- I speak english, and no other leanguage besides, obviously portuguese
- Os paralamas recorded some songs in english, and Herbert did it also in his solos.
- with the internet, many people in the world at least understand something in english, not everything, but a good picture.. that's why I won't use those short forms of words (like smth meaning something and this kind of stuff) I'm not familiarized with this kind of stuff and many non english native speakers don't either.

and let this thing begin
farewell
Ceres