Besouro Mangangá
Lyrics, Translations, Music Video and Song Meaning
Song Lyrics
0:10 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:14 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:18 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:23 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:25 - Cidade de Santo Amaro
Eng: The city of Santo Amaro
0:27 - Terra do Maculele
Eng: The land of Maculele
0:29 - Viu os Mestres Popo e Vavá
Eng: I saw the Masters Popo and Vava
0:31 - E viu Besouro a nascer
Eng: And saw the birth of Besouro
0:33 - Besouro Besouro Besouro
Eng: Besouro Besouro Besouro
0:35 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:39 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:42 - Besouro cordão de ouro
Eng: Besouro cordão de ouro
0:44 - Manoel Henrique Pereira
Eng: Manoel Henrique Pereira
0:46 - Desordeiro pra polícia
Eng: Made mass to the police
0:48 - Uma lenda pra Capoeira
Eng: A legend to the Capoeira
0:50 - Eeeee Besouro
Eng: Eeeee Besouro
0:52 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:56 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
0:59 - Mandinga nao vai pegar
Eng: Magic won't catch
1:00 - Pois tinha corpo fechado
Eng: Because he has a closed body
1:02 - Conheceu Noca e Barroquinha
Eng: Visited local Barroquinha
1:04 - Doze Homens e Canario Pardo
Eng: Twelve Men and Brown Canario
1:06 - Eeeee Besouro
Eng: Eeeee Besouro
1:08 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
1:12 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
1:15 - A lenda diz que Mangangá
Eng: The legend tells that Mangangá
1:17 - Também sabia voar
Eng: Also knew to fly
1:19 - Transformando em besouro
Eng: Transform to Beatle
1:21 - Pra da polícia escapar
Eng: To escape the police
1:23 - Besouro Besouro Besouro
Eng: Besouro Besouro Besouro
1:25 - Besouro Mangangá
Eng: Besouro Mangangá
History and sentiment behind song
Besouro became a folk legend in Bahia in Brazil, as he became renowned for fighting injustice and standing up for the oppressed and impoverished black population in the area. Although slavery was officially abolished, many poor black workers were only “paid” with accommodation and food: it was really still slavery, just under a different name. The “police” were the armed enforcers of the powerful landlords, ensuring the status quo. The legends state that Besouro refused to accept these injustices, and would demand fair pay for his labour and that of the local people. When the plantation owners would call in the police in an attempt to quell the uprisings, he would use his amazing capoeira skills to fight for justice. There are numerous stories where Besouro would be hugely outnumbered by police armed with weapons and guns, but would escape unharmed to fight another day. His apelido “Besouro” referred to this ability to always escape these precarious situations: Like a beetle he could scurry away or take flight, evading capture. “Mangangá” is a word of African origin, which refers to a type of magical spell, which is used to create a “closed body” (corpo fechado), making it invincible against attack, even from knives and bullets, providing that the person wears a “Patua” (magic amulet) and abstains from sex.
