Lyrics from “Um ser de luz” by Paulo César Pinheiro, Mauro Duarte, & João Nogueira (1983)
—
Um dia // One day
Um ser de luz nasceu // A being of light was born
Numa cidade do interior // In a country town
E o menino Deus lhe abençoou // And the divine infant blessed her
De manto branco ao se batizar // In a white blanket upon being baptized
Se transformou num sabiá // She became a sabiá
Dona dos versos de um trovador // Mistress of the verses of a troubadour
E a rainha do seu lugar // And queen of her place
Sua voz então a se espalhar // Her voice then, spreading out
Corria chão // Covered land
Cruzava o mar // Crossed the sea
Levada pelo ar // Carried by the air
Onde chegava espantava a dor // Wherever it arrived it scared pain away
Com a força do seu cantar // With the power of its song
Mas aconteceu um dia // But one day
Foi que o menino Deus chamou // The divine infant beckoned
E ela se foi pra cantar // And she went to sing
Para além do luar // Over beyond the moonlight
Onde moram as estrelas // Where the stars live
E a gente fica a lembrar // And we always remember
Vendo o céu clarear // Watching the sky brighten
Na esperança de vê-la, sabiá // In the hopes of seeing her, sabiá
Sabiá // Sabiá
Que falta faz sua alegria // Oh how your cheer is missing here
Sem você, meu canto agora é só // Without you, my song is just
Melâncolia // Melancholy
Canta meu sabiá,// Sing my sabiá
Voa meu sabiá // Fly my sabiá
Adeus meu sabiá…// Goodbye my sabiá
Até um dia… // Until some day…
— Commentary —
Today – August 12, 2015 – would have been Clara Nunes’s 73rd birthday.
Paulo César Pinheiro recalls meeting Clara Nunes around 1974, through his friend and partner Mauro Duarte. Paulo and Clara married in 1975, and remained married until Clara’s death on April 2, 1983, at age 40.
Clara, who came to Rio from rural Minas Gerais as a teenager, recorded over 20 of Paulo’s compositions, becoming the “mistress” of his verses. Shortly after her death, together with Mauro Duarte and João Nogueira, Paulo wrote “Um ser de luz.” A couple of notes: A sabiá is a thrush with a beautiful song, the national bird of Brazil; “Menino Deus” was one of Paulo’s songs that Clara sang; “in a country town” refers to Clara’s childhood in Minas Gerais.
Lyrical Brazil 