Mambembe Lyrics in English Chico Buarque , Roberta Sá

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Mambembe by Chico Buarque from Portuguese to English.
Onstage, in the square, in the circus, on a park bench
Running in the dark, spray-painted on the wall
You're gonna hear about me
Rambler, gypsy
Under the bridge
Singing
Underground
Singing
On everybody's lips
Singing
Beggar, hustler, kid, rag, for better or worse
Runaway slave, a raving lunatic
I'm gonna throw my festival
Rambler, gypsy
Under the bridge
Singing
Underground
Singing
On everybody's lips
Singing
Poet, clown, pirate, lightning, wandering Jew
Sleeping on the road, it's nothing, it's nothing
This whole world is mine
Rambler, gypsy
Under the bridge
Singing
Underground
Singing
On everybody's lips
Singing
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SONG MEANING

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.

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