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Hello, I would very much appreciate your help! I have been slowly trying to learn Brazilian Portuguese. For the past several days I have been learning how to sing along to "Assustado" by Nação Zumbi. I'm having trouble with one particular lyric (I've looked up the lyrics online, several sources):
Caçada destrata
Now, when I attempt to sing along, 'destrata' does not sound like 'destrata', and I get off track. The word sounds like it should have a 'x' in it because of the 'z' sound. Of course I could be wrong. Would you look up the song and have a listen for me?
Thanks a lot
Hi Jenna!
Thanks for your question!
So, I just listened to the song, and yes this is a bit confusing because I would never pronounce the word "destrata" that way in Portuguese, nor would any other Brazilian, even those with different dialects or accents. I asked a friend to listen to the song and he told me the same thing, the word is very unclear. It does sound like it starts with a "z" like you said, so I think that there are two possibilities here. The first is that, because they are singing, the word comes out a bit distorted and is not understandable, as I'm sure you have experienced before even listening to music in English. The second possibility is that they are not really saying "destrata."
The word "destrata" comes from the verb "destratar" which means to mistreat, insult, abuse (not is a strong way though) or to scold. Destratar should be pronounced like this: http://www.forvo.com/word/destratar/. "Destrata" is most likely the third person singular form of the verb destratar.
A "caçada" is a hunt or a search. The word caçada is normally used when talking about hunting animals.
So, these lyrics are a bit enigmatic ("the hunt he mistreats?"), there could be multiple meanings. The fact that "destrata" is not pronounced like it is supposed to be just makes it more confusing. But honestly nice job choosing a song with some challenging vocab for learning Portuguese! Have you listened to any music by Natiruts yet? Try listening to and understanding these songs, they are some of my favorites:
http://letras.terra.com.br/natiruts/66735/
http://letras.terra.com.br/natiruts/47595/
For anyone else who hasn't heard the song Assustado by Nação Zumbi, here is the link for the lyrics and video:
http://letras.terra.com.br/nacao-zumbi/1106015/
Let me know if I can help you with anything else, and good luck!
Hey, this is Jenna again. Thank you for such a swift reply and for your insight. I was hoping you had an idea of what was actually being sung, that word(s) after caçada, just by listening to it? Any idea what word it sounds like it could be?
You're right, "the hunt he mistreats" is very odd. I can't imagine it actually being "destrata." It's driving me a bit nuts haha. I'm in love with the song.
And actually, yes, I have listened to Natiruts before! The song that sticks out right now is "Presente De Um Beija Flor." I can only sing along a teeny bit to this one.
Thanks again!