An uncommon artist with an uncommon sopranino voice, Ney Matogrosso fell in the Brazilian popular music scene like a bomb in the '70s aboard the Secos & Molhados. The end of the group marked the beginning of a fertile and successful solo career in which he began exploring his sensuous and charismatic persona through satiric and ironic repertories. As time passed, he substituted self-contained and deeply sensitive interpretations of classics for the popular and classical Brazilian music. Along with his representative and prolific solo discography, for which he received three platinum and three gold records, Matogrosso recorded in Itália with Astor Piazzola, performed in Argentina, Uruguay, participated in two Montreux Jazz Festivals (Switzerland), and toured Portugal several times. He also performed in Israel and the U.S., but always refused invitations to develop an international career. Matogrosso also worked as an actor in Sonho de Valsa (by Ana Carolina, the director, not the singer/composer) and Caramujo Flor (short subject by Joel Pizzini), and directed shows by RPM, Cazuza, and Simone.
Arriving in Rio de Janeiro in 1966, Matogrosso became a hippie leather artisan and divided his time between Rio, São Paulo, and Brasília, where he was a close friend of singer/composer Luli. Through her he met João Ricardo, who had a vision for a groundbreaking group and was searching for a high-pitched male voice. Invited by Ricardo, Matogrosso moved to São Paulo where he spent one year dedicating himself to exhaustive rehearsals, artisanship, and theater plays. With the explosive success of Secos e Molhados and the group's final dissolution, Matogrosso started his solo career exploring his unusual voice timbre, his mesmerizing scenic persona, and his androgynous visuals, enhanced by innovative and exotic costumes. A second solo album, Água do Céu - Pássaro, was supported by the show Homem de Neanderthal, in 1975, with which Matogrosso opened in Rio de Janeiro, drawing both raves and packed houses. "Barco Negro" and "Homem com H" appeared amongst considerable polemics aroused by the usual conservatives on duty. In that period, he worked with Astor Piazzola in Milan, Italy, where he recorded a double single with the Argentinean composer. A cleaner Matogrosso recorded Bandido in 1976, having his first national hit as a solo artist with "Bandido Corazón," written especially for him by Rita Lee.
Deixa A Menina
Ney Matogrosso Lyrics
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Meu prezado rapaz
Mas você vai mal
Mas vai mal demais
São dez horas
E o samba tá quente
Deixa a morena contente
Eu não queria jogar confete
Mas tenho que dizer
Cê tá de lascar
Cê tá de doer
E se vai continuar enrustido
Com essa cara de marido
A moça é capaz de se aborrecer
Por trás de um homem triste
Há sempre uma mulher feliz
E atrás dessa mulher
Mil homens sempre tão gentis
Por isso para o seu bem
Ou tira ela cabeça
Ou mereça a moça que você tem
Não sei se é pra ficar exultante
Meu querido rapaz
Mas aqui ninguém
O agüenta mais
São três horas
E o samba tá quente
Deixe a morena contente
The lyrics of Ney Matogrosso's song "Deixa A Menina" portray a narrator who is trying to advise a man on how to treat his girlfriend. The singer seems to be in the presence of the couple and can tell that the man is not treating his girlfriend well. The first verse sets the scene for the rest of the song, where it is clear that the man is not in a good place and is making his girlfriend unhappy. The second verse suggests that the singer is hesitant to offer advice but has to say something, and informs the man that he is being difficult and unpleasant to be around.
Line by Line Meaning
Não é por estar na sua presença
I don't mean to offend you, kind sir,
Meu prezado rapaz
My dear sir,
Mas você vai mal
But you're doing poorly,
Mas vai mal demais
You're doing really poorly,
São dez horas
It's ten o'clock,
E o samba tá quente
And the samba is hot,
Deixa a morena contente
Let the young lady enjoy herself,
Deixa a menina sambar em paz
Let the girl dance in peace,
Eu não queria jogar confete
I don't mean to flatter you,
Mas tenho que dizer
But I have to tell you,
Cê tá de lascar
You're a mess,
Cê tá de doer
You're painful to watch,
E se vai continuar enrustido
And if you keep hiding your true self,
Com essa cara de marido
With that husband-like expression,
A moça é capaz de se aborrecer
The young lady might get upset,
Por trás de um homem triste
Behind a sad man,
Há sempre uma mulher feliz
There's always a happy woman,
E atrás dessa mulher
And behind that woman,
Mil homens sempre tão gentis
Are a thousand men, always so kind,
Por isso para o seu bem
That's why, for your own good,
Ou tira ela cabeça
Either take her seriously,
Ou mereça a moça que você tem
Or deserve the young lady you have,
Não sei se é pra ficar exultante
I don't know if you should be ecstatic or not,
Meu querido rapaz
My dear sir,
Mas aqui ninguém
But no one here,
O agüenta mais
Can stand you anymore,
São três horas
It's three o'clock,
E o samba tá quente
And the samba is still hot,
Deixe a morena contente
Let the young lady enjoy herself
Contributed by Gabriella S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.