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The Empty Boat Lyrics

from the stern to the bow
oh my boat is empty
yes, my heart is empty
from the hole to the how

from the rudder to the sail
oh, my boat is empty
yes, my hand is empty
from the wrist to the nail

from the ocean to the bay
oh, the sand is clean
oh, my mind is clean
from the night to the day

from the stern to the bow
oh, my boat is empty
oh, my head is empty
from the neck to the brow

from the east to the west
oh, the stream is long
yes, my dream is wrong
from the birth to the death

from the east to the west
oh, the stream is long
yes, my dream is wrong
from the birth to the death
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Cover art for The Empty Boat lyrics by Caetano Veloso

The reason I really need to learn Portuguese legitimately instead of trying to understand it via Spanish is that, even when Caetano Veloso writes in a second language, his lyrics are often devastatingly beautiful and well crafted. The song is mind-blowing, and as on the rest of this record there is philosophical depth that is on par with anything else I've ever heard. I wouldn't call him the Bob Dylan of Brazil, I'd call him the Vladimir Nabokov of psychedelic rock.

@onhavapalace I'd say this is among the finest Caetano wrote in english. Some other examples aren't so good. Especially what the album Transa contains. They're a bit fishy in their content :/

 
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