Caetano Veloso
Tigresa lyrics with English translation
- Language
- Portuguese
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1977
- Genre
- Bossa Nova
- Length
- 6:20
Uma tigresa de unhas negras e íris cor de mel
A tigress with black claws and honey-colored eyes
Uma mulher, uma beleza que me aconteceu
A woman, a beauty that happened to me
Esfregando a pele de ouro marrom do seu corpo contra o meu
Rubbing the brown-gold skin of her body against mine
Me falou que o mau é bom e o bem cruel
She told me that the bad is good and the good is cruel
Enquanto os pelos dessa deusa tremem ao vento ateu
While the hairs of this goddess tremble in the atheist wind
Ela me conta sem certeza tudo o que viveu
She tells me uncertainly all that she has lived
Que gostava de política em mil novecentos e sessenta e seis
That she liked politics back in nineteen sixty-six
E hoje dança no frenetic Dancin' Days
And today she dances in the frenetic Dancin' Days
Ela me conta que era atriz e trabalhou no Hair
She tells me she was an actress and worked in Hair
Com alguns homens foi feliz, com outros foi mulher
With some men she was happy, with others she was a woman
Que tem muito ódio no coração, que tem dado muito amor
There's so much hate in the heart, that's given so much love
E espalhado muito prazer e muita dor
And spread so much pleasure and so much pain
Mas ela ao mesmo tempo diz que tudo vai mudar
But she at the same time says that everything will change
Porque ela vai ser o que quis inventando um lugar
Because she will be what she wants, inventing a place
Onde a gente e a natureza feliz
Where we and nature happily
Vivam sempre em comunhão
Live always in communion
E a tigresa possa mais do que o leão
And the tigress can do more than the lion
As garras da felina me marcaram o coração
The claws of the feline have marked my heart
Mas as besteiras de menina que ela disse, não
But the silly things of a girl that she said, no
E eu corri pro violão, num lamento, e a manhã nasceu azul
And I ran to the guitar, in a lament, and the morning was born blue
Como é bom poder tocar um instrumento
How good it is to play an instrument
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Key vocabulary
- bem
- goodA1
- bom
- goodA1
- conta
- accountA1
- dor
- painA1
- gente
- peopleA1
- hoje
- todayA1
- lugar
- placeA1
- mais
- moreA1
- mau
- evilA1
- menina
- girlA1
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About this song
Caetano Veloso is a Brazilian singer-songwriter associated with Tropicália and Brazilian popular music. Known for his genre-spanning career that has blended bossa nova, folk, and experimental rock, he is also recognized for his role in shaping the Tropicalist movement.