Dia Branco

Lyrics from “Dia Branco” by Geraldo Azevedo (1981)

—

Se você vier// If you come
Pro que der e vier// For whatever may come
Comigo// With me
Eu lhe prometo o sol// I promise the sun
Se hoje o sol sair// If the sun comes out today
Ou a chuva// Or rain
Se a chuva cair// If the rain falls
Se você vier// If you come
Até onde a gente chegar// To wherever we might end up
Numa praça na beira do mar// In a square by the edge of the sea
Num pedaço de qualquer lugar// A little piece of any place
Nesse dia branco// On this white day
Se branco ele for// If white it may be
Esse tanto, esse canto de amor// This swell, this song of love
Oh! oh! oh// oh…
Se você quiser e vier// If you wish, and you come
Pro que der e vier// For whatever may come
Comigo// With me

Se você vier// If you come
Pro que der e vier// For whatever may come
Comigo// With me
Eu lhe prometo o sol// I promise the sun
Se hoje o sol sair// If the sun comes out today
Ou a chuva// Or the rain
Se a chuva cair// If the rain falls
Se você vier// If you come
Até onde a gente chegar// To wherever we might end up
Numa praça na beira do mar// A square by the edge of the sea
Num pedaço de qualquer lugar// A little piece of any place
E nesse dia branco// And on this white day
Se branco ele for// If white it may be
Esse canto// This song
Esse tão grande amor// This love so great
Grande amor//Great love
Se você quiser e vier// If you wish and you come
Pro que der e vier// For whatever may come
Comigo// With me
Comigo, comigo//With me, with me

— Interpretation —

Profoundly moving, “Dia Branco” reveals Geraldo Azevedo’s talents as a composer, musician and singer. The song mixes influences from the Beatles – especially the White Album, which seems to have inspired song’s title – and northeastern music. The melancholy mood evoked and resigned musings on the whims of the weather, in particular, are reminiscent of northeastern musical traditions.

Azevedo was born on January 11, 1945, in the northeastern city of Petrolina, Pernambuco. He taught himself to play guitar around age 12, and moved to the state capital Recife when he was 18. He played with several bands there, until the singer Eliana Pittman saw him in 1968 and invited him to play with her in Rio de Janeiro. In Rio, Azevedo also partnered  with fellow pernambucano Alceu Valença, with whom he released his first LP in 1972. Later on in the 1970s the pair, together with another northeastern musician, Zé Ramalho, composed the hit “Taxi Lunar.”

In 1981, Azevedo released his first solo album, Inclinações Musicais, with nine songs, including the lasting treasure, “Dia Branco.”

The line “pro que dier e vier” could be translated to the English idiom, “come hell or high water,” but I thought that sounded a bit harsh for the translation, so I left it as “for whatever may come.”

Main source for this post: A Canção no Tempo, 85 Anos de Músicas Brasileiras, vol 2? 1958 – 1985, by Jairo Severiano and Zuza Homem de Mello.