É Lampião

History and sentiment behind song

This song refers to Lampião who was the leader of a famous ruthless bandit group called Cangaço in the Northeast of Brazil, by his side he had his lover, Maria Bonita. Lampião and his band were betrayed by one of his supporters and were ambushed by the police in one of his hideouts. Despite his history of brutal acts and savagery, there was enough in his undoubted courage, his many fights against heavy odds, his occasional acts of mercy and charity, his conventional piety and calculated courting of publicity to ensure that Lampião entered Brazilian folk-history as a hero.

Sertão refers to the semi-arid region comprising parts of the states of Bahia, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará and Piauí.