Only a Dream in Rio
Milton Nascimento - Translation from Portuguese (italics)
James Taylor - English
The Earth is my mother
The sea is my ground
The green is the light
Smiling in my gaze
For I say
Rio is really a dream
Everything will be as it should be
I want to be there with you
I guarantee
It's a different place
My people carry a cross
But they have the strength to change
Strange taste of a tropical fruit
Romantic language of the Portuguese
Melody on a wooden flute
Samba floating in the summer breeze
Float on
It's alright, you can stay asleep
You can close your eyes
You can trust the people of paradise
To call your keeper
And to tender your goodbyes
Oh, what a night, wonderful one in a million
frozen fire Brazilian stars
Oh, holy Southern Cross, later on
Take me way downtown in a tin can,
I can't come down from the bandstand,
I'm never thrown for such a loss
When they say
The place where I came from
springs in the heart
The place where I was born
is in the world and in me
The place we dream of
Can exist, will exist
Lives in us and will live
As long as there is song
Caught in the rays of the rising sun
On the run from the soldier's gun
Shouting out loud from the angry crowd
The mild, the wild and the hungry child
I'll tell you
It's more than a dream in Rio
I was there on the very day
It hurts my heart too much
And it was more
More than our voices
More than our faces
More than the light in our eyes
But it's more than the shining eye
More than the light in our eyes
More than the steaming green
More than the greenery
More than the hidden hills
Everything that was not seen
More than the Concrete Christ
More than the Redeemer
More than a distant land
More than Mother Earth
Over the shining sea
More than the sky and the sea
More than a hungry child
Hunger hurting us
More like another time
Time enjoying us
Born of a million years
More than a million years
to dream
Music in an image
In one of Brazil’s most beautiful and unequal cities, leaders worldwide signed a global alliance against hunger and poverty.
The G20 Rio document condemns the ongoing wars situations and advocates a fairer and more inclusive world, progressive taxation of the “super-rich”, ethical caution regarding artificial intelligence, reform of global governance with multilateral solutions, and the energy transition towards a more sustainable planet for all, leaving no one behind. This vision moves me!
Is it only a dream in Rio? Maybe… but this blog is written by a dreamer.
Notes
Translating is transcreating. I translated not word for word but the poetic meaning of the music, being faithful to the author’s probable intention. If you have suggestions for improvement, please get in touch by clicking here.
This song is on my Brazil and English playlist in my Apple Music Profile.
Only a Dream in Rio on Milton Nascimento’s Channel.
