When Voltaj, the Romanian band that won Selectia Nationala with “De la capat” on 8 March, released an English version of the song, many Eurovision fans said it would not sound right in Vienna. A new English version was released, which corrected a troublesome lyric, but still the poetic and melodic Romanian lyrics were considered a better option. Now that a new, final version of “De la capat (All Over Again)” with Romanian lyrics and an English chorus is public, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. But what do the “De la capat (All Over Again)” lyrics actually say?
De la capat (All Over Again) lyrics – Voltaj
Cantec de-ar fi viata mea
Vesel, trist, tot l-as canta
Nu as rata nicio nota
Rau de-ar fi l-as inota
Pan’ la mare l-as urma
Nu m-as opri niciodata
Stii ca
Viata n-are buton de rewind sa
Poti sa intorci ce-ai pierdut
Nu poti nici sa o pui pe pauza
Cand nu stii ce-i de facut
Daca maine noaptea n-ar mai avea vreo stea
Daca intruna vantul spre mine ar sufla
Tu ai fi motivul, tu ai fi motivul sa pot
Sa pot s-o iau de la capat
Daca maine cerul ar fi prea plin de nori
Daca nicio raza nu m-ar atinge-n zori
Tu ai fi motivul, tu ai fi motivul sa pot
Sa pot s-o iau de la capat
As zbura chiar si-o noapte-ntreaga
Spre zorii-n care ai fi tu
Ploile n-ar putea sa-nteleaga
De ce nu cad cand sunt tot ud
English:
If the stars tomorrow no longer shine on us
If a strong wind takes me and I will turn to dust
You will be the reason, you will be the reason to start,
To start all over again.
If the sky clouds over, with darkness never gone,
If the sun stays hidden, not waking in the dawn,
You will be the reason, you will be the reason to start,
To start all over again.
To start all over again.
To start all over again.
To start all over again.
Sa pot s-o iau de la capat
De la capat (All Over Again) lyrics – Voltaj (translation)
If my life were a song
Happy, sad, I would still sing it
I wouldn’t miss one note.
If it were a river, I would swim the length of it
I would follow it to the sea
I wouldn’t ever stop
You know that
Life doesn’t have a rewind button,
To help you recover what you lost,
Nor can you pause it
When you don’t know what to do.
If the night tomorrow had no stars at all
If the wind were to blow my way
You would be the reason x 2
To help me take it from the start.
If the sky tomorrow were too cloudy
If no sunray were to touch me at dawn
You would be the reason x 2
To help me take it from the start.
I would fly all night long
To the dawn if you were there
Rains wouldn’t understand
Why I don’t fall when I’m all drenched.
(English chorus)
To help me take it from the start.
@Eugene: Stats from such a miniscule sample size mean absolutely nothing. Moreover, if the large majority of songs are in English, of course in general it is more probable that you will have songs in English at the top of the leaderboard! The juries have not exactly been known to grade lower for lyrics being in another language. A lot of people believe that the opposite is true, though again there aren’t enough cases of songs outside of English to conclude one way or the other. However, Moldova probably would not have done as well with the juries in 2013… Read more »
@Eugene: You must not have heard the original English version. The pronunciation is incredibly awkward, and additionally the song loses the beauty that comes from the tones of the Romanian language. It would have just sounded like another ballad with entirely English lyrics, and it wouldn’t have stood out, at least not in a good way.
@Eugene ESC UK: The song was initially intended for the 3 millions Romanians working overseas and for their children. But reading the comments it was obvious that all over the world there are many more other millions of people facing the same problem. Seeing that this subject is in fact beyond borders and nationalities, Voltaj switched to English version. Unfortunately, in English the song seemed to have lost his power and melodicity even for foreigners who asked Voltaj to keep the song mainly in Romanian. The final version is not a manifest for Voltaj not carrying for the competition. They… Read more »
Bogdan, speaking of the italian song, it’s very beautyful and very “Eurovisión”… 20 years ago… if you know what I mean (my opinión as an Eurovisión fan). Thank you.
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And, just to be clear, there’s no accent in here, it’s just snobism and envy and a stupid need for criticism of a very frustrated and “superior” people!
Leaf, I “Always” loved Bon Jovi but your coment is very insulting. Voltaj is unique. They have their style. You hear them and you know it’s them. It’s nothing like Bon Jovi, nothing like anyone or anything before. It’s beautyful and special, and it’s all them… and maybe just a little touch of Deepside Deejays so that the song will be more valued and more wonderful…
@Deea, Julien & Marcela, I see your points. If the song is a message to Romanians then their language is the one to use.
And yes, if the singer doesn’t really understand the English lyrics, he will not sound convincing.
Erratum: it is perfect for me if there is an English written version for every song sung worldwide, not even in Eurovision contest.
My dears, Of course The English language is the most spoken language in EU. There is nothing arguable about this. And it is perfect for me if there is an English version for every song sung worldwide, not even in Eurovision contest. But the feeling is a personal one, and the way the singer transmits it is personal, too. I feel the emotion when Calin sings in Romanian and I can only hope his English pronunciation is good enough to transmit the message as best as possible. Please, don’t misunderstand me: I don’t say Calin can’t sing in English in… Read more »
In EU there are at least 15 million born in other EU country than that of residence, 30 million from outside EU. The number of those affected by these migrant waves are multiple in size, lots and lots of broken families there. Romanians are very much affected by this, to the size of almost the entire population – here is the need that the message is in Romanian. But is a wider phenomenon so the message – that it never too late to start all over again having your loved ones with you – is important to be heard in… Read more »
@ESCaddict: I believe Marcela meant to say that is more likely for singers to transmit their emotions (if any) regarding the song when they perform in their native language. That is pretty much what happened with “De la capat”. When it is sung in English, foreigners understand what the song is about, but when sung in Romanian, even though they don’t understand a word many foreigners fell emotion and get goose bumps. It’s quite logical for someone to be able to transmit more emotion when using his mother tongue. The language of the heart is even more international than English.… Read more »
@marcela, please explain how messages are better communicated in native languages. I don’t follow your logic.
If the lyrics are not in a language understood by the audience, it is really just “la la la”.
I guess the artist has to decide if the message is important.
@BritneyHooker You don’t see it because I deleted the rude comments. Let’s hope he doesn’t insult anyone again, we’d all like to have a respectful community here 🙂
@Bogdan I don’t see anything bad in his comments. That’s just his opinion. There’s not too rude words.
Voltaj-love you guys for this decision! Make us proud of you on May 19,23! https://youtu.be/E0LwIVjTvaU
@Mario – perhaps you should think twice before posting hateful and insulting comments. You are getting dangerously close to being banned from commenting here otherwise. Thank you.
As a native English speaker, I can honestly say I’m very pleased they kept it mostly in Romanian, with some English (Romanian in first 2/3, English in last 1/3). This was something I wanted because I love the song, and the poetry and emotion of the song come through better in its original language. Thank you, Romania. You’re now back in my top 10! 🙂
The song is beautiful indeed but i dislike totally this act band.. I would had preferred how many other candidates to represent Romania in the Vision like Lara Lee with *Superman*,the girl with the blue lipstick or my dear Luminita.. To clear this,i never ment any bad intention and i feel sorry about Bogdan.. I had regretted posting that comment of mine but i couldn’t undo it and remove it myself afterwards.. Ok there are times that i pass the line and my comments are over the top & too much indeed…I apologize for that though honestly.. Wish there was… Read more »
I admit, I wasn’t thrilled about the song at first, and even less so when it was going to be all English. But now I love it! It’s really grown on me, and I’m so glad they are keeping the Romanian for some parts! Such a beautiful language, and a wonderful song. This is such a great year for Eurovision.
Good choice!
I prefer Romanian version, so it’s OK the most part of the text is in Romanian. I am not sure their final choice is the best one. And I don’t think English songs versions sung all over the world transmit messages in a better way than national languages. Good luck, anyway!
I have listened to all the 12 songs before Selectia Nationala. This one stood out for me from start and I never heard of Voltaj before…Sort of difficult from Canada unless you’re following Romanian news, radio and TV channels to obsession… I did consider as 2nd option Lara Lee, but the live presentation was disappointing regardless of sound issues (if any) and other excuses I’ve heard of. Maybe experience is important after all… I do prefer the Romanian version, but I think this version for Eurovision is the optimum one. While Calin’s English is not the best, it’s not bad… Read more »
Both versions were glam and so is the dual. I hope Romania will do well either way.
It’s decent, but It is quite Bon Jovi 2001 (which means old fashioned) and yes the pronunciation of some words is annoying as hell ……. Would have preferred the Romanian version.