Maria Rita began to sing professionally aged 24, even though she began to sing since she was 14. Her first CD, 'Maria Rita', launched her career, with the first cut on her first album, "A Festa (The Party)", written by Milton Nascimento, a Brazilian singer-songwriter. The CD was platinum and was a hit worldwide. After that album she became an international star. Her mother's career as a renowned singer had a major influence in Maria Rita's life as a singer; She was always conscious of being the single daughter of a great singer. Despite having her mother's vocal DNA, Maria Rita developed her own jazzy vocal style, influenced by singers, like among others, Ella Fitzgerald. She won the 2004 Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist in the General Area. Her debut album, 'Maria Rita', won the Best MPB (Popular Brasilian Music) Album award of that year. Rita is pronounced "HEE-taaa".
Onze Fitas
Maria Rita Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tava lá morto e posto, um desregrado
Onze tiros fizeram a avaria
E o morto já tava conformado
Onze tiros e não sei porque tantos
Esses tempos não tão pra ninharia
Não fosse a vez daquele um outro ia (pausa)
Deus o livre morrer assassinado
Três dias num terreno abandonado
Ostentando onze fitas de Ogum
Quantas vezes se leu só nesta semana
Essa história contada assim por cima
A verdade não rima
A verdade não rima
A verdade não rima...
The lyrics of Maria Rita's song Onze Fitas tell the story of a man who was killed in a violent and senseless act, with eleven shots fired at him. The first line suggests that the motive for the killing could have been by mistake, revenge, or even an act of kindness. The second line describes the victim as someone who was reckless and uncontrolled, already resigned to his fate. The repetition of "onze" (eleven) throughout the song emphasizes the brutality of the killing, as it seems that the victim was shot multiple times.
The next verse suggests that the times we live in are not for trivial matters, and that anyone could have been the victim of a similar fate. However, the next line reveals that the victim was someone who held a special place in the community, someone who was important enough to have eleven ribbons of Ogum, a deity associated with war and protection, tied around his wrist. The final lines of the song suggest that this story is just one of many similar incidents, but that the truth behind them is never easy to uncover.
Overall, the lyrics of Onze Fitas paint a picture of a violent and uncertain world, where even the strongest and most protected members of society are not safe.
Line by Line Meaning
Por engano, vingança ou cortesia
Whether by mistake, revenge, or courtesy
Tava lá morto e posto, um desregrado
He was there dead and laid out, a lawless one
Onze tiros fizeram a avaria
Eleven shots caused the damage
E o morto já tava conformado
And the dead man was already resigned to it
Onze tiros e não sei porque tantos
Eleven shots and I don't know why so many
Esses tempos não tão pra ninharia
These times are not for trivial matters
Não fosse a vez daquele um outro ia (pausa)
If it wasn't his turn, someone else would have gone
Deus o livre morrer assassinado
God forbid dying murdered
Pro seu santo não era um qualquer um
For his saint, he was not just anyone
Três dias num terreno abandonado
Three days in an abandoned lot
Ostentando onze fitas de Ogum
Displaying eleven Ogum ribbons
Quantas vezes se leu só nesta semana
How many times was this read just this week
Essa história contada assim por cima
This story told only in passing
A verdade não rima
The truth doesn't rhyme
A verdade não rima
The truth doesn't rhyme
A verdade não rima...
The truth doesn't rhyme...
Contributed by Addison H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.