Bandeira flor [English translation]

Girl, your gaze has attracted (my)1attention

Flower flag, flower flag2

I bow to this bird trap gaze3

Flower bird trap, flower bird trap

I give you a flower of the rosebush tree4

Flower rosebush, flower rosebush

And (to)5 this gaze of so much nobility

Flower nobility, nobility flower (or: nobility, my dear; my dear, nobility)

I'm rhyming6, rhyming ‘flower’ with ‘grass’

(When) I flirt with you7, it is like that:

Attracting your attention, flower (or: my dear), flower flag8

Attracting your attention, flower (or: my dear), flag flower

(Flower flag)

When the sun turns into sound in the riverside,

Flower riverside, flower riverside (or: riverside, my dear; riverside, my dear)

When this passion makes (me) blind,9

Flower blindness, flower blindness (or: blindness, my dear; blindness, my dear)

When love knocks (me) down no more,10

Flower sweep kick, flower sweep kick (or: sweepkick, my dear; sweepkick, my dear)

I will be happy for sure

Flower surety, surety flower11 (or: for sure, my dear; my dear, for sure)

I'm rhyming, rhyming ‘flower’ with ‘grass’

(When) I flirt with you, it is like that:

Attracting your attention, flower (or: my dear), flower flag

Attracting your attention, flower (or: my dear), flag flower

1. ‘Dar bandeira’ means to attract someone's attention. The context suggests the girl’s gaze has attracted specifically Daniela’s attention.2. Just like English, Portuguese has many compound words: e.g. ‘tamanduá-bandeira’, which is formed by ‘tamanduá’ (‘anteater’) + ‘bandeira’ (‘flag’) and means a ‘giant-anteater’; or ‘couve-flor’, which is formed by ‘couve’ (‘kale’) + ‘flor’ (‘flower’) and means a ‘cauliflower’. Thus, all those non-existing words in the song like ‘bandeira-flor’ (flower flag), ‘roseira-flor’ (‘flower rosebush’) could be understood as being compound words. It is important to note that Portuguese compound words’ formation order is (main word + modifier) whereas English compound words’ formation order is (modifier + main word). So, a ‘tamanduá-bandeira’ (main word + modifier) would be translated as a ‘flag anteater’ (modifier + main word). Nonetheless, ‘flor’ is an affectionate word used to adress a woman (particularly in northeast Brazil): e.g. ‘você pode vir aqui, flor?’ (can you come here, my dear?). So, in many parts of this song ‘flor’ could be understood as a vocative as well.3. ‘Visgueira’ is a bird trap. It is the same as ‘arapuca’. Daniela compares the girl’s gaze to a ‘visgueira’ (‘bird trap’), since it is so captivating.4. ‘Pé de (X)’ means a ‘(X) tree’. So, ‘pé de café’ means ‘coffee tree’ and ‘pé da roseira’ means literally a ‘rosebush tree’.5. This verse could be the continuation of both ‘I give you a flower of the rosebush tree / And this gaze of so much nobility’ (Daniela’s gaze) and ‘I bow to this bird trap gaze / And (to) this gaze of so much nobility’ (the girl’s gaze). In the latter case, a ‘(to)’ is needed.6. ‘Estar de (rima)’ means ‘to rhyme’. Its structure is not different from ‘estar de (sacanagem)’ or ‘estar de (brincadeira)’, which mean ‘to fool around’.7. ‘Dar em cima (de alguém)’ means ‘to flirt (with someone)’. Moreover, the sentence ‘eu que dou em cima de você’ is not standard Portuguese (norma-padrão). This is a relative clause being used for ‘I’ (literally, ‘I who flirt with you’.) In norma-padrão, this would rather be said: ‘quando eu dou em cima de você, é assim…’ (literally, ‘when I flirt with you, it is like this…’) .8. Remember footnote 2 about the compound words and vocative ‘flor’.9. ‘Dar (X) em alguém’ is a common structure used in cases of illnesses: e.g. ‘deu cegueira no João’ (‘João went blind’), or ‘deu pneumonia na Maria’ (Maria had pneumonia). So, ‘quando essa paixão der cegueira (em mim)’ means ‘when this passion makes me blind’.10. ‘Rasteira’ means a ‘sweep kick’. ‘Dar rasteira’ means ‘to knock someone down’.11. ‘Certeza’ means literally ‘surety’, but in some contexts it might mean ‘I’m sure of it’: e.g. ‘Joana vai para a festa esta noite?’ ‘Sim, certeza.’ (‘Is Joana coming to the party tonight? Yes, I’m sure of it.’). So, the verse could be understood both as being formed of compound nouns (‘flower surety', 'surety flower’) or as ‘I’m sure of it, my dear; my dear, I’m sure of it’ (‘certeza, flor’; ‘flor, certeza.’)

• Artist:Daniela Mercury
• Album:Feijão com arroz