He was considered the "ambassador" of the Favelas ( Brazilian Shanty Towns ). He was the singer of the Malandragem.
Bezerra was knowledgeable about life in the favelas, and the songs he sang are filled with slang terms having to do with drug dealing, the law, etc., and are often humorous. Later in life, not long before his passing, Bezerra gave up this life and became an evangelical Christian.
A Semente
Bezerra da Silva Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uma semente no seu quintal
De repente brotou
Um tremendo matagal
Quando alguém lhe perguntava
Que mato é esse que eu nunca vi?
Ele só respondia
Não sei, não conheço isso nasceu ai
Mas foi pintando sujeira
O patrão estava sempre na jogada
Porque o cheiro era bom
E ali sempre estava uma rapaziada
Os homens desconfiaram
Ao ver todo dia uma aglomeração
E deram o bote perfeito
E levaram todos eles para averiguação e daí
Na hora do sapeca-ai-ai-ai o safado gritou
Não precisa me bater que eu dou de bandeja tudo pro senhor
Olha aí eu conheço aquele mato chefia
E também sei quem plantou
Quando os federais grampearam
E levaram o vizinho inocente
Na delegacia ele disse
Doutor não sou agricultor, desconheço a semente
The song "A Semente" by Bezerra Da Silva tells the story of a man who threw a seed in his backyard which grew into a large plant. When people asked him what kind of plant it was, he didn't know, claiming that it just grew there. However, the situation becomes suspicious when people notice a lot of traffic around the plant and a good smell. Eventually, the police discover that the plant is marijuana and arrest the innocent neighbor who claims he didn't know what he was growing.
The song is a critique of the social and economic conditions that push people to cultivate illegal drugs. As the song suggests, those who grow marijuana are often poor and marginalized, with no other way to make ends meet. The song also highlights the corrupt actions of the police who take advantage of the situation for their benefit, treating innocent people as criminals just to make arrests.
Line by Line Meaning
Meu vizinho jogou
My neighbor threw
Uma semente no seu quintal
A seed in his backyard
De repente brotou
Suddenly sprouted
Um tremendo matagal
A huge thicket
Quando alguém lhe perguntava
When someone asked him
Que mato é esse que eu nunca vi?
What kind of plant is this that I've never seen?
Ele só respondia
He only answered
Não sei, não conheço isso nasceu ai
I don't know, I've never seen it before, it just grew here
Mas foi pintando sujeira
But then things started getting dirty
O patrão estava sempre na jogada
The boss was always involved
Porque o cheiro era bom
Because the smell was good
E ali sempre estava uma rapaziada
And there was always a group of guys there
Os homens desconfiaram
The men suspected something
Ao ver todo dia uma aglomeração
When they saw a crowd there every day
E deram o bote perfeito
And they set the perfect trap
E levaram todos eles para averiguação e daí
And they took all of them in for questioning
Na hora do sapeca-ai-ai-ai o safado gritou
When they were roughing him up, the crook shouted
Não precisa me bater que eu dou de bandeja tudo pro senhor
No need to hit me, I'll give you everything on a silver platter, sir
Olha aí eu conheço aquele mato chefia
Look, I know that plant, boss
E também sei quem plantou
And I also know who planted it
Quando os federais grampearam
When the federal agents tapped their phones
E levaram o vizinho inocente
And took the innocent neighbor
Na delegacia ele disse
At the police station he said
Doutor não sou agricultor, desconheço a semente
Doctor, I'm not a farmer, I don't know the seed
Contributed by Bailey D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.