Tercer Mundo
Secos & Molhados Lyrics

The lyrics of Secos & Molhados's song "Tercer Mundo" paint a picture of a world in motion, pulsating and spinning in a cosmic dance. The opening lines set the scene: "Ahí no lejos" ("not far away"), where "las anguilas laten" ("the eels beat") - a powerful image of life teeming just out of reach. The pulsing eels and "su planetário giro" ("their planetary rotation") suggest a larger force at work, perhaps the heartbeat of the earth itself.

The second stanza introduces the idea of waiting for "el ingreso" ("the entrance") into the dance, which no dancer on this side of the world has ever danced. This may refer to a sense of being excluded from the larger rhythm of life, or of waiting to be included in a more global community. The song's title, "Tercer Mundo" ("Third World"), suggests a sense of being on the margins, outside of the power structures and cultural movements that dominate the mainstream.

The final lines of the song reflect this sense of being on the brink of something, hovering on the "vispera de sí mismo" ("eve of oneself"). The "chapoteador de história" ("splasher of history") suggests a figure who is actively engaged in shaping the future, but who is also subject to the tides of history - a reflection, perhaps, of the political upheavals of the 1970s, when the song was written.