I was reading Folha de São Paulo this morning when I noticed a new phrase used in the comments section of an article. The phrase was “ter paciência de Jó” (to have the patience of Job, which apparently is known in English, too) and means to have a lot of patience.
The origin of the phrase is in the Bible (James 5.11) and refers to Job’s refusal to condemn God in the face of losing his family and livestock. It is said that obtaining patience is the hardest, yet most rewarding, of the seven heavenly virtues, thus why having the patience of Job means having it in good measure.
For those in need of patience (or a relaxing tune), I thought I’d share one of Lenine’s songs called “Paciência”, with the translated lyrics below.
Before starting, I thought it important to mention the meaning of the part where he uses the Brazilian Portuguese colloquial expression “vou na valsa“. This comes from the phrase “vai-da-valsa” which basically means a lack of planning while “ir no vai-da-valsa” means to let things happen as they may. Here’s an example of the phrase:
- “Jack Nicholson, no filme The Bucket List, vive na base do vai-da-valsa.“
- = Jack Nicholson in the film The Bucket List lives life based on the spur of the moment.
I wouldn’t say it is a common phrase but I go by the motto that all phrases learned are good phrases. On to the song!
Mesmo quando tudo pede
Um pouco mais de calma
Até quando o corpo pede
Um pouco mais de alma
A vida não para…
Even when everything requires
a little more calmness
Even when the body requires
a little more soul
Life doesn’t stop…
Enquanto o tempo
Acelera e pede pressa
Eu me recuso faço hora
Vou na valsa*
A vida é tão rara…
While time
accelerates and requires haste
I refuse I delay
I take things as they come
Life is so rare…
Enquanto todo mundo
Espera a cura do mal
E a loucura finge
Que isso tudo é normal
Eu finjo ter paciência…
While everyone
waits for a cure for everything bad
And craziness pretends
that all of this is normal
I pretend to have patience…
O mundo vai girando
Cada vez mais veloz
A gente espera do mundo
E o mundo espera de nós
Um pouco mais de paciência…
The world keeps spinning
going slower and slower
We hope from the world
and the world hopes from us
a little more patience…
Será que é tempo
Que lhe falta pra perceber ?
Será que temos esse tempo
Pra perder?
E quem quer saber ?
A vida é tão rara
Tão rara…
Is it that time
is too short to perceive?
Do we have this time
to lose?
And who wants to know?
Life is so rare
—————-
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