Ê Boiadeiro

Coro:
**Ê boiadeiro, amarre o gado no curral, boiadeiro...
**
Introdução opcional 2:
Chapéu de palha é pra sol,
chapéu de couro é pra espinho.
Quando eu entro na mata fechada,
ai de mim se eu for sozinho,
levo o cavalado Sereno,
chapéu, perneira, gibão e Deus guiando meu caminho.

Coro:
**Debaixo do chapéu de couro mora eu, mora meu pai, mora família toda...
**
Introdução opcional 3:
De manhã, logo cedinho, eu vi meu mano levantar,
acendeu o candeeiro, começou a se arrumar,
e me disse bem baixinho: Mano, eu vou viajar,
toma conta de mãe, diz pra ela não chorar.
Eu ouvi o berimbau tocando, aonde vai mano?

Coro:
Vou ali vadiar | Hey cowboy, tie up the cattle in the corral, cowboy.
Chorus:
Hey cowboy, tie up the cattle in the corral, cowboy.

Underneath the leather hat lives I, lives my father, the whole family lives.
Chorus:
Underneath the leather hat lives I, lives my father, the whole family lives.

I heard the berimbau playing, where are you going, brother?
Chorus:
I'm going over there to play around

I heard the berimbau playing, where are you going, brother?
**Chorus:
I'm going over there to play around
**
Optional Introduction 1:
Early in the morning, when I hit the road,
I take my cattle to the pasture to stay.
There are ten heads, it's very little, almost nothing,
but there are no others more beautiful in the place.

Chorus:
**Hey cowboy, tie the cattle in the corral, cowboy...
**
Optional Introduction 2:
Straw hat is for the sun,
Leather hat is for the thorns.
When I enter the dense forest,
woe to me if I go alone, I take the horse Sereno,
hat, leg guards, leather jacket and God guiding my way.

Chorus:
**Underneath the leather hat lives I, lives my father, the whole family lives...
**
Optional Introduction 3:
Early in the morning, I saw my brother getting up,
he lit the lamp and started to get ready,
and he told me very quietly:
Brother, I'm going to travel, take care of mother, tell her not to cry. I
heard the berimbau playing, where are you going, brother?

Chorus:
**I'm going over there to play around
**
|

Interpretation: (a personal interpretation)
The chorus, "Hey cowboy, tie up the cattle in the corral, cowboy," evokes imagery of the boiadeiro (Brazilian cowboy) lifestyle, symbolizing work and responsibility. The "leather hat" mentioned throughout the song is a powerful symbol of identity and protection, representing the family or community that lives in close relationship with the cowboy lifestyle. The term "vadiar" which is translated as "to play around" in this context connotes the idea of playing Capoeira to be free of the day-to-day work.

When the song mentions hearing the berimbau and the subsequent choice to "vadiar," or play around, it introduces Capoeira: the joy of movement and the freedom it represents. This song, therefore, is not just a call to gather or a recount of daily tasks but an invitation to embrace the Capoeira way of life.