Batuque de Pirapora

I was just a kid
Mom said: let’s go
You’re getting baptized
In the samba of Pirapora
Mom made a promise
To dress me like an angel
Dressed me in sky blue
With a crown on my head
You could hear the voice of the party host
In the middle of the crowd
Black boy can’t leave
Here in this procession
Mom, a determined woman
Asked the saint for forgiveness
Threw my wings away
Took me to the shack
There in the shanty
Everything was joy
The guy was pounding on the drum
And the ox was groaning
The little black kid initiated
In a terreiro batuque
Samba from Piracicaba
Tietê and Campinas
The stars of Paulicéia
I can’t forget
Fredericão on the drum
Made the earth shake
I grew up in the circle of bamba
In the middle of the joy
Eunice led the beat
Dona Olímpia would respond
Sinhá danced in the circle
Wearing out her sandals
And the dust would rise
With the wind from the seven skirts
There in the terreiro
Everything was joy
The guy was pounding on the drum
And the ox was groaning
There in the terreiro
Everything was joy
The guy was pounding on the drum
And the ox was groaning.