When she was twelve, her father gave her a guitar since he was worried about her being shy. Popular musician and composer Patricio Teixeira and classical guitarist Solon Ayala were her teachers. While still a teenager, she met a number of singers and composers who took part of Bossa Nova's musical revolution, in late 50s and early 60s, including Roberto Menescal, Carlos Lyra, Ronaldo Bôscoli, João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
By 1963, after singing as an amateur for a few years, she became a professional and toured with Sergio Mendes. In the mid-1960s, the institution of military dictatorship in Brazil led her to sing increasingly political lyrics. Her show "Opinião" reflected her political beliefs and she had largely switched to political music by this point. In 1964, she even spoke against bossa nova as a movement, calling it "alienating". In 1968, being part of the Tropicália movement, she appeared on the album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses, performing "Lindonéia."
She later left Brazil for Paris and in the 1970s abandoned music to focus on her family. She returned to music later and when she discovered, in 1979, that she had an inoperable brain tumor she increased her productivity as much as possible. She died in 1989, leaving a great legacy behind her succesful years of career.
Na roda da capoeira
Nara Leão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Menino quem foi teu mestre?
Meu mestre foi Salomão
A ele devo dinheiro,
Saber e obrigação.
O segredo de são Cosme
Quem sabe é são Damião.
Água de beber camará,
Faca de cortar camará, ferro de engomar olê,
Ferro de engomar camará, perna de brigar camará
These lyrics are from the Brazilian samba song "Na roda da capoeira" by Nara Leão. The song is about the African-Brazilian martial art, capoeira, which combines elements of dance, acrobatics, and music. The first two lines of the song ask the boy who his master was in capoeira, to which he replies that his master was Salomão, and he owes him debt, knowledge and obligation for all that he has learned. This speaks to the traditional teacher-apprentice relationship in capoeira, where the student is indebted to their master for their training and knowledge.
The next line references two Catholic saints, Cosme and Damião, who are known in Brazil as the patron saints of children. The "secret of São Cosme" is a reference to the rituals and traditions surrounding the celebration of the saint's day in Brazil, which involves the giving of gifts to children. The next set of lines mention drinking water and cutting knives, followed by ironing irons and fighting legs. These lines allude to some of the everyday objects used in capoeira, as well as the physicality and aggression of the art form.
Line by Line Meaning
Menino quem foi teu mestre?
Boy, who was your master?
Meu mestre foi Salomão
My master was Salomão
A ele devo dinheiro,
I owe him money,
Saber e obrigação.
Knowledge and obligation.
O segredo de são Cosme
The secret of São Cosme
Quem sabe é são Damião.
Is known by São Damião.
Água de beber camará,
Water to drink Camará,
Água de beber camará, faca de cortar olê
Water to drink Camará, knife to cut Olê
Faca de cortar camará, ferro de engomar olê,
Knife to cut Camará, iron to iron Olê,
Ferro de engomar camará, perna de brigar camará
Iron to iron Camará, leg to fight Camará
Contributed by Adalyn N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.