Haja o Que Houver
Learn Portuguese with ‘Haja O Que Houver,’ a song with music and words by Pedro Ayres Magalhães. This song is included in the record ‘O Paraíso’ by Madredeus, published in 1997.
Lyrics
Haja o que houver Whatever happens
Eu estou aqui I am here
Haja o que houver Whatever happens
Espero por ti I wait for you
Volta no vento, ó meu amor Come back in the wind, oh my love
Volta depressa, por favor Come back quickly, please
Há quanto tempo, já esqueci How long ago, I already forgot
Porque fiquei longe de ti Why I stayed away from you
Cada momento é pior Each moment is worse
Volta no vento, por favor Come back in the wind, please
Eu sei quem és I know who you are
Pra mim To me
Haja o que houver Whatever happens
Espero por ti I wait for you
Há quanto tempo, já esqueci How long ago, I already forgot
Porque fiquei longe de ti Why I stayed away from you
Cada momento é pior Each moment is worse
Volta no vento por favor Come back in the wind, please
Eu sei quem és I know who you are
P'ra mim To me
Haja o que houver Whatever happens
Espero por ti I wait for you
Words in this song
Depressa
The Portuguese word ‘depressa’ is an adverb that means something must be done quickly or without delay.
- 🏃♂️ Caminha mais depressa. (Walk faster.)
- 🕔 Preciso terminar este trabalho depressa. (I need to finish this work quickly.)
Pra [shortened form of ‘para]
‘Pra’ is a shortened form of the preposition ‘para’ used in spoken language and only written in informal or artistic texts. Some of its common translations in English include ‘for,’ ‘to,’ ‘in order to,’ and ‘towards.’
- 🏠 Vou pra [para] casa agora. (I'm going [to] home now.)
- 🌳 Ela caminhou para a floresta. (She walked towards the forest.)
Espero
‘Espero’ is the 1st person singular of the verb ‘esperar,’ in the present tense. ‘Esperar’ can have two meanings:
- As in the context of this song, it can mean ‘to wait.’
- 🕰️ Eu espero por ti. (I wait for you.)
- It can mean ‘to hope’ or ‘to expect.’
- 🙏 Eu espero que estejas bem. (I hope you are well.)
- 🎯 Ela espera muito de mim. (She expects a lot from me.)
Pior
The term 'pior' is the comparative and superlative form of 'mau / má' (bad) and 'mal' (badly). When we're comparing, 'pior' translates to 'worse' in English.
- 👎 Este livro é mau, mas o outro é pior. (This book is bad, but the other is worse.)
- 🏀 Ele joga mal, mas ela joga pior. (He plays badly, but she plays worse.)
The same word can mean 'worst.’ In such cases, the definite article 'o' (for masculine nouns) or 'a' (for feminine nouns) is used before the word.
- ⚽ Ela é a pior jogadora da equipa. (She’s the worst player of the team.)
The rest of this lesson is for members
DailyNata Plus opens this lesson and every other one in the library, going back years.
Madredeus sing Haja o Que Houver. The title itself is a future subjunctive, and the song is full of the spoken shortcuts like pra and depressa.
- An interactive exercise
Written for level B1–B2. Every lesson has its own, anywhere from A1 to B2.
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