What the song is about
The song follows a whole day at the beach during summer in Brazil. In the morning the sun shines and everyone gets ready. Then come the sea, the sand, ice cream, and children playing. In the late afternoon there is the sunset and soccer, and at night people gather around the bonfire to sing with an acoustic guitar. The chorus sums up the mood: calor e alegria, paz e amor. At the end, the beach says goodbye with Até amanhã.
Useful words and expressions
- a praia, a areia, a onda, o mar: basic beach vocabulary.
- os óculos (de sol): always in the plural, even though it is a single object.
- a toalha: the beach towel.
- a gaivota: the sea bird.
- a água de coco: a very typical drink on Brazilian beaches.
- o sorvete de limão: in Brazil people say sorvete; in Portugal, gelado.
- fazer castelo (de areia): to build sandcastles.
- o fim de tarde, o pôr do sol: the late afternoon and the moment when the sun sets.
- a fogueira: the fire that is lit outdoors.
- tocar violão: in Brazil, violão is the name of the acoustic instrument (in Portugal, viola or guitarra).
- de noite e de dia: all the time.
- a noite inteira: throughout the whole night.
- Amanhã tem mais: an informal Brazilian expression, with ter in the sense of haver.
- aproveitar: to enjoy, to make the most of the moment.
- Tchau and Até amanhã: everyday goodbyes.
Grammar
Present indicative to describe what is happening now: O sol está brilhando, o vento sopra, crianças brincam, a noite chega.
Estar + gerund: O sol está brilhando is the typical Brazilian Portuguese form for an action in progress. In Portugal one would say está a brilhar.
Imperative with você: coloque, traga, beba, sinta, compre. These forms come from the present subjunctive and are used to give advice and invitations.
Vamos + infinitive to invite: Vamos para a praia!, Vamos nadar, vamos voltar.
Ser and estar: A areia é branca and a água é clara describe characteristics. O ar está fresco describes a state at that moment.
Haver in Sempre há tempo para aproveitar: means existe. In spoken language, many Brazilians say sempre tem tempo.
Note: liberties in the lyrics
- Essa beleza, nada se compara: for the rhyme with clara, the preposition is missing. The correct form is Nada se compara a essa beleza.
- a gaivota voa em ronda: chosen to rhyme with onda. The most natural phrasing is voa em círculos.
- Sinta a areia no seu pé no chão: a redundant phrase, made to rhyme with limão. Simply say Sinta a areia nos pés.
- A noite chega, acende a fogueira: here the subject of acende is not clear. It can be read as an informal imperative (acende with tu), common in Brazilian speech, but the rest of the song uses acenda (the form with você). In careful writing, prefer acenda a fogueira or alguém acende a fogueira.