As Canseiras Desta Vida
José Mário Branco
The Struggles of This Life
The struggles of this life
So many mothers growing old
Brushing away
Brushing away
The worn-out jacket
Turns into a rag that shines
The cook who puts in the effort
Makes the soup of misery
Counting up
Counting up
The pennies from my pay
And the pot is protesting
You turn the sweat around
End of the month is the 30th
And payday comes after Thursday
Always going from bad to worse
And everyone complains
That this just can't go on
That this life is unbearable
-what can we do about it?
Cut the meat, cut the fish
There's no bread that won't cost a fortune
Saving up
Saving up
The little note that complains
So hard to earn
The mother bird is flying
Carrying bread to the nest
Getting tired
Getting tired
With the mud on the path
Only knows how to lament
It's a lie, it's the truth
Time goes by, age comes
Stretching out
Stretching out
The illusion of freedom
To die without waking up
Is it in death or in life
That the hidden key lies
To the gate
To the gate
Of this dead-end street
-what will be the solution?
