Guerreiro Do Quilombo
Lyrics, Translations, Music Video and Song Meaning
Song Lyrics
0:26 - Eeeeeeeeeee
Eng: Eeeeeeeeeee
0:30 - Sou Guerreiro do Quilombo, Quilombola
Eng: I'm a Warrior of Quilombo, Quilombola
0:34 - Lê lê lê ô
Eng: Read reads read ô
0:35 - Eu sou Negro dos Bantos de Angola
Eng: I am Negro of the Bantos of Angola
0:38 - Negro nagô
Eng: Negro Nagô
0:40 - Sou Guerreiro do Quilombo, Quilombola
Eng: I'm a Warrior of Quilombo, Quilombola
0:43 - Lê lê lê ô
Eng: Read reads read ô
0:45 - Eu sou Negro dos Bantos de Angola
Eng: I am Negro of the Bantos of Angola
0:48 - Negro nagô
Eng: Negro Nagô
0:50 - Fomos trazidos pro Brasil
Eng: We were brought to Brazil
0:52 - Minha família separou
Eng: My family separated
0:54 - Minha mana foi vendida
Eng: My mana has been sold
0:56 - Pra fazenda de um senhor
Eng: To a lord's farm
0:59 - O meu pai morreu no tronco
Eng: My father died in the trunk
1:02 - No chicote do feitor
Eng: In the overseer's whip
1:04 - O meu irmão não tem a orelha
Eng: My brother doesn't have an ear
1:06 - Porque o feitor arrancou
Eng: Because the overseer took off
1:09 - Na mente trago tristeza
Eng: In my mind I bring sadness
1:11 - E no corpo muita dor
Eng: And a lot of pain in the body
1:14 - Mas olha um dia
Eng: But look one day
1:16 - Pro quilombo eu fugi
Eng: I ran away to the quilombo
1:18 - Com muita luta e muita garra
Eng: With a lot of struggle and a lot of determination
1:20 - Me tornei um guerreiro de Zumbi
Eng: I became a zombie warrior
1:23 - Ao passar do tempo
Eng: Over time
1:25 - Pra fazenda eu retornei
Eng: I returned to the farm
1:27 - Soltei todos os escravos
Eng: I released all the slaves
1:29 - E as senzalas eu queimei
Eng: And the slave quarters I burned
1:33 - A liberdade
Eng: The Liberty
1:34 - Não tava escrita em papel
Eng: It wasn't written on paper
1:37 - Nem foi dada por princesa
Eng: Nor was it given by princess
1:39 - Cujo nome Isabel
Eng: Whose name Isabel
1:42 - A liberdade
Eng: The Liberty
1:44 - Foi feita com sangue e muita dor
Eng: It was made with blood and a lot of pain
1:46 - Muitas lutas e batalhas
Eng: Many fights and battles
1:49 - Foi o que nos despertou
Eng: That's what woke us up
1:50 - Sou Guerreiro do Quilombo Quilombola
Eng: I'm a Quilombo Warrior Quilombola
1:54 - Lê lê lê ô
Eng: Read reads read ô
1:55 - Eu sou Negro dos Bantos de Angola
Eng: I am Negro of the Bantos of Angola
1:58 - Negro nagô
Eng: Negro Nagô
2:00 - Sou Guerreiro do Quilombo Quilombola
Eng: I'm a Quilombo Warrior Quilombola
2:03 - Lê lê lê ô
Eng: Read reads read ô
2:04 - Eu sou Negro dos Bantos de Angola
Eng: I am Negro of the Bantos of Angola
2:08 - Negro nagô
Eng: Negro Nagô
2:09 - Sou Guerreiro do Quilombo Quilombola
Eng: I'm a Quilombo Warrior Quilombola
2:13 - Lê lê lê ô
Eng: Read reads read ô
2:14 - Eu sou Negro dos Bantos de Angola
Eng: I am Negro of the Bantos of Angola
2:17 - Negro nagô
Eng: Negro Nagô
2:19 - Sou Guerreiro do Quilombo Quilombola
Eng: I'm a Quilombo Warrior Quilombola
2:22 - Lê lê lê ô
Eng: Read reads read ô
2:23 - Eu sou Negro dos Bantos de Angola
Eng: I am Negro of the Bantos of Angola
2:27 - Negro nagô
Eng: Negro Nagô
2:29 - Eeeeeeeeeee
Eng: Eeeeeeeeeee
History and sentiment behind song
Escaped slaves gathered and established primitive remote settlements called quilombos. Some quilombos grew, attracting more fugitive slaves, Brazilian natives and even Europeans escaping the law, and some became independent multi-ethnic states.
Life in a quilombo offered freedom and the opportunity to revive traditional cultures away from colonial oppression. In this multi-ethnic environment, constantly threatened by colonial attack, capoeira evolved into a martial art focused on war.
The biggest quilombo, the Quilombo dos Palmares, consisted of many villages which lasted more than a century, resisting at least 24 small attacks and 18 colonial invasions. Portuguese soldiers sometimes said that it took more than one dragoon to capture a quilombo warrior, since they would defend themselves with a strangely moving fighting technique. The provincial governor declared «it is harder to defeat a quilombo than the Dutch invaders.»
