"Wait... I know that voice! I know that song!"

It was quite unexpected when I saw Denise Dumont singing Tico-Tico no Fubá, 30 years ago, in the very beginning of Radio Days. In case you don't know, she is a Brazilian actress who has been living in New York since the end of the eighties (her husband is british writer/director/producer Matthew Chapman).

In Radio Days - a Woody Allen's film, released in 1987 -, Denise plays a latin singer who performs in a bar or something like that. The scene is very short, but it's easy for many Brazilians to recognize both melody and lyrics of Tico-Tico no Fubá. In spite of its first recording had been made in 1931, the song became popular in the 1940s, thanks to Carmen Miranda.

Speaking of her, Miranda was kinda the first "Brazilian music ambassadress" in the US. If on the one hand her work contributed to diffuse part of our culture abroad, on the other hand her outfit (especially her striking fruit hat) turned into a stereotype of the Brazilian women. Anyhow, Carmen Miranda helped to promote important Brazil's songwriters, like Dorival Caymmi.

It's so cool when I'm watching an American movie and I hear a familiar tune, with a voice singing in Portuguese! Some years ago, I saw Nacho LIbre, starred by Jack Black. It's a silly, funny movie, no big deal, but at one point, I said to myself: "Wait... I know that voice! I know that song!". The track was Irene, by Caetano Veloso. Recently, I had the same feeling when I was watching You're not you, starred by Hilary Swank. The Brazilian song included in its soundtrack is the marvellous Malemolência, by Céu.

Translating the word malemolência to English is tough. However, googling around, I've found this amazing and very satisfactory solution: Swing Mood.  How about to replicate the original words in Portuguese here, followed by the entire translation of the song lyrics, made by José Thomaz?


Malemolência (Swing Mood)

Veio até mim (You came up to me)
Quem deixou (Who did allow )
Me olhar assim (You look at me this way)
Não pediu (You didn't)
Minha permissão (Ask for my permission)
Não pude evitar (I couldn't avoid it)
Tirou meu ar (You stole my breath)
Fiquei sem chão... (I felt so lost)

Menino bonito (Handsome boy)
Menino bonito, ai! (Handsome boy, oh)
Ai menino bonito (Oh, handome boy
Menino bonito, ai!... (Handsome boy, oh)

É tudo o que eu posso (That's all that)
Lhe adiantar (I can tell you now)
O que é um beijo (What is a kiss)
Se eu posso ter o teu olhar? (If I can have your eyes)
Cai na dança, cai! (Let us dance, dance!)
Vem pra roda (Come to the dance)
Da malemolência... (In a swing mood)

Menino bonito (Handsome boy)
Menino bonito, ai! (Hansome boy, oh)
Ai menino bonito (Oh, handsome boy)
Menino bonito, ai!...(Handsome boy, oh)

É tudo que eu posso (That's all that)
Lhe adiantar (I can tell you now)
O que é um beijo (What is a kiss)
Se eu posso ter o teu olhar? (If I can have your eyes)
Cai na dança, cai (Let us dance, dance)
Vem pra roda (Come to the dance)
Da malemolência... (In a swing mood)

Menino bonito (Handsome biy)
Menino bonito, ai! (Handsome boy, oh)
Ai menino bonito (Oh, handsone boy)
Menino bonito, ai! (Handsome boy, oh)

Let's finish with a video, shall we? During her performance of Malemolência, below, Céu and her band incidentally include another song, Mora na filosofia (written by Monsueto Menezes e Arnaldo Passos)

Dear Madonna, that is not samba at all!

Everybody loves Madonna, don't they? Also called the "Queen of Pop", she became a show business icon during the two last decades of the 20th century. Even though she's not on the top of the best-selling singers' list currently, it's hard to not keep in mind her former renown, as well as her hits.

Speaking of her most popular songs, a few days ago I turned on the radio and La Isla Bonita was playing. I started to sing along when suddenly I realized that there was a substantial mistake in the lyrics. (Once that track was released in 1987, I took thirty years to notice the error. What a moron!).

She sings: 

"And when the samba played

The sun would set so high
Ring through my ears and sting my eyes
Your Spanish lullaby"

Wait a second... What? The whole tune has nothing to do with samba! We can hear Cuban drums and something like Caribbean tones, a Spanish acoustic guitar... However, the famous Brazilian beat is not on the menu. So why the hell did Madonna come up with the word samba? 

My guess: Many Americans (even nowadays) think that cha-cha, mambo, rumba, samba and other Latin rhythms are the same stuff; Latin America, in their opinion, has indistinguishable cultural traits from country to country - thus, who would care about the difference between salsa and merengue, or between cumbia and conga?

Well, I care. 

As a Latin American (as a Brazilian, to be more specific), I'm able to say: La Isla Bonita, despite its enchantment, is not samba at all!

An admirable Brazilian song

Every single music lover knows: Samba is the most authentic genre of Brazilian music. Originated from African rhythms, samba is the cultural portrait of my country to many people. Though I personally prefer hard rock and heavy metal, that contagious Brazil's beat also appeals to me.

Last month (in my other blog) I spoke briefly of a Brazilian song - Pra que discutir com madame? - that I really enjoy (Besta Quadrada, the other blog, is written in Portuguese; if you want to visit it, click here). Pra que discutir com madame? was composed by Haroldo Barbosa and Janet de Almeida in 1956. Years later, singer and acoustic guitarist João Gilberto recorded it, making it known abroad.

How about listening to the song?

  

A few days ago, I came across with a nice translation of the song lyric in the musician João Macdowell's blog.

Check it out (I put the translation lines and the original Portuguese lyrics side by side):

WHY SHOULD I ARGUE WITH MADAM? (PRA QUE DISCUTIR COM MADAME?)                                           

Madam says the reason the race does not improve, (Madame diz que a raça não melhora,)

That life just gets worse because of Samba (Que a vida piora por causa do samba)

Madam says that Samba is full of sin (Madame diz que o samba é pecado)

That poor Samba should disappear. (Que o samba, coitado, devia acabar)

Madam says that samba has cachaça, (Madame diz que o samba tem cachaça,)

mixing races, mixing colors, (mistura de raça, mistura de cor,)

Madam says that democratic Samba (Madame diz que o samba democrata)

is just cheap music, it’s worthless. (É música barata sem nenhum valor)

                                        
                                         [Chorus:]

Let’s put an end to the Samba, (Vamos acabar com o samba,)

Madam doesn’t like to see the Samba (Madame não gosta que ninguém sambe)

She keeps on saying Samba is a shame (Vive dizendo que samba é vexame)

Why should I argue with Madam? (Pra que discutir com madame?)

Carnival is near, and this year I’m in the contest  (No Carnaval que vem também concorro)

My gang from the favela is coming down, singing opera. (Meu bloco de morro vai cantar ópera)

and in the sweaty alleys, when it’s hot, loud and packed, (E na avenida entre mil apertos)

every single voice will sing a concert. (Vocês vão ver gente cantando concerto)

Madam is a little bit nuts (Madame tem um parafuso a menos)

She spits out so much poison, My God, what a shame (Só fala veneno, Meu Deus, que horror)

Brazilian democratic Samba (O samba brasileiro democrata)

Roots of Brazil, we have pride and we know our worth. (Brasileiro na batata é que tem valor)

Come to think of it, I would've translated the last line a little bit differently... Anyway. Macdowell claims that "the lyrics present a very straight forward version of the narrative of cultural conflicts and coexistence of contrasting systems of value that permeates Brazilian culture. There is a rich discourse about the nature of this cultural tension that is exposed through the song". I totally agree with him.

Furthermore, the tune is simply irresistible, mainly when the song is played by a complete group of sambistas, like these guys below, joined to the marvelous singer Teresa Cristina. Enjoy yourself!