The sexy/quirky/mysterious Brazilian Girls were three men -- Didi Gutman (from Argentina) on keyboards and computers, Jesse Murphy on bass, and Aaron Johnston on drums -- and one woman, Sabina Sciubba, the vocalist. Sciubba often enjoys wearing lacy eye masks on-stage and sings in no fewer than five different languages. She was born in Rome but grew up in Nice and Munich before settling in Brooklyn, NY. She first came to record buyers' attention when she recorded two jazz albums -- You Don't Know What Love Is with pianist Chris Anderson and Meet Me in London with guitarist Antonio Forcione -- for the English audiophile label Naim. She described her meeting with the men of Brazilian Girls as "love at first sight and it moved as fast as the Autobahn." Falling into the new, playful downtown scene that was revolving around the Nublu club helped speed the band's success.
Like-minded bands like Wax Poetic and the Nublu Orchestra had made the club the hip spot 2004 for adventurous pop fans and Brazilian Girls' freeform, bouncy kind of jamming fit right in. Soon they had the Saturday night slot at Nublu, and the East Village press had fallen in love with them. Murphy and Johnston made appearances on John Zorn's 2003 album Voices in the Wilderness and every Brazilian Girl contributed to Wax Poetic's sophomore release, the Nublu Sessions, the same year. The Verve Company became interested in the band around this time, thinking them perfect for the more pop and progressive imprint Verve Forecast. In 2004 the label released the Lazy Lover (EP), which included the title track -- a chillout room favorite -- in its original form and in a remix by the quirky house producer Herbert. The group's self-titled, full-length debut Brazilian Girls hit the streets in early 2005. (allmusic.com, 02/06) The band's second album, Talk to La Bomb, was released in September 2006 by Verve Forecast, to mixed reviews.
In 2008, the band released a third album "New York City" - also to mixed reviews. In the interim, singer Sciubba returned to France and had a child. Unfortunately, the band announced in January 2011 that they had broken up.
Mano De Dios
Brazilian Girls Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
porque no
digo yo
mano de dios
mano de dios
MAS....
MAS....
el y yo
poco comun
mano de dios
mano de dios
MAS...
MAS...
MAS...
The lyrics of Brazilian Girls' song, "Mano De Dios," are pretty sparse and repetitive, but they still manage to convey a sense of longing and mystery. The singer begins by musing to herself, "hmmm, why not?". She then repeats the phrase "mano de dios," which means "hand of God" in Spanish. There's a palpable sense of yearning in her voice as she continues to repeat this phrase, searching for some kind of meaning or significance in it. The repetition of the phrase and the lack of further explanation or elaboration only adds to the sense of mystery and ambiguity.
As the song continues, the singer mentions "el y yo," which means "him and me" in Spanish. She describes their connection as "poco comun," or "uncommon." Once again, the phrase "mano de dios" is repeated over and over again, creating a hypnotic and dreamy atmosphere. It's hard to say exactly what the singer is trying to express with these lyrics, but there's a sense of wanting something deeply or feeling like there's some kind of higher power at work in her life. Ultimately, the song leaves a lot up to interpretation, with the repetitive phrases and dreamy vocals creating an almost meditative listening experience.
Line by Line Meaning
hmmm
A sound conveying uncertainty and doubt.
porque no
Questioning the possibility of an action.
digo yo
Asserting one's own opinion or suggestion.
mano de dios
A phrase used to describe an extraordinary event or occurrence.
mano de dios
Repeating the phrase for emphasis.
el y yo
Referring to a personal connection or relationship.
poco comun
Describing something as uncommon or rare.
mano de dios
Reinforcing the idea of an extraordinary event or occurrence.
mano de dios
Emphasizing the uncommon nature of the personal connection or relationship.
MAS...
Continuing to build suspense and anticipation.
MAS...
Further intensifying the buildup of suspense and anticipation.
MAS...
Increasing the intensity to a climax.
Contributed by Gabriella L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.