The firstborn son of Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived at several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rome. He wrote and studied literature as a child and found music through the bossa nova compositions of Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. He performed as a singer and guitarist in the 1960s as well as writing a play that was deemed dangerous by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the time. Buarque, along with several Tropicalist and MPB musicians, was threatened by the Brazilian military government and eventually left Brazil for Italy in 1969. However, he came back to Brazil in 1970, and continued to record, perform, and write, though much of his material was suppressed by government censors. He released several more albums in the 1980s and published three novels in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2019, Buarque was awarded the Camões Prize, the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language.
A Noiva Da Cidade
Chico Buarque Lyrics
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Que a mãe da criança te manda matar
Tutu-marambá não venha mais cá
Que a mãe da criança te manda matar
Ai, como essa moça é descuidada
Com a janela escancarada
Quer dormir impunemente
Não escuta o sobressalto
Do coração da gente
Ai, quanto descuido o dessa moça
Que papai 'tá lá na roça
E mamãe foi passear
E todo marmanjo da cidade
Quer entrar
Nos versos da cantiga de ninar
Pra ser um Tutu-Marambá
Ai, como essa moça é distraída
Sabe lá se está vestida
Ou se dorme transparente
Ela sabe muito bem que quando adormece
Está roubando o sono de outra gente
Ai, quanta maldade a dessa moça
E, que aqui ninguém nos ouça
Ela sabe enfeitiçar
Pois todo malandro da cidade
Quer entrar nos sonhos que ela gosta de sonhar
E ser um Tutu-Marambá
Boi, boi, boi, boi da cara preta
Pega essa menina que tem medo de careta
Boi, boi, boi, boi da cara preta
Pega essa menina que tem medo de careta
The lyrics of Chico Buarque's song "A Noiva Da Cidade" talk about a young woman who is careless with her safety and privacy. The song's chorus warns Tutu-Marambá, a mythical boogeyman figure, not to come near because the child's mother will order his death. The singer, a young woman, leaves her window open while she sleeps, seemingly unaware or indifferent to the danger she puts herself in. The lyrics suggest that the singer may be aware of the attention she receives from the men in her town, and she may even enjoy it. Still, the song ends with a warning from the Boi da Cara Preta, another Brazilian folklore boogeyman, that he will come to get her because she is afraid of him.
The lyrics touch on themes that are prevalent in Brazilian society, such as the objectification of women and the dangerous lack of personal safety that women face. The men in the town see the young woman as an object of desire, and she is helpless against their advances. The mother's warning to Tutu-Marambá suggests that she is aware of the dangers that exist for women and is willing to take extreme measures to protect her child. The song's ending indicates that the singer's fear of the Boi da Cara Preta is a metaphor for her fear of the unknown dangers that lurk around her.
Line by Line Meaning
Tutu-marambá não venha mais cá
Stay away, Tutu-Marambá, because the child's mother will have you killed
Que a mãe da criança te manda matar
The child's mother orders your death if you come back
Ai, como essa moça é descuidada
Oh, how careless this girl is
Com a janela escancarada
Leaving her window wide open
Quer dormir impunemente
Thinking she can sleep without consequences
Ou será que a moça lá no alto
Or perhaps the girl high up there
Não escuta o sobressalto
Does not hear the pounding
Do coração da gente
Of our hearts
Ai, quanto descuido o dessa moça
Oh, such carelessness from this girl
Que papai 'tá lá na roça
Her father's out farming
E mamãe foi passear
And her mother's out for a walk
E todo marmanjo da cidade
And every grown man in town
Quer entrar
Wants to come inside
Nos versos da cantiga de ninar
To join in the lullaby
Pra ser um Tutu-Marambá
And become a Tutu-Marambá
Ai, como essa moça é distraída
Oh, how absent-minded this girl is
Sabe lá se está vestida
Doesn't even know if she's dressed
Ou se dorme transparente
Or if she's sleeping transparently
Ela sabe muito bem que quando adormece
She knows very well that when she falls asleep
Está roubando o sono de outra gente
She's stealing other people's sleep
Ai, quanta maldade a dessa moça
Oh, how wicked this girl is
E, que aqui ninguém nos ouça
And no one's listening now
Ela sabe enfeitiçar
She knows how to bewitch
Pois todo malandro da cidade
Because every rogue in town
Quer entrar nos sonhos que ela gosta de sonhar
Wants to join in the dreams she likes to dream
E ser um Tutu-Marambá
And become a Tutu-Marambá
Boi, boi, boi, boi da cara preta
Black-faced ox, black-faced ox
Pega essa menina que tem medo de careta
Catch that girl who's scared of the bogeyman
Boi, boi, boi, boi da cara preta
Black-faced ox, black-faced ox
Pega essa menina que tem medo de careta
Catch that girl who's scared of the bogeyman
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Francisco Buarque De Hollanda
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind