| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| Mandei caiar meu sobrado | |
| Mandei, mandei, mandei | |
| Mandei caiar de amarelo | |
| Caiei, caiei, caiei |
Mandei caiar meu sobrado
Mandei, mandei, mandei
Mandei caiar de amarelo
Caiei, caiei, caiei
Amarelo que lembra dourado
Dourado, que é meu berimbau
Dourado, de cordão de ouro
Besouro, Besouro, Besouro
Mandei caiar meu sobrado
Mandei, mandei, mandei
Mandei caiar de amarelo
Caiei, caiei, caiei
Pra quem nunca ouviu falar
E pra aqueles que dizem: é lenda
Pois saibam que Besouro Preto
Viveu, viveu e morreu
Mandei caiar meu sobrado
Mandei, mandei, mandei
Mandei caiar de amarelo
Caiei, caiei, caiei
Pras bandas de Maracangalha
Sem temer a inimigo nenhum
Não valeu, seu corpo fechado
Pras facas de ticum
Mandei caiar meu sobrado
Mandei, mandei, mandei
Mandei caiar de amarelo
Caiei, caiei, caiei
Mas mesmo depois de morto
Entre uma e outra cantiga
Besouro vai sempre viver
Enquanto existir mandinga
Mandei caiar meu sobrado
Mandei, mandei, mandei
Mandei caiar de amarelo
Caiei, caiei, caiei | I had my house painted
I did, I did, I did
I had it painted yellow
I painted, I painted, I painted
I had my house painted
I did, I did, I did
I had it painted yellow
I painted, I painted, I painted
Yellow which is reminiscent of gold
Golden, which is my berimbau
Gold, from gold cord
Besouro, Besouro, Besouro
I had my house painted
I did, I did, I did
I had it painted yellow
I painted, I painted, I painted
For those who have never heard
And for those who say: it's a legend
Know that Besouro Preto
Lived, lived, and died
I had my house painted
I did, I did, I did
I had it painted yellow
I painted, I painted, I painted
Around Maracangalha
Without fearing any enemy
It didn't work, his closed body
For ticum knives
I had my house painted
I did, I did, I did
I had it painted yellow
I painted, I painted, I painted
But even after he died
Between one and another song
Besouro will always live
As long as there is mandinga
I had my house painted
I did, I did, I did
I had it painted yellow
I painted, I painted, I painted |
Author: Unknown (Do you know who wrote this song? Tell us in the comments!)
T/L: The chorus of this song is a bit awkward to translate white still trying to fit a song-structure, so I made adaptations for the above English lyrics. "Mandei" is "I ordered/hired people to do something", roughly. "Caiar" is actually "to whitewash" in English, in the sense of applying a solution (the composition may vary) to paint walls white.