capoeira

Olha o homem

Look at the man I killed:
I didn’t get into his wallet.
Look at the man I killed.
It was a fine disorder
and a fine assassination.
Tomorrow I go forth
for this world of God.

Mais eu pisé

And I stepped on dry leaves
and saw them rustle, rustle, rustle,
rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle.
I saw them rustle, rustle, rustle.
He who cannot deal with cunning carries no protection.
I saw them rustle, rustle, rustle.

Ô dendê

O dendê, o dendê...
O dendê, o dendê...
Dendê of spinning yellow...
Dendê of spinning yellow...
I will say for dendê,
I am a man, not a woman.

Quando a maré vaza

When the tide recedes,
I will see her.
I will see her,
I will see her.
When the tide recedes,
I will see her.
I will see her,
I will see her.
Come, beautiful one, come.
Come here, please.
Come receive these tokens
your beloved sends to you.
When the tide recedes,
I will see her.
I will see her,
I will see her.

Vou m’embora

I am going, I am going,
like I said that I would go.
If I’m unwanted here,
my love is there.
I am going, I am going.
I will see if money flows.
If money doesn’t flow,
nobody’s going to starve,
my friend.

Canarinho de Alemanha

German canary that killed my crow,
German canary that killed my crow.
German canary that killed my crow,
German canary that killed my crow.
German canary that killed my crow,
the secret of the moon - who knew? -
is the brilliance of the sun.
German canary that killed my crow,
German canary that killed my crow.
German canary that killed my crow,
he who has faith in God
never falls into misfortune.
German canary that killed my crow,
German canary that killed my crow.

Eu tava lá

I was there in my house,
without thinking or imagining,
when I heard a knock at the door:
the officer, that moment,
called to intimidate me.
It’s the truth, my friend,
with all diplomacy.
They penned him
in jail
to testify
about what he didn’t know about,
my friend.

Eu tava lá

I was there in my house,
without thinking or imagining,
when I heard a knock at the door:
Solomon called
for help to win
the battle for liberty.
It was me, it was my brother.
It was my brother and me.
We held a fight:
neither I won, nor he.
I who never traveled,
do not intend to travel
from place to place,
here and there.
I do not know if God permits
two bodies in one tomb.
I was born here,
here made me.

Colega velho

My friend, I value your word.
My friend, I value your word.
As a stone beats against a stone,
your heart beats within my own,
my friend.

Vai chover

It’s going to rain, let the rain fall.
It’s going to rain, let the rain fall.
It’s going to rain, let the rain fall.
It’s going to rain.
Let the rain fall.
It’s going to rain.
Let the rain fall.
It’s going to rain.
Let the rain fall.
It’s going to rain.
Let the rain fall.
The coconut falls, pick it up off the ground.
The coconut falls, pick it up off the ground.
The coconut falls, pick it up off the ground.
The coconut falls.
Pick it up off the ground.
The coconut falls.
Pick it up off the ground.
The coconut falls.
Pick it up off the ground.
The coconut falls.
Pick it up off the ground.

Riachão tava cantando

Riachão was singing
in the city of Açu,
when there appeared a negro
of the buzzardly kind,
with a leather shirt
and raw leather pants,
one eye bright pink,
and the other so yellow,
lips fat and twisted
like the soles of shoes.
He called to Riachão
to hunt down a thug.
Riachão replied,
“I’m not hunting anyone
with a black man I don’t know.
He could be a captive
who has run away, fugitive.”

Pegue esse nego

Grab that black dude
and throw him on the floor.
Throw him on the floor,
throw him on the floor.
Grab that black dude
and throw him on the floor.
That ill-willed black dude,
that black dude’s a dog.

Ai Deus, ai mundo

O God, O world,
he who can’t swim, sinks.

Santo Antonio Pequenino

Little Saint Anthony,
tamer of wild asses.
He’ll tame you this moment
with seventy thousand devils,
my friend.

Ela tem dente de ouro

She has golden teeth
I wanted to kick out.
I’m going to curse
those teeth so that they break.
I do not remember her,
nor do I care to remember
those bitter hours
when we spoke
on the edge of the beach,
with a pretty moon,
she always swearing to me
she loved no other.
I came from the Island of Maré
to play in Santa Rita.
Two thing in the world
that set my heart to beat:
a tuned berimbau
and pretty game,
my friends.

Sou mestre que aprendo

I am a master who learns
and a student who teaches.
In the circle of capoeira,
I never strike in vain.
On the day I grow displeased
in Itabaianinha,
no man mounts a horse,
no woman kills a hen.
The praying nuns
forget the litany,
my friends.


Quatro coisas neste mundo

Four things in this world
that aggravate a city man:
a leaky house,
an unruly horse,
a jealous woman,
and a crying kid.
All this he handles:
he fixes the house,
he sells the horse,
he shuts up the kid,
and the woman falls on her foot,
my friends.

Quatro coisas neste mundo

Four things in this world
make my heart race:
A black girl done up
in her colorful dress,
a tuned berimbau
and a pretty game,
my friends.

Eu não sou daqui

I am not from here.
Lonely sailor...
I have no one to love.
Lonely sailor...
I am from Bahía,
Lonely sailor...
From San Salvador.
Lonely sailor...
Lonely sailor, lonely sailor
Lonely sailor...
Who taught you how to swim?
Lonely sailor...
Was it the rocking of the boat?
Lonely sailor...
Was it the swaying of the sea?
Lonely sailor...
O who’s that? Here he comes!
Lonely sailor...
How he comes, such a dandy,
Lonely sailor...
All in white,
Lonely sailor...
With his little hat.
Lonely sailor...
The sailor cries and cries.
Lonely sailor...
Who taught you how to swim?
Lonely sailor...

Valha-me, Nossa Senhora

Protect me, My Lady, protect me,
You Who Make Those Who Know.
My Lady helps me.
My Lady has helped me,
my friends.

Leva, morena, me leva

Take me, black woman, take me.
Take me back to your home.
Take me, black woman, take me;
today I am poor,
tomorrow, doctor.

Não bata na criança

Don’t beat the child to make the child grow.
The one who hits never remembers, the one who gets hit never forgets.

Se tu tem problema

If you have a problem at home,
don’t come fix it here.
If you have a problem at home,
don’t come fix it here...
There are people I taught,
who today want to hit me.
There are people I taught,
who today want to hit me.

Eu já canto a muitos anos

I have sung for many years,
not having done just anything.
I have seized the bull’s horns
and ceased the lion’s fury.
I will never have a method,
which to me would be of little worth.
The Devil replied,
today you came to know
the talent of a singer
who offered me obedience
on acquaintance with my quality.
The next time he saw me,
he called me “Teacher” - Ha!
He told me where he came from.
He told me where he would go.
Whether married or single,
what a labor you do.
The Devil replied,
“I have no superior.
I am a son of liberty.
I do not speak of my life, my dear,
for there is no necessity.
I am not a fugitive,
nor are you an authority,
my friend.”

Você diz que sabe tudo

You say you know it all,
but that lizard there knows more.
He can climb a wall,
and you can’t,
my friend.

Eu já vivo enjoado

I have already grown weary
of living here on earth.
Mom, I’m going to the moon.
I talked it over with my woman:
she replied,
“We will go if God is willing.
We’ll build a little hut
out of grass,
and tomorrow, at seven,
we’ll have breakfast.”
I, who never believed,
will never come to believe
that the moon comes to the earth
and the earth goes to the sky.
All that is talk
for those who eat without working.
You, sir, my friend,
listen closely to my song:
Those who have, have no envy.
Those who do not have the envy,
my friend.

O meu Deus

My God, the things I do
to live in this world.
If I go clean I’m crooked,
if I’m dirty I’m trash.
Great old world,
seductive world,
I say it the way
my father taught me:
if I don’t talk I say nothing,
if I talk I’m just talking,
my friend.