‘The Day the Earth Stopped,’ a song by Brazilian singer/songwriter Raul Seixas Popular in Brazil nearly 50 years ago, may have seen the coronavirus coming
Raul Santos Seixas was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer, who was known as the “Father of Brazilian Rock.” He was also known as “Maluco Beleza,” roughly translated as “Groovy Nutcase.” Below is his hit “O Dia Em que a Terra Parou” recorded in 1977, the latter becoming the anthem of the then hippy movement in Brazil. My Brazilian wife’s brother Silvio currently in voluntary quarantine in Brazil sent this to us. Rita and I were scheduled to fly there in April to celebrate her mother’s coming 90th birthday until we had to cancel the trip due to the crisis.
Now, here are the prescient, prophetic, foreboding lyrics in English and Portuguese written and sung by Seixas in 1977, sounding all too eerily familiar amid today’s pandemic:
Tonight I had a dream
Essa noite eu tive um sonho
From dreamer
De sonhador
Crazy I am, I
dreamed
Maluco que sou, eu sonhei
With the day the Earth stopped
Com o dia em que a Terra parou
With the day the Earth stopped
Com o dia em que a Terra parou
It was so
Foi assim
On the day when all people
No dia em que todas as pessoas
From the whole planet
Do planeta inteiro
They decided that no one would leave the house
Resolveram que ninguém ia sair de casa
As if combined across
Como que se fosse combinado em todo
The planet
O planeta
That day, nobody left home, nobody nobody
Naquele dia, ninguém saiu de casa, ninguém
ninguém
The employee did not
leave for his job
O empregado não saiu pro seu trabalho
Because I knew that the boss wasn’t there either
Pois sabia que o patrão também não tava
lá
Housewife did not go out to buy bread
Dona de casa não saiu pra comprar pão
Because I knew the baker wasn’t there either
Pois sabia que o padeiro também não tava
lá
And the guard didn’t come out to arrest
E o guarda não saiu para prender
Because I knew that the thief wasn’t there either
Pois sabia que o ladrão, também não tava
lá
And the thief didn’t come out to steal
E o ladrão não saiu para roubar
Because I knew I would have nowhere to spend
Pois sabia que não ia ter onde gastar
The day the Earth
stopped (êê)
No dia em que a Terra parou (êê)
On the day the Earth stopped (ôô)
No dia em que a Terra parou (ôô)
On the day the Earth stopped (ôô)
No dia em que a Terra parou (ôô)
The day the Earth stopped
No dia em que a Terra parou
And in the churches not a bell to ring
E nas Igrejas nem um sino a badalar
Because they knew that the faithful were not there either
Pois sabiam que os fiéis também não tavam lá
And the faithful did not go out to pray
E os fiéis não saíram pra rezar
Because they knew that the priest wasn’t there either
Pois sabiam que o padre também não tava lá
And the student didn’t go out to study
E o aluno não saiu para estudar
Because I knew the
teacher wasn’t there either
Pois sabia o professor também não tava
lá
And the teacher didn’t go out to teach
E o professor não saiu pra lecionar
Because I knew I had nothing more to teach
Pois sabia que não tinha mais nada pra ensinar
Crazy I am, I woke up
Maluco que sou, acordei
The day the Earth
stopped (oh yeah)
No dia em que a Terra parou (oh yeah)
On the day the Earth stopped (ôô)
No dia em que a Terra parou (ôô)
The day the Earth stopped (I woke up)
No dia em que a Terra parou (eu acordei)
The day the Earth stopped (woke up)
No dia em que a Terra parou (acordei)
On the day the Earth stopped (just)
No dia em que a Terra parou (justamente)
The day the Earth stopped (I didn’t daydream)
No dia em que a Terra parou (eu não sonhei
acordado)
The day the Earth stopped
No dia em que a Terra parou
The day the Earth stopped (the day the Earth stopped)
No dia em que a Terra parou (no dia em que a
terra
Stopped)
Parou)
