Capoeira Me Chama ♫

Capoeira me chama
E eu vou atender
Entro na roda sem medo
Com malícia e segredo
Pronto pra me defender

Com um pouco de molejo
Vou de encontro ao berimbau
Quem não sabe agora aprende
É o arame, a cabaça e um pedaço de pau

Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira me chama da licença meu senhor
Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira me chama da licença meu senhor

Você dança e se defende
Nesta ginga original
Que mexe tanto com a gente
Envolvendo até a mente
Na origem mundial

Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira me chama da licença meu senhor
Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira me chama da licença meu senhor

Capoeira calls me
And I will answer
I enter the roda without fear
With slyness and secrecy
Ready to defend myself

Capoeira calls me
And I will answer
I enter the circle without fear
With malice and secrecy
Ready to defend myself

With a bit of sway
I’m going to meet the berimbau
Those who don’t know now learn
It’s the wire, the gourd and a stick

Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira calls me excuse me sir
Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira calls me excuse me sir

You dance and defend yourself
In this original ginga
That moves us so much
Engaging even the mind
At the origin of the world

Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira calls me excuse me sir
Iê aaaaa, iê ooooo
Capoeira calls me excuse me sir

Did you know?

The berimbau is a single-string musical bow of African origin that functions as the absolute leader and commander of the roda.
The instrument dictates the exact speed, stylistic tone, and combat intensity of the capoeiristas through specific rhythms known as toques.
A traditional berimbau is constructed from a wooden staff, a steel wire, a hollowed gourd resonator, a small stone or coin, a bamboo shaker, and a wooden thin stick.
In a traditional orchestra, three distinct pitches are used: the deep-toned gunga to lead the group, the medium médio to hold the rhythm, and the high-pitched viola to improvise.
Enslaved Africans historically used the live music of the bow to camouflage their outlawed martial art, making the training look like an innocent dance to colonial authorities.
Today, the instrument holds a sacred status within the art, and capoeiristas show immense reverence toward it, celebrating its spiritual voice in countless traditional songs.