two songs that i think describe who i am right now.
bob dylan’s Just Like A Woman and antonio carlos jobim’s Vivo Sonhando (Dreamer). though, personally i like morelenbaum2 and ryuichi sakamoto’s version of Vivo Sonhando better.
the lyrics for Just Like A Woman below.
Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Ev’rybody knows
That Baby’s got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.Queen Mary, she’s my friend
Yes, I believe I’ll go see her again
Nobody has to guess
That Baby can’t be blessed
Till she sees finally that she’s like all the rest
With her fog, her amphetamine and her pearls.
She takes just like a woman, yes, she does
She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does
And she aches just like a woman
But she breaks just like a little girl.It was raining from the first
And I was dying there of thirst
So I came in here
And your long-time curse hurts
But what’s worse
Is this pain in here
I can’t stay in here
Ain’t it clear that–I just can’t fit
Yes, I believe it’s time for us to quit
When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don’t let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world.
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes, you do
You make love just like a woman, yes, you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl.
Copyright © 1966; renewed 1994 Dwarf Music
the lyrics for Vivo Sonhando (Dreamer)
Why do I dream silly dreams that I know won’t come true?
I long to show you the stars,
Caught in the dark of the sea.
I long to speak of my love,
But you don’t come to me.So I go on asking if maybe one day you’ll care.
I tell my sad little dreams to the soft evening air.
I am quite hopeless it seems.
Two things I know how to do.
One is to dream,
Two is loving you.(4 bar interlude) {2/4 time}
Dreams go drifting thru me, like some silent movie.
Love scenes in which I am, always the hero.
I long to show you the stars,
Caught in the dark of the sea.
I long to speak of my love,
But you don’t come to me.Since I write the story, always you adore me.
In each other’s arms, we kiss at the fade out.
I am quite hopeless it seems.
Two things I know how to do.
One is to dream,
Two is loving you.Portuguese:
Vivo sonhando, sonhando mil horas sem fim.
Tempo em que vou preguntando se gostas de mim.
Tempo que falar em estrelas,
Falar de um mar, de um ceu assim,
Falar do bem que se tem,
Mais voce nao vem, nao vem.Voce nao vindo, nao vindo a vida tem fim.
Gente se rindo falando, zombando de mim.
E eu a falar em estrelas,
Mar, amor, luar,
Pobre de mim,
Que so se te amar(Transcribed by Phillip Picciotti – December 2003)
the lines i’ve bolded, in particular, speak to me. the lines are primarily the chorus of each song and repeat themselves.
the subject of Just Like A Woman seems to be someone searching for who she is. she takes on all the appearances of a woman but deep down is still just a young girl. she is trying to find her way in life, someone who looks like a woman but hurts like a girl. with the exception of amphetamines and pearls i think these lines express who i am.
in contrast to the more introspective tone of Just Like A Woman, Vivo Sonhando (Dreamer) is lighter and more hopeful. i would describe as very much an optimist who believes in (day)dreams- but at the same time wonder why. the words themselves seem quite sad and self-deprecating but when set to music they seem almost humorous. self-satire, i suppose… sometimes i feel quite useless and that the only things i can do are dreaming and loving (as in the song).
two songs, they describe two different parts of the inner me. the melancholy, the happy. so i guess to come to a conclusion, i am an inexperienced girl who pretends to be a woman and i am simple person who can only dream and love. it sounds rather cynical, doesn’t it?
try not to take this as a definitive assessment of these songs. they simply the reasons for why these songs speak to me.
