It summer time which means listening to lots of Afro-Cuban jazz, Afro-funk, Cuban, and Brazilian music as well as old acoustic blues and country for those less pounding get up, get up, and get out moments. Os Mutantes are one of those bands that no one was aware of, then everyone seemed to be aware of, and now.. I don't know anymore, but they have some staying power for me as summer after summer I return to their music. In that spirit, here is a 1969 video for "Panis Et Circus" (english: bread and circuses). Below is a translation of the lyrics. Don't really know who did the translation but the topic is poignant for todays political climate even if the language seems a bit garbled. The translation could well be babblefish:
I'd like to sing
The music lighted with the heat of the sun
I drew the flags high on the slip of the wind
I sent the lions to my neighbours' backyard
But all the people having dinner inside
Are very busy with their food
'Til they die
I told the man
To make of stainless steel a very sharp sword
To kill my girlfriend on the heart and I did
At five o'clock at that central liebe stop
But all the people having dinner inside
Are very busy with their food
'Til they die
I told the man
To sew the seeds of dream in my bedroom floor
The leaves will know their way to reach out the sun
And their roots keep just going down, going down
But all the people having dinner inside
That same old people having dinner inside
But all the people having dinner inside
That same old people having dinner inside
Are very busy with their food
'Til they die
3 comments:
This translation is an official english version from Mutantes
Great song, great band
The lyrics have several mistakes in English and they aren't a very good translation of the Portuguese, so it's hard to believe they are an official translation.
But they capture the general flavor of the song's lyrics.
It is the version that Os Mutantes sang, and yes with english errors. When you are high, grammar isn't your primary concern.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v67hqRm1qFw
The meanings behind this song are much deeper than it would appear on the surface. People need to be singing this kind of stuff right now. We are all selling our souls for political hand outs these days.
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