Lyrics

© All music and lyrics Torbjørn Sandvik

Can you climb an Elephant?

Can you climb an elephant?
Said the king to his men
We’re going hunting for the hummingbird
Please get my bombs and bring your mom

Into the jungle the king took his men
Monkey business all around
Fingers melting, no more apple pie
Mosquitoes larger than your mom

Can you take over?
Steer my ship, man

It’s getting rough here, the king is crying now
Colors blowing all around
Thousand dollar bills fly through the air
It’s going down, can’t take no more

___

Can you still feel it?

Dia de sol     (Sunny day)
Noite de chuva    (Rainy night)

Onda do mar    (Wave of the ocean)
Areia na praia      (Sand on the beach)

Hey my friend
Are your eyes open?
Hey my love
Can you still feel it?

Andarno Pelô     (Walking in Pelô*)
Ao meio-dia     (At noon)
Passar a tarde   (Spending the afternoon)
Em Itapõa     (In Itapõa**)

Agua de coco     (Coconut water)
Barraca na praia     (Shack on the beach)
Mergulho no mar     (Diving into the ocean)
Beijo na boca     (Kiss on the mouth)

* Pelorinho, old town in Salvador, Bahía, Brazil
** Area of Salvador, Bahía, Brazil

___

Flor

Dos gardenias para mí     (Two gardenias for me)
Es lo que está pidiendo     (Is what you are asking)
Amor en los tiempos de cólera     (Love in the times of cholera)

Uma flor de Lis     (A lilly)
Pau Brasil tambem tem flor     (Brazil wood also has flowers)
Me da tudo e muito mais     (Give me everything and much more)
Não é fácil, meu amor     (It’s not easy, my love)

Dos gardenias para ti     (Two gardenias for you)
All of it, I’ll give you all
Maybe skies are blue
Right up on that hill

Nordeste tem calor     (The North East (of Brazil) is warm)
Pau Brasil também tem flor     (Brazil wood also has flowers)
I look east and you look west
Everywhere is best

___

French Pirate

There’s a French Pirate in the Caribbean

I’ve told you ‘bout the Italian hippie
Well here ́s another guy you should know
He ́s an old sailor in a boat full of rats
He left Paris some hundred years ago

When the gale is coming the captain hoists his sails
The worse the better.
Where are my whales?

He’s been smuggling, he’s been drinking, he ́s even used some crack
But now he ́s the pirate of the Caribbean

___

Happy Birthday

This is your day
You’ll have it your way
That’s what they say
They’ll shout Hurray

Hey what’s the time?
A quarter to nine
A boy or a girl?
Everything’s fine

Happy Birthday x2
This is your day x2

I hope you
Have a splendid time
Have a perfect day

___

Italian Hippie

There ́s an Italian hippie in the jungle (Cadé?)     (Where is he?)
There ́s an Italian hippie in the jungle (A onde?)     (Where?)

Italian hippie
He’s found his place
Deep in the jungle
Hasn’t been in Italy since -73

Italian hippie
With long grey dreads
He grows his weed
Won’t go to Italy ever again

In a haze of butterflies Flower power all the way

___

I Wanna Go

I ́m leaving all my stuff cause I wanna go
I ́m opening my eyes cause I wanna see
I ́m emptying my mind cause I wanna know
Seems to me I ́m ready..

I wanna go
I wanna see
I wanna know
Give it to me

Ain’t nothing gonna hold me
I’m leaving now
Nothing gonna stop me
I’m on my way
Sorry my good fellas
I’m outta here
My eyes are wide open

I see new horizons
Wisdom in the air
Another kind of people
I wanna go, I wanna know

___

Meninos De Rua

Under a bridge
Up on a roof
Ou na sinaleira     (Or on the street lights)

Dressed in some rags
Natural dreads
Dorme na calçada     (Sleeps on the sidewalk)

Making his way
Day after day
Veio da favela     (Came from the favela*)

Cadé sua mae?     (Where’s your mom?)
Cadé seu pai?     (Where’s your dad?)
Sai da minha frente     (Get out of my way)

Meninos de rua     (Street kids)
That ́s another kind of life
Meninos de rua     (Street kids)
What do you say?

Gimme some bread
Buy me a juice
Você é meu amigo     (You’re my friend)

See my baby sister
She needs some diapers
Me da um real     (Give me a real**)

King of the streets
Glue in his hand
Se pica malandrinho     (Piss of little rascal)

Já foi na Assembleia     (Allready went to Assembleia***)
Já foi no Candomblé     (Allready went to Candomblé****)
Mas ficou na rua     (But stayed on the street)

Respeito, cara…     (Respect, man)

* Poor part of town
** Brazilian currency
*** Neo-pentacostal, prosperity gospel church
**** Afro-Brazilian religion

___

Milonguero

I got no rhythm, I got no swing
I don’t know how to dance
I ́ll have to say that beat sounds strange
Don’t understand a thing

Baila milonga, milonguero     (Dance milonga, milonguero*)
No tengo ritmo, no bailo ná     (I don’t have rhythm, I don’t dance)

I try to get up on that floor
Como me siento mal     (I feel bad)
And when I get into that music
Man it ́s just a mess

You know I went to el Barrio de Tango     (…the neighborhood of the tango**)
Lástima bandoneón!     (Bandoneon, it hurts!***)
Un vino tinto, caballero!     (A red wine, gentleman)
I really felt quite cool

But when I tried to move my feet
They were just like mud
No soy latino, no tengo swing     (I’m not latino, I don’t have swing)
Guess it ́s not my thing

Milonguero, baila bien     (Milonguero, dance well)

* A guy who likes to sing and/or dance milongas (Argentinian music style)
** “Barrio de Tango” is also the title of a famous tango
*** First phrase of the tango “La Ultima Curda”. Bandoneon is a small Argentinian accordion.

___

Much Trabajo

Calle colombiana     (Colombian street)
That’s where he went to school
Barrio latinoamericano     (Latin American neighborhood)
That’s where he picked up his tools

It’s five in the morning
The sun’s gonna shine
Un cafecito y un platanito     (A small coffee and a banana)
This day will be fine

He works from 9 to 5
And then from 5 to 9
It takes hours to get there
And days to get back

Mucho trabajo y poco dinero     (A lot of work and little money)
Poco dinero y mucho calor     (Little money and lots of heat)

___

Time Comes

I’ll try to count the letters in my bible
I’ll study my «to be or not to be»
I’ll try not to waste a single second
I’ll make statistics of each calorie

Time comes
Life flows
Sun comes up
Goes down

I’ll try to swap my numbers for some colors
I’ll try to fish some wisdom from the sea
I’ll try to find out where the wind is going
I’ll try to let the moon shine down on me

___

Valeu

Valeu meu bem, valeu a minha gente     (Thanks my dear, thanks my guys)
Life’s a mess but it’s quite cool as well
Valeu meu Deus, valeu a minha turma     (Thanks my God, thanks my gang)
Smile you guys, the sun will shine on you

I’ve met so much joy on my way
It’s peace, it’s love like they say
A smile from a stranger in the street
Hey! Can you feel the heat?

Felicidade é tomar um açaí     (Happiness is to eat an açaí*)
Alegria é a gente sair     (Joy is for us to go out)
Eu vejo gente boa ao redor     (I see good people around) 
Ay como é bom o amor     (Wow, love is good)

*A bowl of frozen açaí fruit
___

You’re so fine

You’re so fine
You’re so good

Your eyes are sparkling and bright
Wisdom shines through your heart
Your skin is softer than light
Valley deep, mountain high

We’ve been through some hard times
Feelings drifted away
Years have past, years will come
Now it seems like we’ll stay

© All music and lyrics Torbjørn Sandvik