Mísia "Autopsicografia"
Mísia "Autopsicografia" (Self-analysis)
Portuguese guitar: Ângelo Friere
Mísia and Pessoa - two great pretenders
What it means:
Here's my fairly free translation, to get the meaning across.
Self-analysis
The poet is a pretender
pretending so completely
that when they pretend that they're in pain
they end up feeling their real pain.And to those who read what the poet writes,
the pain they are carefully reading feels
like neither of the two that the poet had,
but one the readers don't actually feel.And thus going round on the train track,
to entertain and amuse the reason,
is this wind-up train
that we call the heart.The poet is a pretender
pretending so completely
that when they pretend that they are in pain
it's pain that they truly feel.
Pessoa's poem only has three verses. Mísia makes it longer by repeating each couplet immediately, a fairly standard practice for a singer. Then after singing Pessoa's third and final verse, there's a violin interlude, and she ends by singing the first verse again.
This means that where Pessoa finishes up with this wind-up train that we call the heart (comboio de corda que se chama coração), Mísia ends up with the poet (or singer) feeling pain that they truly feel (a dor que deveras sente).
As sung by Mísia, complete
with repetitions and ending swap.
AUTOPSICOGRAFIA
O poeta é um fingidor
Finge tão completamente
O poeta é um fingidor
Finge tão completamenteQue chega a fingir que é dor
A dor que deveras sente.
Que chega a fingir que é dor
A dor que deveras sente.
E os que lêem