Chico Buarque
Tempo e artista lyrics with English translation
- Language
- Portuguese
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1993
- Genre
- Bossa Nova, Samba
- Length
- 3:33
Imagino o artista num anfiteatro
I imagine the artist in an amphitheater
Onde o tempo é a grande estrela
Where time is the great star
Vejo o tempo obrar a sua arte
I see time working its art
Tendo o mesmo artista como tela
Having the same artist as a canvas
Modelando o artista ao seu feitio
Shaping the artist to its own design
O tempo, com seu lápis impreciso
Time, with its imprecise pencil
Põe-lhe rugas ao redor da boca
Adds wrinkles around the mouth
Como contrapesos de um sorriso
Like the weights of a smile
Já vestindo a pele do artista
Already wearing the artist's skin
O tempo arrebata-lhe a garganta
Time seizes his throat
O velho cantor, subindo ao palco
The old singer, stepping onto the stage
Apenas abre a voz, e o tempo canta
Just opens his voice, and time sings
Dança o tempo sem cessar
Time dances without ceasing
Montando o dorso do exausto bailarino
Riding the back of the weary dancer
Trêmulo, o ator recita um drama
Trembling, the actor recites a drama
Que ainda está por ser escrito
That is yet to be written
No anfiteatro, sob o céu de estrelas
In the amphitheater, under the starry sky
Um concerto eu imagino
A concert I imagine
Onde, num relance, o tempo alcance a glória
Where, in a glance, time reaches glory
E o artista, o infinito
And the artist, the infinite
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- estrela
- starA2
- imagino
- imagineA2
- mesmo
- sameA2
- põe
- putA2
- artista
- artist
- anfiteatro
- amphitheaterB2
- grande
- bigA1
- vejo
- see
- obrar
- work
- arte
- artA1
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About this song
Chico Buarque is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, poet, novelist, and playwright associated with samba, bossa nova, and MPB. He is known for intricate harmonic work and lyrics that often engage politics and culture, including foundational recordings such as Construção and Calabar.