Quilombo / Tiro de Misericórdia / Escadas da Penha
João Bosco Lyrics

Ê, fogo ateia, fogo ateia, fogo
The fire ignites, and as it spreads, so will the passion of this song.

Ê, ponta afia, ponta afia, ponta
Sharpen your weapons for the battles ahead.

Ê, canta pro amor, canta por amor, canta
Sing for love, for it is what fuels the struggle.

O menino cresceu entre a ronda e a cana
The boy grew up surrounded by police and danger.

Correndo nos beco que nem ratazana
Running through dark alleys like a rat.

Entre a punga e o afano, entre a carta e a ficha
Caught between pickpocketing and crime, between hope and desperation.

Subindo em pedreira que nem lagartixa
Scaling steep hills like a lizard.

Borel, juramento, urubu, catacumba
Names of places where he grew up - rough neighborhoods filled with danger.

Nas roda de samba, no eró da macumba
Finding solace in the music, dance, and rituals of his culture.

Matriz, querosene, Salgueiro, Turano
More names of the places he lived, with each having its own unique struggles.

Mangueira, São Carlo, menino mandando
Eventually becoming a leader in his community, even as an adolescent.

Ídolo de poeira, marafo e farelo
A local hero, loved by the people who lived in the same conditions he had.

Um deus de bermuda e pé-de-chinelo
A deity, admired and respected, despite his humble clothing and shoes.

Imperador dos morro, reizinho nagô
The lord of the hill, a king among the African descendants.

O corpo fechado por babalaôs
Protected by spiritual leaders, he was safe from harm.

Baixou Oxolufã com as espadas de prata
The deity Oxolufã, wielding silver swords, has appeared.

Com sua coroa de escuro e de vício
Dark and sinful, Oxolufã bears a crown.

Baixou Cão-Xangô com o machado de asa
The deity Cão-Xangô, with his winged axe, has also appeared.

Com seu fogo brabo nas mãos de Corisco
His fiery wrath is like that of a lightning bolt, as deadly as the infamous outlaw Corisco.

Ogunhê se plantou pelas encruzilhadas
The deity Ogunhê rises and stands at crossroads.

Com todos seus ferros
Armed with all his weapons.

Com lança e enxada
With spear and hoe.

E Oxossi com seu arco e flecha e seus galos
The deity Oxossi, with his bow and arrow and roosters.

E suas abelhas na beira da mata
And his bees, at the edge of the forest.

E Oxum trouxe pedra e água da cachoeira
The deity Oxum brings rock and water from the waterfall.

Em seu coração de espinhos dourados
In her heart made of golden thorns.

Iemanjá, o alumínio, as sereias do mar
The deity Iemanjá, goddess of aluminum and the mermaids of the sea.

E um batalhão de mil afogados
And a battalion of one thousand drowned souls.

Iansã trouxe as almas e os vendavais
The deity Iansã, bringing both souls and storms.

Adagas e ventos, trovões e punhais
Daggers and winds, thunder and knives.

Oxum-maré largou suas cobras no chão
The deity Oxum-maré sets her snakes loose on the ground.

Soltou sua trança, quebrou o arco-íris
Releasing her braid, she breaks the rainbow.

Omulu trouxe o chumbo e o chocalho de guizos
The deity Omulu brings lead and the sound of rattles.

Lançando a doença pra seus inimigos
Using the disease as a weapon against his enemies.

E Nana-Buruquê trouxe a chuva e a vassoura
The deity Nana-Buruquê brings rain and broom.

Pra terra dos corpos
For the earth of the bodies.

Pro sangue dos mortos
For the blood of the dead.

Exus na capa da noite soltaram a gargalhada
The spirits Exus, under the cover of night, laugh aloud.

E avisaram a cilada pros Orixás
And warned the Orixás of the trap ahead.

Exus, Orixás, menino, lutaram como puderam
Exus, Orixás, and the boy fought as best they could.

Mas era muita matraca pra pouco berro
Unfortunately, the odds were not in their favor.

Ai ai ai, ai ai ai ai ai ai
Expressing lament and sorrow.

E lá no horto maldito, no chão do Pendura-Saia
In that cursed garden, on the ground of the Pendura-Saia.

Zumbi menino Lumumba tomba da raia
The boy, a young Zumbi or Lumumba, falls at the race's finish line.

Mandando bala pra baixo contra as falanges do mal
Firing his gun at the forces of evil.

Arcanjos velhos, coveiros do carnaval
The old archangels, grave diggers of the carnival.

Irmãos, irmãs, irmãozinhos
Brothers, sisters, little brothers.

Por que me abandonaram?
Why have you abandoned me?

Por que nos abandonamos em cada cruz?
Why have we abandoned ourselves at every cross?

Nem tudo está consumado
Not everything is set in stone.

A minha morte é só uma Ganga, Lumumba, Lorca, Jesus
My death is like that of Ganga, Lumumba, Lorca, and Jesus.

Grampearam o menino do corpo fechado
They caught the boy with his body protected by the spirits.

E barbarizaram com mais de cem tiros
And they savagely shot him over a hundred times.

Treze anos de vida sem misericórdia
Thirteen years of life without mercy or compassion.

E a misericórdia no último tiro
And mercy, ironic as it may seem, was delivered in the last bullet.

Morreu como um cachorro e gritou feito um porco
He died like a dog and screamed like a pig.

Depois de pular igual a macaco
After leaping like a monkey.

Vou jogar nesses três que nem ele morreu
I'm going to gamble like he died.

Num jogo cercado pelos sete lados
In a game with seven surrounded sides.

Nas escadas da Penha penou
He suffered on the stairs of Penha.

No cotoco de vela velou
He kept vigil with a stub of a candle.

A doideira da chama chamou
The madness of the flame called out to him.

O seu anjo-de-guarda guardou
His guardian angel watched over him.

O remorso num canto cantou
Remorse sang in one corner.

A mentira da nega negou
The lie of the woman denied.

O ciúme que mata matou
The jealousy that kills had done its deed.

O amigo de ala 'tá lá
The friend from the group is there.

'Tá lá o valete
The jack is there.

No meio das cartas
In the middle of the cards.

No jogo dos búzios
In the game of the shells.

'Tá lá no risco da pemba
It's there in the pemba lines.

No giro da pomba
When the dove spins.

No som do atabaque
In the sound of the atabaque.

'Tá lá
It's there.

E 'tá no cigarro, no copo de cana
It's also in the cigarette, and in the cup of cachaça.

Na roda de samba, 'tá lá
In the samba circle, it's there.

Nos olhos da nega na faca do crime
In the eyes of the woman, at the knife of the crime.

No caco do espelho no gol do seu time
In the piece of mirror, at the goal of his team.

'Tá lá o amigo de ala
The friend from the group is there.

O amigo de ala matou
The friend from the group has killed.

O ciúme que mata negou
The jealousy that kills was denied.

A mentira da nega cantou
The lie of the woman was sung.

O remorso num canto guardou
Remorse was locked in one corner.

O seu anjo-de-guarda chamou
His guardian angel called out to him.

A doideira da chama velou
The madness of the flame watched over him.

No cotoco da vela penou
He suffered by the stub of the candle.

No cotoco da vela penou, diz
He suffered by the stub of the candle, they say.

Nas escadas da Penha
On the stairs of Penha.