Who better than a Portuguese emigrant to sing about the anguish of leaving home and the bittersweet respite of spending the August holiday in their village?
In 1992, Dino Meira released an album from which Meu Querido Mês de Agosto (My Dear Month of August) became one of the most successful singles, reported SAPOMAG (August 1, 2016).
"The song captures the essence of saudade, a Portuguese term that conveys a profound sense of longing and melancholy for something or someone that is absent," wrote Lyrics Layers.
"The singer's yearning to return to August is palpable, as he describes the torment of waiting and the joy that the month brings. The lyrics mention the passage of time, with days, months and hours slipping by, all while the singer anticipates the moment he can return to his 'paradise'. This paradise is not just a physical place but a state of mind where happiness and contentment reside."
Armandino Marques Meira (1940-1993), born in Espinho, Porto, left the country when he was young, beginning his music career in Brazil. Later, Dino Meira settled in Canada, where he went solo and performed for Portuguese communities in North America and, eventually, Europe. The Observador (September 2, 2023) paid homage to the singer:
"Before pimba was pimba, there was a group of popular artists, kings of pirated records and cassettes, to whom the labels of pyrosos or foleiros (tacky) were applied indiscriminately. They sang for the people, the real country, the country of parties and country fairs, and for the emigrants around the world, from France to the United States, from Luxembourg to Canada.
"They were the link that connected these Portuguese to the country, a kind of musical codfish to ease their homesickness. No one understood this feeling better, the need to keep the connection alive, than Dino Meira, an emigrant himself who, before achieving success
in the country from the mid-1980s onwards, was one of the most active artists on the emigrant circuit, performing for Portuguese communities.
". . . Dino Meira left a legacy of empathy among those he worked with and a handful of songs with which emigrants, forgotten by Portugal and ridiculed by their compatriots, identified and adopted as the soundtrack of their lives and their work. That, in the month of holidays, when we feel allowed to let down our guard of good taste and put on our musical swimming trunks, we hum and tap our feet, even if involuntarily, to the rhythm of the beloved month of August, is a small revenge served hot at the height of summer."
Meu querido mês de agosto My dear month of August M
Por ti levo o ano inteiro a sonhar Because of you I spend the whole year dreaming
Trago sorrisos no rosto You bring smiles to my face
Meu querido mês de agosto My dear month of August M
Porque sei que vou voltar Because I know I'll come back
Meu querido mês de agosto My dear month of August
Por ti levo o ano inteiro a sonhar Because of you I spend the whole year dreaming
Trago sorrisos no rosto You bring smiles to my face
Meu querido mês de agosto My dear month of August
E trago Deus para me ajudar And I bring God to help me
Já passaram tantos dias, So many days have passed,
Já passaram tantos meses So many months have passed
E eu ando louco por regressar I'm going crazy to return
Já senti a cada momento I've felt every moment
Que a saudade é um tormento That longing is a torment
E eu ando louco por regressar I'm going crazy to return
Já passaram tantas horas So many hours have passed
De voltar eu bem preciso I really need to go back
Deitar as saudades fora Throw away the longings
Cantar xau vamos embora Sing goodbye let's go
De regresso ao paraiso Back to paradise
Meu querido mês de agosto . . . My dear month of August. . .
Meu querido mês de agosto . . . My dear month of August. . .
Já passaram tantos dias It's been so many days
Vivo assim sem alegria I live like this without joy
Eu ando louco por regressar I'm going crazy to return
De por os pés ao caminho To set foot on the path
Provar o gosto do vinho Taste the goodness of wine
Eu ando louco por regressar I'm going crazy to return
Já passaram tantas horas So many hours have passed
De voltar eu bem preciso I really need to go back
Deitar as saudades fora Throw away the longings
Cantar xau vamos embora Sing goodbye let's go
De regresso ao paraiso Back to paradise
Meu querido mês de agosto . . . My dear month of August. . .
Meu querido mês de agosto . . . My dear month of August. . .
Meu querido mês de agosto . . . My dear month of August. . .
Meu querido mês de agosto . . . My dear month of August. . .
Miguel Gomes, the winner for Best Director at the recent International Cannes Film Festival, released Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto in 2008. The 52-year-old director's second feature film takes its title from the song by Dino Meira.
The Lisbon native filmed in the Beiras in the villages of Arganil, Oliveira do Hospital, Góis, Pampilhosa da Serra and Tábua. Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto is a work of docufiction, a mix of anthropology and fiction, a tradition widely explored by Portuguese directors.
The film follows the story of a father, daughter and nephew, musicians in a group who perform at popular festivals in August.
"In the heart of mountainous Portugal in August, the population and activities multiply: festivals, pilgrimages, fireworks, music and lots of fun. Emigrants visit their homeland during the holidays and meet friends, relatives and acquaintances for festivities, dances, beer, games and hunting. A film crew is in the region amidst this lively chaos, looking for actors for a fiction film," according to RTP.
Miguel Gomes filmed Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto at the summer festivals of 2006 and 2007.
The film is scheduled to be shown on Saturday, August 3, at 23:15 on television's RTP2.
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