When she was twelve, her father gave her a guitar since he was worried about her being shy. Popular musician and composer Patricio Teixeira and classical guitarist Solon Ayala were her teachers. While still a teenager, she met a number of singers and composers who took part of Bossa Nova's musical revolution, in late 50s and early 60s, including Roberto Menescal, Carlos Lyra, Ronaldo Bôscoli, João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
By 1963, after singing as an amateur for a few years, she became a professional and toured with Sergio Mendes. In the mid-1960s, the institution of military dictatorship in Brazil led her to sing increasingly political lyrics. Her show "Opinião" reflected her political beliefs and she had largely switched to political music by this point. In 1964, she even spoke against bossa nova as a movement, calling it "alienating". In 1968, being part of the Tropicália movement, she appeared on the album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses, performing "Lindonéia."
She later left Brazil for Paris and in the 1970s abandoned music to focus on her family. She returned to music later and when she discovered, in 1979, that she had an inoperable brain tumor she increased her productivity as much as possible. She died in 1989, leaving a great legacy behind her succesful years of career.
Corisco
Nara Leão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eu não me entrego não
Eu não sou passarinho pra viver lá na prisão
Não me entrego a tenente
Nem a capitão
Só me entrego na morte
De parabelo na mão
Na conta da minha história
Verdade e imaginação
Espero que o senhor tenha tirado uma lição
Que assim mal dividido esse mundo anda errado
Que a terra é do homem,
Não é de deus nem do diabo.
O Sertão vai virar mar
E o mar vai virar sertão
Nara Leão's song "Corisco" tells the story of Corisco, a legendary outlaw in Brazil during the 1920s-1930s. The song starts with the line "Te entrega Corisco", a reference to the moment when Corisco surrendered to the police. However, the lyrics continue with Corisco denying his surrender and declaring that he is not a bird to live in a cage. He will only surrender in death, with a gun (parabelo) in his hand. The next verse speaks to the power dynamic in Brazil at the time, with Corisco acknowledging that his story is a mix of truth and imagination, but also hoping that the listener learns a lesson from it. The final line of the song is a striking image of the sertão (Brazilian outback) and the ocean reversing places, a metaphorical way of saying that anything is possible and the world is always changing.
Overall, "Corisco" is a powerful tribute to a complex figure in Brazilian history. Corisco was part of the Cangaço, a movement of bandits who roamed the outback and challenged the authority of the government and the wealthy. He was known for his bravery, cunning, and loyalty to his followers. However, he was also a violent man who caused a great deal of suffering. Nara Leão's song captures his spirit and his contradictions, presenting him as a rebel who refuses to be caged but also as a man of his time who knows that the world is not fair.
Line by Line Meaning
Te entrega Corisco (2x)
Corisco, you should surrender yourself
Eu não me entrego não
I won't surrender myself
Eu não sou passarinho pra viver lá na prisão
I am not a bird to live in a prison
Não me entrego a tenente
I won't surrender to the lieutenant
Nem a capitão
Nor to the captain
Só me entrego na morte
I only surrender in death
De parabelo na mão
With a gun in my hand
Na conta da minha história
In the account of my history
Verdade e imaginação
Truth and imagination
Espero que o senhor tenha tirado uma lição
I hope you have learned a lesson
Que assim mal dividido esse mundo anda errado
This world is walking in the wrong direction with uneven distribution
Que a terra é do homem, não é de deus nem do diabo.
The earth belongs to humans, not to God or Devil.
O Sertão vai virar mar
The semi-arid rural northeastern Brazil will become the sea
E o mar vai virar sertão
And the sea will become the semi-arid rural northeastern Brazil.
Contributed by Joseph B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.