Ciranda

"Ciranda" is a children's game played in Brazil, and it seems to be the equivalent of Ring-Around-The Rosie as far as notoriety goes.   There is a beautiful song by Marcio Faraco (Chico Buarque sings it with him) by that same name, "Ciranda".    I love the lyrics to this song, I adore the melody.  I can sing this song over and over and over, and I find myself remembering one remarkable thing about the country of Brazil.  My first mission president told me that the Brazilian people were a people "de suframento e alegria", of suffering and joy.  While people all over the world experience the full range of emotions, claro, there is something to the national tenor, or feeling, of the Brazilian people, a unique combination of sentiment; their signature.  Brasil is truly a country of Joy and Suffering.  They wear it well together.  

This song captures that feeling for me.  It makes something in my heart want to cry and smile, and listen to it again.  It assuages me, I don't quite know what, but I need it.  

Here are the Lyrics in Portuguese, and then my rough translation to English, for those of you who don't speak Portuguese.  You can listen to the song here. 

Se tento correr o tempo pára
Se páro pra ver o mundo anda
Ele vem bater na minha cara
A vida é sempre essa ciranda

Se a noite me traz uma tristeza
O dia vem cheio de alegria
O que falo agora com certeza
Há pouco não sei se eu diria

Eu quero gritar ninguém me escuta
Está tudo preso na garganta
Às vezes me cansa tanta luta
E é pra não chorar que a gente canta

A gente canta
A gente canta

Eu vi uma luz no fim do túnel 
Enchi de esperança o coração
A luz que lá estava foi chegando
Era um trem carregado de ilusão

Andando só na corda bamba
Não temo o futuro da nação
A gente que sempre dançou samba
Enfrenta qualquer divisão

A gente canta
A gente canta

Rough English Translation of Ciranda

If I try to run, the time stops,

If I stop to see, the world walks on

He comes, hitting me in the face, 

Life is always this Ciranda

If the night brings me sadness,

the day comes full of joy

Of what I speak now with certainty,

You have but few who don't know of what I speak

I want to cry out, no one listens

It's all trapped in my thorat

Sometimes I get tired of so much struggle

And so we don't cry, we sing

We sing

We sing

I saw a light at the end of the tunnel

and filled my heart with hope,

When the light arrived  

It was a train carrying illusion

Walking alone on the tight rope

I don't fear the future of the nation

We who have always danced the samba

Can meet any division

We sing

We sing