Elba Ramalho was born in the rural area of Conceição, in Vale do Piancó. In 1962, the family moved to the city of Campina Grande, also in Paraíba. Her father became the owner of the local theater. Daughter of a musician, she became interested in music still as a teenager.
In 1966, she participated, for the first time, in a performance on stage, in the Choir of the Fundação Artística e Cultural Manuel Bandeira, of which she was a member, with "Evocação do Recife". The Manuel Bandeira and Cecília Meireles Talking Choirs gained fame and started to be seen all over the Northeast, and Elba, who made her first presentation on stage together with them, soon became the highlight in the presentations. She starred in the poetic montages of Castro Alves, Thiago de Mello, Lindolfo Bell, Carlos Pena Filho and Figueiredo Agra. He participated in the montages of the plays "Ministro do Supremo" and "Diálogo das Carmelitas."
In 1968, while attending college of Economics and Sociology at the Federal University of Paraíba, she formed the ensemble As Brasas, in which she acted as drummer, which later became a theater group. However, Elba never stopped singing, and performed in several festivals throughout the Northeast.
In 1979, she released her first album, "Ave de Prata", and since then she has consolidated her position as one of the main Brazilian singers in activity. On her father's side, she is a cousin of fellow singer Zé Ramalho.
She has two Latin Grammys for her albums: Qual o Assunto Que Mais Lhe importa?, released in 2008, and Balaio de Amor, 2009, in the category Best Brazilian Roots Album: Regional and Tropical. In over 35 years of career, Elba Ramalho has sold more than 10 million albums. She received from the Art Critics Association of São Paulo the award "Best Show of the Year" on two occasions: in 1989 for the show Popular Brasileira and in 1996 for the show Leão do Norte.
Morena De Angola
Elba Ramalho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Será que ela mexe o chocalho ou o chocalho é que mexe com ela
Morena de Angola que leva o chocalho amarrado na canela
Será que ela mexe o chocalho ou o chocalho é que mexe com ela
Será que a morena cochila escutando o cochicho do chocalho
Será que desperta gingando e já sai chocalhando pro trabalho
Morena de Angola que leva o chocalho amarrado na canela
Será que ela mexe o chocalho ou o chocalho é que mexe com ela
Será que tá na cozinha guisando a galinha à cabidela
Será que esqueceu da galinha e ficou batucando na panela
Será que no meio da mata, na moita, a morena inda chocalha
Será que ela não fica afoita pra dançar na chama da batalha
Morena de Angola que leva o chocalho amarrado na canela
Passando pelo regimento ela faz requebrar a sentinela
Morena de Angola que leva o chocalho amarrado na canela
Será que ela mexe o chocalho ou o chocalho é que mexe com ela
Será que ela tá caprichando no peixe que eu trouxe de Benguela
Será que tá no remelexo e abandonou meu peixe na tigela
Será que quando fica choca põe de quarentena o seu chocalho
Será que depois ela bota a canela no nicho do pirralho
Morena de Angola que leva o chocalho amarrado na canela
Eu acho que deixei um cacho do meu coração na catumbela
Morena de Angola que leva o chocalho amarrado na canela
Morena, bichinha danada, minha camarada do MPLA
The song "Morena De Angola" by Elba Ramalho is a tribute to a beautiful Angolan woman who wears a chocalho (a type of ankle rattle) tied around her calf. The song starts by questioning whether the woman moves the chocalho or whether the chocalho moves her. The lyrics then explore various scenarios of the woman's life, questioning whether she falls asleep listening to the chocalho's murmur, wakes up and heads to work dancing to its sound, or cooks while beating a rhythm on her pan with the chocalho. The song also wonders whether she dances in the middle of the woods or makes soldiers dance to her beat while passing by a regiment.
The song continues to speculate on whether she is cooking a fish that someone brought from Benguela, whether she keeps the chocalho in quarantine when she gets moody, and whether she will eventually pass on the chocalho to her child. The final lines of the song express the singer's admiration and fondness for the Morena, calling her a "danada bichinha" (a naughty little thing) and his "camarada do MPLA" (friend of the MPLA party).
Line by Line Meaning
Morena de Angola que leva o chocalho amarrado na canela
A beautiful dark-skinned woman from Angola who wears a rattling anklet around her leg
Será que ela mexe o chocalho ou o chocalho é que mexe com ela
I wonder if she is the one making the sound with her rattling anklet or if the sound is moving her rhythmically
Será que a morena cochila escutando o cochicho do chocalho
Does this woman fall asleep listening to the sweet sound of the rattling anklet?
Será que desperta gingando e já sai chocalhando pro trabalho
Does she wake up moving to the rhythm of the anklet and then head out already making music with it?
Será que tá na cozinha guisando a galinha à cabidela
Is she in the kitchen cooking a tasty chicken dish called cabidela?
Será que esqueceu da galinha e ficou batucando na panela
Did she get so caught up in the music that she forgot about the dish she was cooking?
Será que no meio da mata, na moita, a morena inda chocalha
I wonder if she still wears her anklet and dances in the bushes in the middle of the forest
Será que ela não fica afoita pra dançar na chama da batalha
Is she not afraid to dance in the heat of battle?
Passando pelo regimento ela faz requebrar a sentinela
As she walks by the soldiers, she makes them dance with her seductive moves
Será que ela tá caprichando no peixe que eu trouxe de Benguela
Is she cooking and seasoning the fish I brought back from Benguela with care?
Será que tá no remelexo e abandonou meu peixe na tigela
Did she get so lost in the music that she forgot about the fish in the bowl?
Será que quando fica choca põe de quarentena o seu chocalho
Does she put her anklet in quarantine when she is upset or angry?
Será que depois ela bota a canela no nicho do pirralho
Does she put the anklet away in a special place when she is done wearing it?
Eu acho que deixei um cacho do meu coração na catumbela
I think a piece of my heart has been left in Catumbela
Morena, bichinha danada, minha camarada do MPLA
Beautiful and wild woman, my friend from the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola
Writer(s): chico buarque
Contributed by Hunter F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lilian Ribeiro
Grande intérprete da música brasileira. A dona do meu coração oh mulher maravilhosa, te amo diva❤
Clebson José
Linda homenagem a Clara Nunes ❤
Fábio Ribeiro
Linda 😍
Adriana Etelvina
Linda. Saudades de clara Nunes parabéns Elba maravilhoso
Germana Vidal
Duas divas, Elba Ramalho e Clara nunes
Kaia
Eu tava nesse dia que saudade fo meu 🇧🇷
Bruno Isidoro
Deve ter sido fantástico.😄
amiguinhos da yara
Amei
Paulo Correia
Amo você, quando dancei no cavalo dourado que me chamaste para dançar ...Eu primo de nado cordel. Kkkk
Matheus Malaghini Moreira
Meu Deus, melhor interpretação