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.
Talk To La Bomb
Brazilian Girls Lyrics
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What are you doing with that silly thing?
With holes in your soles and in your pockets
You have one choice:
Surrendering
You address yourself in the third person
And say "Hey, you, leave 'em alone"
You address yourself in the third person
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb in its shell
Talk to the bomb, will we go to hell?
Talk to the bomb, it has never been easy
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb
Man on the rocket chair to Phobos
Now you're going to have to face your ally
You negotiated your inferno
You have to pay for it eventually
Man on the hotseat to Timbuktu
Who do you want to be?
Man on the hotseat to Timbuktu
We leave you alone
(one two three)
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb in its shell
Talk to the bomb, will we go to hell?
Talk to the bomb, it has never been easy
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb in its shell
(won't you) Talk to the bomb, will we go to hell?
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb in its shell
Talk to the bomb, will we go to hell?
Talk to the bomb, it has never been easy
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb
"Yes, hello?"
The lyrics to Brazilian Girls' "Talk to La Bomb" tell a story about a man who is doing something questionable with very little to his name. The opening lines describe the man as the son of a virtuous woman who questions why he is carrying around something foolish with holes in his shoes and pockets. The next lines reveal that the man is addressing himself in the third person, telling himself to leave "them" alone. It is left up to interpretation who "they" are, but it is clear that the man is struggling with an inner conflict.
The chorus of the song features the repeating line "Talk to the bomb, to the bomb in its shell" and asks if we will go to hell. The man in the song is ultimately faced with consequences for his actions and must pay for his misdeeds. The final verse mentions a man on a "rocket chair" and a "hotseat" asking who he wants to be, and ultimately being left alone.
The lyrics of "Talk to La Bomb" touch on themes of inner turmoil, societal pressure, and the consequences of one's actions. The repetitive nature of the chorus emphasizes the idea of being trapped in a cycle of conflict and questioning if there is a way out.
Line by Line Meaning
Son of an honorable woman
Addressing someone who comes from a respectable family background
What are you doing with that silly thing?
Questioning the motive behind carrying something useless
With holes in your soles and in your pockets
Having financial troubles
You have one choice:
Being left with no other option
Surrendering
Giving up
You address yourself in the third person
Referring to oneself in an indirect manner
And say "Hey, you, leave 'em alone"
Asking someone to stop interfering in someone's life
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb in its shell
Asking to communicate with a dangerous weapon
Talk to the bomb, will we go to hell?
Expressing fear of the consequences of dealing with danger
Talk to the bomb, it has never been easy
Acknowledging the difficulty in handling a dangerous weapon
Man on the rocket chair to Phobos
Addressing someone who is taking a long journey to a distant, unknown place
Now you're going to have to face your ally
Being forced to confront someone who was expected to help but may not actually do so
You negotiated your inferno
Going through a difficult situation and coming out the other side, but not without consequences
You have to pay for it eventually
Having to face the repercussions of one's actions
Man on the hotseat to Timbuktu
Addressing someone who is in a difficult situation in a far-off place
Who do you want to be?
Asking oneself what kind of person they want to become
We leave you alone
Backing off and letting someone deal with their problems on their own
Talk to the bomb, it has never been easy
Reiterating the danger and difficulty in handling a weapon
Talk to the bomb, to the bomb
Continuing to encourage communication with the weapon
"Yes, hello?"
An ambiguous ending, possibly implying that communication with the weapon has been established or not
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: AARON JOHNSTON, DIDI GUTMAN, JESSE YUSEF MURPHY, SABINA SCIUBBA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind