The song’s protagonist is a meticulous man who has some regrets. The form “eu quis,” which begins several verses, indicates this sentiment: “I wanted” or “I wished.”
Although the title of the song “Um Pequeno Imprevisto,” by Brazilian band Os Paralamas do Sucesso, could be translated as “A Little Mishap,” a more literal translation of “imprevisto” could simply be “unforeseen.” That is, something unexpected and unanticipated, but not necessarily bad or negative. The song’s protagonist is a meticulous man who has some regrets. The form “eu quis,” which begins several verses, indicates this sentiment: “I wanted” or “I wished.” His complaints make evident his excessively cautious attitude.
In the first two verses, the meticulous man wishes that he had only wanted or liked things that remain or last forever – “o que o vento não leva,” that is, that the wind cannot take away – so that he would not have had to suffer losses. He continues, wishing that he had loved only what doesn’t change over time, so that he would not have had to be surprised at the person he loves. That is, he wishes his lover wouldn’t have changed, so that he would not have had to go through the pain of a broken heart at the end of a relationship. The next few verses make it clear that he had hoped to avoid all kinds of surprises in his life. He had wanted to predict the future, to fix the past, and he had tried to take all risks into account, taking the time to think through his decisions. Until something new, unexpected, and unanticipated happened.
A noteworthy element in the second part of the song is the use of the pluperfect past form of the verb “mudar,” that is, “mudara.” While entirely correct, this form is never used in spoken Brazilian Portuguese, with a more common and natural-sounding option being the compound form, using the auxiliary verb “ter” before the main verb: “tinha mudado” (had changed). Both forms have exactly the same meaning and it’s hard to know if the songwriters opted for the former to express something in particular about the character’s attitude – perhaps his formality or carefulness, even with language? – or if it was just an attempt to rhyme with the other verses.
At any rate, whatever unexpected event happened, it affected the character’s life dramatically, transforming his perception of space and location (“the names of streets”) and of the people around him (“people’s faces changed,” they looked different or they looked differently at him). The final two verses add to the enigma. First, “No céu havia nove luas,” that is, there were nine moons up in the sky. A hint of the intended meaning might be that nine moons (or nine months) is the normal span of human pregnancy, and Paralamas’ lead singer Herbert Vianna had just had his first and second children, in 1994 and 1996, when the album was recorded. So, it could be that they were the unexpected events that changed everything for the meticulous man. Another possibility is to interpret the “nine moons” as the (formerly) nine planets of the solar system, in which case this could be a literal reference to the sky. Throughout history, sailors used celestial bodies – planets and stars – to determine their location and direction at sea. The last verse could point to this last reading: “E nunca mais encontrei minha casa” (And I was never again able to find home).
It is up to readers to choose one of the above interpretations, to think of an alternative, or to simply take these poetic verses are reminders of the fact that things in life can change drastically and suddenly, and that enjoying what one has now is at times better than excessive caution.
