Um Matuto Na Capital

I lived in the backlands
And I tried to improve
I looked for a capital
Where I could live

I was born and raised
In the backlands
Wearing a half-shirt
Countryman, barefoot
I only worked in the sawmill
Because back in my land
There was no pollution

I tried to improve

When I turned ten
I didn't even have sandals
I couldn't speak properly
I didn't even know how to write
I was the worst countryman
That my town had

I tried to improve

My father was a countryman
Walked all hunched over
Wore a leather hat
Wasn't worried
When he saw a truck
He'd tip his hat
And run off in a hurry

I tried to improve

My mother was a countrywoman
To admire
If she saw a stranger
She'd run right over
She'd ask for the name
Seemed like she was hungry
To lie and ask

I tried to improve

At thirteen years old
I wouldn't even leave the house
As soon as night fell
I'd run to my hammock
I'd spend the night wrapped up
With a torn little sheet
That my mother covered me with

I tried to improve

One day, my godfather
Came to visit me at home
Invited me to go with him
To see the capital
Promising me a job
To work as a banker
Every day without stopping

I tried to improve

I told my godfather
In that case, let's go now
I packed my clothes in a bag
Tied everything outside
We got into a Chevrolet
My godfather was the driver
And we set off into the world

I tried to improve

On the way, my godfather
Deceived me like crazy
Said, 'I'll teach you
To drive my truck'
I got my first job
It was to kill bats
And push a wheelbarrow

I tried to improve

At my godfather's house
Everything was different
A pot, a refrigerator
One side cold, one side hot
I quenched my crazy thirst
Put water in my mouth
And cried with a toothache

I tried to improve

They turned on a radio
A guy singing without rhyme
A messed-up song
'They ate the cousin's crab'
The record was a skeleton
It was a paper with a black cake
And a stick wobbling on top

I tried to improve

They turned on the TV
I didn't know it either
Woman grabbing man
One crying, the other moaning
I said, you can turn it off
I don't value looking
At this kind of trash

I tried to improve

They showed me a pool table
I didn't like that damn thing
Those big balls
That don't break or get dented
The guys were there all day
They looked like the bakers
When they're kneading dough

I tried to improve

And at dinner time
I didn't like the meal
A tiny cup of coffee
A slice of bread
I said, godfather, be amazed
I like to eat traíra
And a plate of pirão

I tried to improve

And at bedtime
It was a great despair
They gave me a bed
A sheet and a pillow
Just to dirty my clothes
I slept in a burlap sack
By the bathroom door

I tried to improve

At four in the morning
I heard a guy shouting
Get up, pilgrim
It's time to get up
Come sweep the yard
The guy here only fights
If you don't want to work

I tried to improve

At five in the afternoon
I said, godfather come here
Give me my little money
Because now I'm going to date
I went after a woman
I stood in a square
Watching the men pass by

I tried to improve

It wasn't even ten minutes
That I watched the movement
A soldier arrived and said
Where are your documents
I dropped my pants
Took a beating
And got beaten like a mule

I tried to improve

After taking a beating
The soldier shouted get up
Took me to jail
Where it's not a holy house
That's where I got nervous
When I heard a criminal
Say, my dinner has arrived

I tried to improve

But fool, that I didn't know
He was a rapist
He was arrested for raping so much
That he stayed there
Looking like a horse
Scratching like a rooster
He came near me

I tried to improve

I don't deny, my friend
That I was very scared
Seeing the scoundrel dressed
In that sieve
Saying like this, my dear
When a prisoner arrives here
For me, he'll be calibrated

I tried to improve

I was very scared
Believe me, my brother
I kicked the prisoner
And broke the gate
I went crazy, running
I went to sleep on a bench
In the station square

I tried to improve

Before five minutes
That I could warm up
A drunk sat next to me
And started bothering me
He said, sir
Do me a favor
Go for me over there

I tried to improve

I said, of course not
I'll go without ceremony
I to do a favor
I have a monstrous disposition
What is it to go get
He said, it's to buy
A little marijuana

I tried to improve

Then I asked him
Where can I buy it
He said, on that street
You'll see a sign
I went to buy the misery
Because I thought it was
Something to eat

I tried to improve

I went looking on the street
Couldn't see a sign
I only saw a soldier standing
And right there I went to ask
Officer, please tell me
Where can I find marijuana
Here to buy

I tried to improve

He said, wait there
I'll show you where it is
He waved his hand
Stopped a car
With a hundred soldiers
And said my friends
Take this scoundrel
Who's a pothead too

I tried to improve

At that moment
I returned to prison
In that locked car
They call a paddy wagon
People didn't care
Wherever I showed my face
I got a shove

I tried to improve

When I left jail
I collapsed to my place
I keep fighting with cattle
At the corral gate
The truth you take
I fight with anyone
Who calls me to the capital

I lived in the backlands
And I tried to improve
I looked for a capital
Where I could live