A Viola Caipira

A Viola Caipira Posted by polyana on Nov 8, 2010 in Culture, Music, Vocabulary

I grew up to my dad listening to Brazilian folk music, especially “old school” sertanejo & forró (my mom was more of an 80’s rock and Roberto Carlos girl). One instrument that’s always stuck out to me in Brazilian folk music is the viola caipira. Unlike the “viola” you’re thinking of, the viola (pronounced vee-aw-lah), is a 10 string 5 course guitar. Similar to a flamenco guitar, the strings are plucked by the musician’s fingers. Caipira is probably the equivalent of “hillybilly,” and so it’s mostly used in Brazilian country music, but you’ll also find it in other styles.

Although it’s a traditional instrument and you’d imagine “old” people playing it or listening to viola music, my 18 year old cousin has taken on the viola amongst other string instruments and is playing sertanejo sets at a couple of bars here in São Paulo with his friend which makes me think of my papai and my childhood!

Here’s a song by Almir Sater, one of the grande violeiros, from Brazil, playing his Um Violeiro Toca, which I had to translate for you because the lyrics are beautiful!

Quando uma estrela cai, no escurão da noite, e um violeiro toca suas mágoas.

Então os “óio” dos bichos, vão ficando iluminados, rebrilham neles estrelas de um sertão enluarado.

Quando o amor termina, perdido numa esquina, e um violeiro toca sua sina. Então os “óio” dos bichos, vão ficando entristecidos

Rebrilham neles lembranças dos amores esquecidos.

Quando o amor começa, nossa alegria chama, e um violeiro toca em nossa cama.

Então os “óio” dos bichos, são os olhos de quem ama

Pois a natureza é isso, sem medo, nem dó, nem drama

Tudo é sertão, tudo é paixão, se o violeiro toca. A viola, o violeiro e o amor se tocam…

When a star falls in the dark of the night, and a violeiro plays his heartbreak.

The animals’ eyes brighten, and stars from the moonlit backwoods brighten them again.

When love ends, lost on a corner, And a violeiro plays its bell. The animals’ eyes become saddened

And memories of forgotten loves brighten them again.

When love begins, our happiness calls, And a violeiro plays in our bed.

And so the animals’ eyes are the eyes of who loves

Because that is what nature is, no fear, no pity, no drama

All is backwoods, all is love, if the violeiro plays. The viola, the violeiro and love play each other.

Tags: Culture, Music, Vocabulary

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Comments:

divilly:

I’m kind of late, but I just want to congratulate the author of this post for translating Um violeiro toca. It’s an extremely hard song to translate to English.

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