Learn by singing: "Amanhã eu não vou trabalhar"

Music can be a great tool to help you learn (see a short post in Portuguese, here): it can build up your vocabulary, it is fun and the rhythm may help you better remember what you learn. Here is a song for you to get started: "Amanhã eu não vou trabalhar", by Alexandre Grooves, with Seu Jorge. You can get it from itunes, msn music or listen to it from video.

[Note: if you want to make the most of this song by doing some exercises, go through this post before reading on]

Listen to the song and see the words for the song here. Here a free translation with some notes:

Amanhã eu não vou trabalhar Tomorrow I am not going to work
Fiquei até tarde no samba I stayed until late at the samba
Não posso negar I can't deny it
E eu não sei o que eu vou inventar I don't know what I am going to make up
Só sei que amanhã eu não vou trabalhar I just know that tomorrow I am not going to work
Acordo às cinco da manhã e saio sozinho I wake up at five in the morning and go out alone
Levanto antes mesmo do sol levantar I get up even before the sun rises
Demoro uma vida pra chegar I take a life[time] to arrive
Começa o meu expediente, não boto uma fé My work hours start, I can't believe it/ I have no faith on it
Tomo um litro de café I take a liter of coffee
Pra ver se eu esqueço que a minha cabeça já tá pra estourar To see if I forget that my head is already about to explode
Eu perco o emprego, I lose my job,
mas sei que amanhã eu não vou trabalhar but I know that tomorrow I am not going to work

O samba tá bom demais The samba is really good
Pra ir embora, como é que faz How can one do to leave?
O chopp descendo, o couro comendo The beer (draft beer) going down, the action going down*
E aquela nega não para de sambar and that girl/ black girl doesn't stop dancing samba
Olhando pra mim Looking at me
E a loura dizendo que sim and the blond saying yes
Já me apaixonei mais de três vezes I've already fallen in love more than three times
Desde o começo da noite pra cá Since the begining of the night until here
Eu perco o juízo, e digo: I lose my mind, and I say:
Amanhã eu não vou trabalhar. Tomorrow I am not going to work.

Expressions:

• botar fé: literally, to put faith. It is a slang, popular with hip youngster, that means to believe in or have faith in something and somebody, e.g.: Boto fé que a Marina vai acabar ficando com o Alexandre. (I believe that Marina will end up hooking up with Alexandre)
• Chopp: draft beer.
• O couro comendo: I think the best translation, meaning wise, would be "the shit is going down", though in the Portuguese expression has no bad words in it.
• nega: this slang term means black girl or woman, but it is also used to refer to women of any skin color as an endearment term (like honey or sweety).
• perder o juízo: to lose one's mind.

Now see if you can sing along!