Mambembe Lyrics in English Chico Buarque , Roberta Sá

Mambembe is Chico Buarque's colorful ode to the artista de rua, the traveling performer who turns every corner into a stage. From “o palco, a praça, o circo” to a simple garden bench, the narrator promises: Você vai saber de mim (you will hear about me). Buarque strings together a vibrant cast of society's outsiders:

• mendigo (beggar)
• malandro (rogue)
• muleque (street kid)
• escravo fugido (runaway slave)
• louco varrido (madman) Yet, no matter the label, they all share one power: song.

The refrain Mambembe, cigano... cantando! shows music flowing in every direction: under bridges, beneath the earth, right in the people's mouths. Instead of waiting for permission, the wanderer proudly claims, "esse mundo é todo meu"—this world is all mine. The track feels like a portable carnival, reminding listeners that freedom is not a fixed address; it is the courage to keep singing wherever life carries you.